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PETROMAKS2-Stort program petroleum

Clean, Highly Efficient Offshore Power

Alternative title: Ren, Høy-effektiv Offshore Energi Produksjon

Awarded: NOK 8.0 mill.

Project Manager:

Project Number:

245489

Project Period:

2015 - 2018

For topside utilization, the goal is replacing the existing gas turbines with fuel cells. Due to the importance of footprint and mass on offshore facilities, a key element is to keep the fuel cell modules compact without the need for extended structures. As a result of a pre-project, it was evident that the fuel cells also can be placed subsea and produce the power necessary for an increasing number of subsea factories, in situ. Local natural gas resources will be utilized as fuel, and air will be drawn from the surface through a long snorkel. The Subsea Fuel Cell will hence remove the need for additional power in subsea factories, both from land cables and from floating platforms. The project will develop a compact Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) module, which can be qualified for topside applications, and when the technology is sufficiently proven, can be placed subsea. The focus areas are on research gaps relevant for both application, such as effects of the marine environment, high air utilization and to demonstrate a stack box as a fundamental building block for offshore fuel cells. The master student from the University of Bergen has now completed his work regarding NaCl contamination at the cathode. The experiments regarding reduced oxygen concentration on the cathode showed moderate increase in the resistance as the oxygen concentration goes down, especially when the oxygen concentration fall below 10%. The experiments with salty air show that contamination with NaCl causes increased degradation of the fuel cell. It is therefore important to prevent aerosols with salt particles to reach all the way in to the fuel cell cathode. The data will be used for designing the air system for an offshore fuel cell. A design of a 0.9 MW SOFC module with updated mass and volume numbers has been presented. It is evident that the mass target (4.5 tons) is possible to reach. The 10 kW stack box and the appurtenant test bench is now completed and tested, first 50 hours on hydrogen fuel, and later 1450 hours on reformate. The results were totally in line with the stack manufacturers reference data on single stacks. Long term data shows a degradation of 4.5% per khour. The degradation is related to an uneven temperature profile, which cause most of the stacks to operate at too high temperature. An improved design which eliminates this problem has now been developed

Brenselceller er et attraktivt alternativ for å redusere forurensende utslipp fra offshore industri. Med elektrisk virkningsgrad på ca 60% kan drivstofforbruk og CO2-utslipp reduseres til ca 50% av de opprinnelige verdiene. Den langsiktige visjonen er kraftproduksjon med null utslipp ved å inkludere karbonfangst og lagring (CCS). Kortsiktige effekter av prosjektet: Prosjektet har gitt oss gode resultater samt muligheten til å hente inn finansiering for første demonstrasjon av integrert system. I neste runde vil også CO2-fangst være inkludert. Dette gjør det mulig å fortsette utvikling mot de langsiktige målene. Langsiktige effekter av en vellykket utvikling: CHEOP teknologien er forventet å bidra med kraftig reduksjon av CO2 og NOX utslipp fra offshore olje og gass produksjon samt maritim transport. Når CO2 lagring blir tilgjengelig vil utslippene i praksis bli eliminert. Dette er betydelige utslippskilder som kan ha merkbar effekt på både Norges og verdens CO2 utslipp.

The idea for the project innovation is to make a game changing step in offshore power efficiency and reduction of emissions. The long term vision is zero emission power production by including carbon capture and storage (CCS). These goals are achieved by developing fuel cell system for offshore power. These can provide 60 % electrical efficiency reducing the fuel consume and CO2 emissions to 1/2 of original values. The key element for Topside implementation of fuel cell is to achieve sufficient compactness to replace gas turbines without requiring extended structures. When the oil industry is moving towards deeper water long distance from shore, it is required to put more installations subsea. The major limitation today for the subsea factory is need of power, provided either from shore by cables or from a floating platform. The Subsea Fuel Cell will place the power production subsea utilising local natural gas resources. Air will be drawn from the surface through a long snorkel. A NCE Subsea supported pilot study verified the feasibility of the concept and revealed significant potential for saving of cost and emissions. This projects Clean, Highly Efficient Offshore Power develop a compact Solid Oxide Fuel Cell module to be used in both applications. The scientific research is focused to resolve the technical challenges emerging when traditional fuel cell technology is applied offshore.

Funding scheme:

PETROMAKS2-Stort program petroleum