A 2 MW fuel cell combined heat and power (CHP) unit was officially inaugurated in China on October 13, as part of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) project DEMCOPEM-2MW.

The CHP unit is located at the Ynnovate Sanzheng Fine Chemicals chlor-alkali plant in Yingkou, Liaoning province, and operates using the plant’s hydrogen by-product as fuel. The produced heat and electricity supply a good proportion of the plant's own needs.

FCH JU said in a statement that the location was selected on the basis of its economic environment allowing for a valid business case, while the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) technology comes from the European project partners. The project aims at demonstrating the MW-sized fuel cell in a real working environment.

The DEMCOPEM-2MW project aims to design, construct and demonstrate an economical combined heat and power PEM fuel cell power plant (2 MW electrical power and 1.5 MW heat) and integrate it into a chlor-alkali (CA) production plant, which produces chlorine and caustic soda and high purity hydrogen.

The project will demonstrate the PEM Power Plant technology for converting the hydrogen into electricity, heat and water for use in the chlor-alkali production process, lowering its electricity consumption by 20%.