Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd () was an Australian
fuel cell
A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...
technology company, based in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
. The company produced the "BlueGen" gas-to-electricity generators.
CFCL's developed
solid oxide fuel cell
A solid oxide fuel cell (or SOFC) is an electrochemical conversion device that produces electricity directly from oxidizing a fuel. Fuel cells are characterized by their electrolyte material; the SOFC has a solid oxide or ceramic electrolyte.
A ...
(SOFC) technology to provide reliable, energy efficient, high quality, and low-emission electricity from natural gas and renewable fuels. CFCL was developing SOFC products for small-scale on-site micro combined heat and power (m-CHP) and distributed generation units that co-generate electricity and heat for domestic use. On 1 March 2015 it was announced that the company had appointed voluntary administrators.
Company De-Listed
In accordance with section 3.4 of
ASX
Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia as ...
Listing Rules "Guidance Note 33 Removal of Entities from the ASX Official List", Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd was removed from the official list by the ASX under listing rule 17.12 from the commencement of trading on Monday 5 March 2018.
History
Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd was formed in 1992 by the
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research.
CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...
(CSIRO) and a consortium of energy and industrial companies.
CFU: ''Company History''
, retrieved 22 October 2010
In 2009 a production facility opened in Noble Park
Noble Park is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 25 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Greater Dandenong local government area. Noble Park recorded a population of 32,257 at the . ...
, Melbourne and another one in Heinsberg
Heinsberg (; li, Hinsberg ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the seat of the district Heinsberg. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 20 km north-east of Sittard and 30 km ...
, Germany, which won the North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
's economic development agency NRW.INVEST
NRW.INVEST is the economic development agency of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). It deals with the acquisition of and support for foreign investors and the international marketing for North Rhine-Westphalia, NRW as a business loca ...
award for innovation.[AAP: ''Ceramic Fuel wins innovation gong''](_blank)
in The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
, 13 July 2010, retrieved 22 October 2010
Products
The first marketed product of the company is "BlueGen" a solid oxide fuel cell
A solid oxide fuel cell (or SOFC) is an electrochemical conversion device that produces electricity directly from oxidizing a fuel. Fuel cells are characterized by their electrolyte material; the SOFC has a solid oxide or ceramic electrolyte.
A ...
which creates electricity and heat by passing natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
over ceramic fuel cells. BlueGen is 85% efficient and is reported to cut the average Australian home's annual carbon dioxide emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
by 18 tonnes.[Adam Morton: ''Fuel cells a tough sell in a coal-fired economy''](_blank)
in The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
13 March 2010, retrieved 24 October 2010
Partners
CFCL has signed agreements with leading European utility customers and appliance partners in Europe and Japan to deploy micro-CHP units using CFCL's SOFC technology. These agreements give the Company access to a number of large and advanced European markets for m-CHP units. The company's utility partners in these markets have a total of more than 20 million gas and electricity customers.
References
{{reflist
Fuel cell manufacturers
Manufacturing companies based in Melbourne
Technology companies of Australia