FuelCell Energy has an $8 million contract from the U.S. Department of Energy, one with the promise of extending the purpose of the nation’s aging fleet of nuclear power plants — not to mention a possible new lease on life for the Danbury-based company’s fuel cells.
DOE will test whether nuclear plants can diversify their business model by diverting excess electricity and heat during periods of low demand into massive banks of fuel cells, which would use the currents to carve off hydrogen atoms from water molecules. The hydrogen could then be stored for a future day, to be reversed back through fuel cells to produce electricity when needed, or as market price dynamics make the technology more competitive.
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