Testing and model-aided analysis of a 2 kWel PEMFC CHP-system

A prototype PEMFC CHP-system (combined heat and power) for decentralised energy supply in domestic applications has been installed in the Fuel Cell Testing Laboratory at the Institut fur Werkstoffe der Elektrotechnik (IWE), Universitat Karlsruhe (TH). The system, which was developed at the Zentrum fur Sonnenenergie- and Wasserstoff-Forschung ZSW, Ulm (FC-stack) and the Fraunhofer-Institut fur Solare Energiesysteme ISE, Freiburg (reformer) is operated and tested in close cooperation with the Stadtwerke Karlsruhe. The tests are carried out as part of the strategic project EDISon, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWA). The performance of the system is evaluated for different operating conditions. The tests include steady state measurements under different electrical and thermal loads as well as an analysis of the dynamic behaviour of the system during load changes. First results of these steady state and dynamic operation characteristics will be presented in this paper.