More than 500 Fuel Cell micro-Cogeneration units have already been sold in Belgium under the EU Horizon2020 PACE project, as momentum is building up for the large-scale uptake of this innovative and efficient energy solution. With a nuclear phase-out planned for 2025 in the country, Belgians are looking for more sustainable ways to generate their own heat and electricity at home or in their small businesses.
The PACE partners active in Belgium see the demand for Fuel Cell micro-Cogeneration increasing and are ramping up their installation capacity. Thanks to its broad installers’ network, Viessmann deployed Fuel Cell micro-Cogeneration systems in more than 150 Belgian houses in less than 18 months’ time. “These households are now heating their homes, while self-generating their own electricity in the most energy efficient way”, says Patrick O, CEO of Viessmann Belgium. In his words, “Fuel Cell, while being an innovative product, has already proven to be very reliable and efficient. In light of the ageing nuclear power plants, customers and installers have now started to embrace this future-oriented technology as a means to protect themselves from rising energy bills. Together with our broad portfolio of heating solutions and photovoltaic solar panels, we at Viessmann believe that the future of power generation is decentralised and energy efficient”.
Elugie, a Belgium-based Energy service company and partner of SOLIDpower, is convinced that fuel cells have great potential to save energy costs and emissions in the energy transition. According to Elugie CEO Bjorn van Haver: “Households, SME’s, local authorities and schools can already today install the power plant of tomorrow inside their building. More than 200 users in Belgium have switched to the hydrogen economy over the past years”.
COGEN Europe, coordinator of the PACE project, is very positive about the development of Fuel Cell micro-Cogeneration. “The high number of fuel cells sold lately in Belgium demonstrates the potential of this young technology. Due to its very high efficiencies and hydrogen base, it is a perfect solution to replace aging and inefficient power plants and decarbonise our energy system”, explains Hans Korteweg, Managing Director of COGEN Europe. He adds: “We expect other countries to follow suit. In this regard, we call upon the European policymakers to put the right policies in place for Europe to become a world leader in this technology and make Fuel Cell micro-Cogeneration part of our energy transition.”
Source: PACE
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