DANBURY, CT, Sept. 8, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- FuelCell Energy Inc., a leading manufacturer of ultra-clean electric power generation plants for commercial and industrial customers, today announced that two of its Direct FuelCell® (DFC®) units will provide electricity for a 650-bed hospital and a wastewater treatment facility in South Korea as part of the government's commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
One DFC300A power plant will be installed at Chosun University Hospital in Kwangju, a city of 1.4 million, while the second unit will go to the Tancheon Sewage Treatment Plant, serving South Korea's capital, Seoul. The 250 kilowatt (kW) power plants were sold last year by POSCO (NYSE: PKX), a major South Korean industrial concern. The power plant sales were announced in November 2004 as part the agreement among FuelCell Energy, Marubeni Corp. (TSE:8002) and POSCO to distribute and package DFC power plants in Korea. Both power plants are expected to be operational in the fall of 2005.
The Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) has targeted more than 20 percent of the country's power generation to be from fuel cells. As part of MOCIE's long-range plans to foster Korean energy independence and combat global warming, the ministry also is providing 250 billion won (approximately $218 million) through 2008 to develop new and regenerative energy technologies -- including fuel cells, solar and wind power.
The fuel cell for Chosun University Hospital, an institution with 24 medical departments staffed by 800 personnel, will provide quiet, on-site and reliable power to meet the significant energy demands of a healthcare facility. This power plant, fueled by natural gas, is expected to provide a portion of the facility's base load power. Waste heat from the fuel cell will be used to heat hot water for the hospital.
At the Tancheon plant, which processes 19 percent of the Seoul's daily sewage output, the DFC unit will operate on methane gas generated by the facility's anaerobic gas digestion process. One of only four sewage treatment plants in the national capital area, Tancheon is a critical link in efforts to clean the Han River, a major waterway running through the region. The treatment plant has a capacity to treat 1.1 million cubic meters (291 million gallons) per day on a 97-acre site in downtown Seoul.
"These two new sitings support our continued focus on developing repeatable business for firm, 24/7 power generation in two of our ten key vertical market segments - hospitals and wastewater treatment facilities," said Dan Brdar, FuelCell Energy's Chief Operating Officer. "Furthermore, this demonstrates how our ultra-clean DFC power plants are an ideal energy solution for a region with high energy costs and the drive to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a key contributor to global warming."
This summer, MOCIE established a Renewable Portfolio Agreement (RPA) with Korea's nine largest energy suppliers to support new forms of energy and energy renewal projects in a bid to cope with rising price of crude oil bill. The RPA will lead to the reduction of some 170,000 tons of emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas in global warming, or 0.12 percent of Korea's total emissions in 2004. The ministry plans to support the participating companies financially and administratively to help them carry out projects.
POSCO (www.posco.co.kr), founded in 1968, is Korea's largest integrated steelmaker. Headquartered in the southeastern port city of Pohang, South Korea, POSCO produced 29 million tons of crude steel products, and reported record sales of US$12.05 billion and net income of US$1.66 billion in 2003. As the world's leading steel producer, POSCO manufactures and sells a line of steel products, including hot rolled and cold rolled products, plates, wire rods, flat rolled magnetic steel sheets and strips, electrical steel sheets and stainless steel products. POSCO is also rated A3/Moody's and A-/S&P, the highest credit ratings assigned to the world's integrated steelmakers.
The Marubeni Corporation (www.marubeni.co.jp), established in 1858, is one of Japan's leading general trading/marketing houses (sogo shosha). The company was ranked as the 25th largest in Fortune Magazine's Global Fortune 500 list for 2002. Marubeni has 12 Divisions with operations that encompass domestic, import/export, offshore trade and investment activities, which range from the development of natural resources to the retail marketing of finished products. The Company, based in Tokyo, conducts these operations through a worldwide business network that includes 52 overseas corporate offices and 28 overseas subsidiaries, for a total of 131 offices in 73 countries. Marubeni's Utility & Infrastructure Division has been involved in the development of over 20,000 megawatts of power generation worldwide. The Division has expanded its efforts to include distributed generation technologies, power quality & reliability technologies and energy & environmental services.
FuelCell Energy (www.fuelcellenergy.com) develops and markets ultra-clean power plants that generate electricity with up to twice the efficiency of conventional fossil fuel plants and with virtually no air pollution. Fuel cells produce base load electricity where commercial and industrial customers face cost, reliability, security or environmental issues with their existing energy supplies. Emerging state, federal and international regulations to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions consider fuel cell power plants in the same environmentally friendly category as wind and solar energy sources -- with the added advantages of running 24 hours a day and the capacity to be installed where wind turbines or solar panels often cannot. Based in Danbury, Conn., FuelCell Energy services over 40 power plant sites around the globe that have generated more than 78 million kilowatt hours, and conducts R&D on next-generation fuel cell technologies to meet the world's ever-increasing demand for ultra-clean distributed energy.
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