The Hybrid Performance Facility — called the Hyper facility — is now fully operational at the Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). This one-of-a-kind facility, developed by NETL's Office of Science and Technology, will be used to develop control strategies for the reliable operation of fuel cell/turbine hybrids.

	The Hyper facility allows assessment of dynamic control and performance issues in fuel cell/turbine hybrid systems.

Combined systems of turbines and fuel cells are expected to meet power efficiency targets that will help eliminate, at competitive costs, environmental concerns associated with the use of fossil fuels for producing electricity and transportation fuels.

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that produces electricity from hydrocarbon fuels without combustion, while a turbine produces electricity when steam or hot gases expand, spinning the turbine blade. When the two devices are combined into an integrated power-producing system, the combined system achieves fuel efficiency and emissions performance that are beyond the reach of any single standalone system.

The Hyper facility provides a unique opportunity for researchers to explore issues related to the coupling of fuel cell and gas turbine technologies. While the efficiency benefits of hybrid plants are well recognized, controlling the flow of power from both the fuel cell and turbine during load changes is expected to be more complicated than in conventional power systems.

In addition to planned NETL studies, the Hyper facility and modeling efforts are available for public research collaboration. Collaboration with academic, non-profit, or commercial research groups can be arranged under a variety of cooperative programs, such as a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), and student or visiting scholar programs. Several industry and academic partnerships are now in place, including support from Woodward Governor Company, West Virginia University, Georgia Tech, and others.

For additional information, contact David Tucker, at (304) 285-1331.