DANBURY, Conn., Aug. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FuelCell Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: FCEL) announced its participation in the World Brewing Congress, taking place August 17-20 in Minneapolis, Minn. The event will provide a platform for FuelCell Energy to showcase its innovative solutions for CO2 utilization and sustainability in the brewing, food, and agriculture industries.
Countries and companies around the world are rushing to reduce their carbon footprints, particularly with respect to the energy, transportation, and heavy industry sectors. However, at the same time, there is a demand for a cleaner way of generating CO2. The certainty of supply and long-term pricing for CO2, especially in the food and beverage industry, is mission critical because CO2 provides the bubbles in beer, keeps steak fresh, helps process the sugar in dessert, and pH balances the water we drink. In fact, CO2 permeates the food chain and is a glue between manufacturers, processors, stores, restaurants, and the consumer.
In recent years, there have been supply disruptions in the CO2 market for a variety of reasons – some temporary and others more lasting – that have made it harder for food and beverage companies to find the high-quality CO2 they need. Also, food and beverage companies are experiencing price spikes from industrial gas suppliers that directly impact food and beverage pricing. FuelCell Energy’s technology enables food and beverage suppliers to eliminate these negative business challenges.
FuelCell Energy’s solution is also in step with the race for clean energy solutions to everyday problems. The company’s patented molten carbonate fuel cell technology provides customers with three significant benefits from a single onsite system.
- Baseload power to make food and beverage production facilities energy self-sufficient, reduces power costs and adds resiliency and reliability.
- Steam and/or hot water that can be sent to boilers, reducing emissions from boilers used in the production process.
- Food and beverage grade CO2 can be consumed immediately or stored for later use in production.
Utilizing FuelCell Energy's proprietary technology to generate and store carbon ensures steadiness in a company's supply of essential production elements, offers long-term price transparency, and diminishes dependence on industrial carbon sources that typically emit CO2, SOx, NOx, along with other particles, thereby enhancing total life cycle scope emissions.
“We’re offering an innovative solution to solve CO2 needs for the brewing industry,” said Lindsey Cole, sales director for food and beverage at FuelCell Energy. “It’s a different way of looking at how you acquire your CO2, shifting the mindset of the suppliers and how companies measure the carbon footprint of their carbon and source control. It’s an exciting time.”
FuelCell Energy is currently investing in its own fully operational CO2 recovery demonstration plant at its Torrington, Conn., production facility that will recover 10 tons per day of beverage grade CO2. When completed in the coming months, the facility will allow potential customers to observe the operating plant and, given the targeted market of food and beverage companies, sample and test separated CO2 to verify quantity, quality, or purity requirements.
High-grade CO2 is a crucial ingredient for food and beverage companies. It’s more than a molecule, it is a thread that supports our food supply. Meat processors, for example, use CO2 for temperature control throughout various stages of processing and for shipping of final products, which helps maintain the quality and safety of our food supply. CO2 is also used to freeze fruits and vegetables and in your morning cup of coffee - some roasters use CO2 in the roasting process for temperature and taste and in decaffeination of beans.
Other potential customers include sugar producers who use CO2 and limestone to make calcium carbonate. That carbonate is used as a filter in sugar processing. Then, of course, there are the breweries and bottlers who require abundant CO2 to produce a wide range of carbonated beverages such as beer, soda, hard seltzers and sparkling water.
“The FuelCell Energy system is a shift for folks who have relied exclusively on industrial gas companies without long term assurance of supply and pricing,” Cole said. “What companies face today is unreliability of CO2 supply and price volatility, which makes it challenging for customers who operate on thin margins and require consistency in product output.”
FuelCell Energy’s Carbon Capture Platform
FuelCell Energy offers the only known platform that uses carbonate fuel cells to capture CO2 from an external source while simultaneously generating power. In many cases, the excess CO2 has potential to be recycled into a valuable end-product or sold to third parties. Power generation from this carbon capture technology improves the net cost of capture economics, making the fuel cell a practical solution on the path to net-zero for many facilities.
FuelCell Energy recently extended a joint development agreement with ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company to allow for continued development work for carbon capture technology, including support of the pilot project at the Esso Nederland BV Rotterdam Manufacturing Complex. The jointly developed carbon capture fuel cell technology to be demonstrated in Rotterdam features an optimized design for large scale installations. The technology, which captures carbon while simultaneously generating electricity and hydrogen, could further improve the economics of carbon capture and potentially lower the barrier to broader adoption of carbon capture in the marketplace.
World Brewing Congress
The World Brewing Congress 2024 is presented every four years by the American Society of Brewing Chemists and the Master Brewers Association of the Americas, with support from other organizations. The WBC brings together the global brewing community to share scientific research, technologies and methodologies to advance the future of brewing. The 2024 WBC will focus on helping the brewing industry navigate challenges such as sustainability, supply chain issues, market trends and regulatory changes.
About FuelCell Energy
FuelCell Energy, Inc. is a global leader in sustainable energy technologies that address some of the world’s most critical challenges around energy, safety, and global urbanization. It collectively holds 531 fuel cell technology patents in the United States and globally. As a leading global manufacturer of proprietary fuel cell technology platforms, FuelCell Energy is uniquely positioned to serve customers including businesses, utilities, governments, and municipalities with sustainable products and solutions. The company’s solutions are designed to enable a world empowered by sustainable energy, enhancing the quality of life for people around the globe. Learn more at fuelcellenergy.com.
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