In the first phase of a multi-phase US$500 million agreement, ClearEdge Power will deliver 8.5 MW of its high-temperature PEM fuel cell systems over the next 36 months, with the remainder shipping through to 2020. This is the largest agreement yet signed in the market for stationary fuel cells.

The fuel cells will run on high-purity biogas developed by Güssing Renewable Energy, converted from organic materials to cleanly and cost-effectively generate electric power and heat in fuel cell systems.

‘With its flexible and modular power systems, ClearEdge Power has developed a distributed energy solution that will fundamentally change the way people receive power,’ says Michael Dichand, Chairman of Güssing Renewable Energy. ‘We see these fuel cell systems as the perfect complement to our sustainably cultivated biomass facilities.’

Güssing Renewable Energy is based in the Austrian town of Güssing – the first community in the European Union to produce 100 percent of its energy – electricity, heating/cooling, even fuels – from local renewable resources.

The company offers customizable and ready-to-use carbon-neutral solutions that help communities produce clean, reliable energy. These solutions include proven anaerobic technology that can convert organic mass into high-purity biogas, which can be used to cleanly and cost-effectively generate electric power and heat in fuel cells like the ClearEdge systems.

The deal will see the installation of 8.5 MW of fuel cell systems in Austria over the next 36 months, rising to 50 MW by 2020. Güssing Renewable Energy has also agreed to sell, install, and service ClearEdge fuel cell systems in Austria, and has the opportunity to foster adoption within Western European markets.

Last summer ClearEdge Power secured a $2.8 million grant from the Department of Energy to support the adoption of its ClearEdge5™ fuel cell system in a variety of vertical markets.