Belgian battery can power 1,400 homes | MNN - Mother Nature Network

Belgian battery can power 1,400 homes | MNN - Mother Nature Network

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Energy

Belgian battery can power 1,400 homes

The fuel cell converts the chemical energy from hydrogen into clean electricity by reacting to oxygen.
By Agence France-PresseMon, Feb 06 2012 at 10:52 AM EST

Houses in Mechelen, Belgium
COULD BE GREENER: Houses in Mechelen, Belgium. The new fuel cell supplies energy equivalent to the electricity consumption of 1,370 families over an 800 hour period. (Photo: LHOON/Flickr)
BRUSSELS — Chemicals giant Solvay hailed the successful entry into service in Flanders of what it said was the largest fuel cell of its type in the world on Feb. 6

A super-battery that produces enough electricity to power nearly 1,400 homes, the Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell has been producing clean electricity at a "steady rate" for weeks at a SolVin plant part-owned by Germany's BASF in Antwerp, northern Dutch-speaking Belgium.

SolVin is a market leader in vinyl, or PVC production.

The fuel cell converts the chemical energy from hydrogen into clean electricity through an electrochemical reaction with oxygen, and "has generated over 500 MWh in about 800 hours of operation," Solvay said in a news release.