The agreement launches with the sale of a 1.4 MW DFC^® plant in Europe for the German headquarters and production facility of FRIATEC AG in Mannheim, which is believed to be the first commercial MW-class fuel cell in Europe in an industrial environment.

FRIATEC will host the plant, and benefit from ultra-clean, efficient and reliable power and high-quality heat along with a reduction of power costs and enhanced energy security. E.ON will own the power plant, while FuelCell Energy Solutions will install, operate and maintain the plant under a long-term service agreement.

The 1.4 MW power plant installation at FRIATEC – a specialist producer of non-corroding and wear-resistant materials – will meet approximately 60% of the power needs of the manufacturing operations.

The high-quality heat from the power plant will be supplied to the existing onsite heating grid for use at multiple production areas within the facility.

The FCES–E.ON project development agreement targets CHP applications for large-scale power users that require continuous power, delivered economically and in an environmentally friendly manner. These projects can be set up via a power purchase agreement financing or leasing structure.

DFC molten carbonate fuel cell power plants are operating globally in multi-MW installations, providing both onsite power as well as utility grid support, including a 15 MW fuel cell park in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and a 59 MW DFC fuel cell park – the world’s largest – in South Korea.

FCES is the sales, manufacturing and service business for the European Served Area for US-based FuelCell Energy Inc, and is a joint venture between FuelCell Energy and the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS in Germany.