PEORIA, Ill., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:
CAT), FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: FCEL) and the city of Westerville, Ohio
have reached an important milestone, bringing on-line one of the first
utility-scale fuel cell power plants in North America that will feed power to
consumers from a substation.
"As the world leader in distributed power generation, we see a growing
need for all of Caterpillar's broad range of power generation products," said
Rick Rathe, marketing manager for Caterpillar's Power Systems Marketing
Division. "This project represents an important step in the use of stationary
fuel cells to provide power to local electrical distribution systems."
"This project demonstrates how public-private partnerships can work to
bring new and emerging technologies to consumers today," said Herbert T. Nock,
FuelCell Energy's senior vice president of marketing and sales." "The state of
Ohio and the city of Westerville are showing how Direct FuelCell(R) (DFC(R))
power plants which create hydrogen internally, can be used to bring clean,
reliable power to the people of Ohio without waiting for the development of a
hydrogen supply infrastructure."
This innovative project is a first for the state of Ohio and it was funded
in part through Governor Bob Taft's Third Frontier Fuel Cell Initiative, a
$103 million dollar program that aims to position Ohio as a national leader in
the growing fuel cell industry.
"Ohio has been on the leading edge of fuel cell technology for several
years, and with today's installation in Westerville, the Buckeye State has
jumped ahead and established its leadership as an industry pioneer," said Bob
Taft, governor of Ohio. "Today signifies that our Third Frontier investments
in the fuel cell industry are succeeding and directly benefiting Ohio
citizens. I am pleased to take part in this historic event.
"The 250-kilowatt (kW) DFC power plant creates the hydrogen it needs from
a readily available fuel, natural gas. The unit is manufactured by FuelCell
Energy and distributed by Caterpillar through its dealer Ohio Cat. The fuel
cell power plant is located at Westerville's electric substation #2, and when
fully operational it will produce enough energy to power approximately 180
homes in Westerville.
"Westerville's fuel cell produces predominantly water and heat as by-
products, while dramatically minimizing regulated emissions," said Andrew
Boatright, Westerville's electric utility manager. "This first of its kind
project in Ohio demonstrates that fuel cell technology holds the potential to
transform the entire energy industry."
Westerville is one of 91 municipal electric communities in Ohio,
Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan that comprise AMP-Ohio, a wholesale
power supplier and services supplier for municipalities. AMP-Ohio helped the
city of Westerville secure the state grant that made the project possible,
while also providing technical support for the installation.
"We are excited to be a partner in this project, which shows Westerville's
leadership in current technology, and in the larger picture will put our
country one step closer to becoming less reliant on foreign countries for our
energy consumption," said Marc S. Gerken, PE. AMP-Ohio president.
Fuel cells are similar to large, continuously running batteries, using
natural gas or other fuel to generate electricity through electrochemical
reactions. Direct FuelCells efficiently generate electricity at distributed
customer locations, including hospitals, schools, universities, hotels and
other commercial and industrial facilities, as well as grid-support
applications for utility customers. Direct FuelCells convert readily
available fuels, such as natural gas or waste gas, to electrical power with
great efficiency.
In April 2002, Caterpillar and FuelCell Energy signed an alliance
agreement to distribute and develop ultra-low emission fuel cell power
generation products for industrial and commercial use. The agreement calls for
the companies to jointly develop Caterpillar-branded power plants in the 250kW
to 3MW size range, incorporating FuelCell Energy's fuel cell module.
About Caterpillar
For more than 75 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been building the world's
infrastructure and, in partnership with its worldwide dealer network, is
driving positive and sustainable change on every continent. With 2003 sales
and revenues of $22.76 billion, Caterpillar is a technologyleader and the
world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and
natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. More information is
available at http://www.cat.com.
About FuelCell Energy
FuelCell Energy, Inc., based in Danbury, Connecticut, is a world leader in
the development and manufacture of high temperature fuel cells for electric
power generation. FuelCell Energy developed its patented Direct FuelCell
technology for stationary power plants with the U.S. Department of Energy
through its Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory.
The sub-megawatt fuel cell power plant is a collaborative effort using Direct
FuelCell(R) technology of FuelCell Energy and the HotModule(R) balance of
plant design of MTU CFC Solutions, GmbH, a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler.
FuelCell Energy is also developing next generation high temperature fuel cell
products, such as a diesel fueled marine Ship Service Fuel Cell, a combined-
cycle DFC/Turbine(R) power plant and solid oxide fuel cells for applications
up to 100 kilowatts. More information is available at
http://www.fuelcellenergy.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including
statements regarding the company's plans and expectations regarding the
development and commercialization of its fuel cell technology. All forward-
looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those projected. Factors that could
cause such a difference include, without limitation, the risk that commercial
field trials of the company's products will not occur when anticipated,
general risks associated with product development, manufacturing, changes in
the utility regulatory environment, potential volatility of energy prices,
rapid technological change, and competition, as well as other risks set forth
in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The
forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this
press release. The company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking
to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect
any change in the company's expectations or any change in events, conditions
or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
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SOURCE Caterpillar Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.CAT.com
http://www.fuelcellenergy.com
CONTACT:
Jim Dugan, Corporate Public Affairs of
Caterpillar, +1-309-675-5813, dugan_jim@cat.com; or Steven P.
Eschbach, CFA, Dir., Investor Relations & Communications of
FuelCell Energy, +1-203-825-6000, eschbach@fce.com; or Andrew
Boatright of the City of Westerville, +1-614-901-6703; or Kent
Carson of AMP-Ohio, +1-614-337-6222
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