{"id":15513,"date":"2014-08-07T17:26:02","date_gmt":"2014-08-07T21:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta.html"},"modified":"2014-08-07T17:26:02","modified_gmt":"2014-08-07T21:26:02","slug":"ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/","title":{"rendered":"GE Global Research Unit Creating Plant In Malta For Manufacturing Its Fuel Cells"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"ge\n<\/div>\n
GE Fuel Cells General Manager Johanna Wellington and a team member inspect a test stand of fuel cell stacks like those that will be produced at a plant in Malta\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Inspired by the advanced manufacturing
\ncoating breakthrough and system integration
\nin the labs at GE’s Global Research Center in
\nNiskayuna, the company said in late July it
\nis launching the GE Fuel Cells business as a
\nseparate start-up company, located in Malta.<\/p>\n

Efforts are underway to ramp up an the
\nfacility with 17 full-time employees and pilot
\nmanufacturing capability, company officials
\nsaid.
\nThe plant is located in the Saratoga Technology
\n+ Energy Park off Hermes Road. That park
\nis operated by NYSERDA.<\/p>\n

The fuel cell business grew out of GE Global
\nResearch, but it now operates as an independent
\nunit with its own board of directors, the
\ncompany said. The cells will be manufactured
\nat the Malta plant. The pilot facility is already
\nfilling up with robotic thermal spray equipment,
\nfuel cell test stations, screen printers
\nand towering bulk gas storage tanks.<\/p>\n

Officials did not give a timeline for startup.<\/p>\n

According to GE officials, a fuel cell works
\nlike a battery, using a simple chemical reaction
\nto provide energy. In fuel cells, this reaction involves
\nhydrogen molecules abundant in natural
\ngas and oxygen from ordinary air.<\/p>\n

The process is full of pitfalls, officials explained
\nin the company blog. Car companies,
\nfor example, have tried to make fuel cells work
\nas a replacement for the internal combustion
\nengine for more 20 years without commercial
\nsuccess. “But scientists in GE labs recently
\ncracked an important conundrum involving
\none iteration of the technology called solid
\noxide fuel cell, or SOFC. The breakthrough
\nallowed the company to start building a new
\npilot fuel cell manufacturing and development
\nfacility” in Malta.<\/p>\n

“The resulting technology could soon start
\nproducing electricity around the world,” the
\ncompany said.<\/p>\n

According to GE, the new system’s power
\ngeneration efficiency can reach an unprecedented
\n65 percent. Overall efficiency can grow
\nto 95 percent when the system is configured to
\ncapture waste heat produced by the process.<\/p>\n

The basic configuration of the system can
\ngenerate between 1 to 10 megawatts of power.
\nThe new fuel cell is using stainless steel in
\nplace of platinum and rare metals.<\/p>\n

“The cost challenges associated with the
\ntechnology have stumped a lot of people for a
\nlong time,” said Johanna Wellington, advanced
\ntechnology leader at GE Global Research and
\nthe head of GE’s fuel cell business. “But we
\nmade it work, and we made it work economically.
\nIt’s a game-changer.”<\/p>\n

At the Malta plant “We have all of the speed,
\nagility and focus of a small start-up while leveraging
\nthe strength of a big company” she said.<\/p>\n

Wellington said the fuel cell, which received
\nfinancial backing from GE’s ecomagination program,
\ncan generate electricity at any location
\nwith a supply of natural gas. It can get going
\nquickly, does not need new transmission lines
\nand produces lower emissions than conventional
\npower plants.<\/p>\n

GE’s hybrid solid oxide fuel cell system combines
\na state-of-the-art fuel cell with industry
\nleading gas engine technology to reach greater
\nthan 65 percent energy efficiency, officials said.<\/p>\n

“The combination of fuel cells with a gas engine
\nensures consistent full power generation
\nwith higher energy efficiency than any current
\ntechnology on the market,” said officials in
\na company fact sheet. “The system can also
\nbe operated as a combined heat and power
\nplant with a conversion efficiency exceeding
\n95 percent.”<\/p>\n

GE’s Solid Oxide Fuel Cell emissions are
\nlower than any conventional power generation
\nplant and can generate 1-10MW of power, the
\ncompany claims.<\/p>\n

Officials outlined the basics of how the fuel
\ncell system works thusly:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Fuel is pumped through a solid oxide fuel
\ncell, generating the bulk of the electricity.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The exhaust gases of the fuel cell are
\nsent to the gas engine, maximizing the energy
\nextraction from the fuel.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Emissions are low and environmentally
\nfriendly mostly consisting of water and carbondioxide.<\/p>\n

Incorporating advanced materials from GE’s
\nAviation and P&W businesses, the hybrid SOFC
\noperates at 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Thermal
\nbarrier coating systems, leveraged from GE
\nAviation, delivers longer part life, resulting in
\nlower lifecycle costs, officials said. Ceramic
\ncoatings enabled by advanced manufacturing
\nbreakthroughs allows for the technology to be
\nproduced more quickly and at lower cost.<\/p>\n

Leveraging gas engine expertise from the
\nGE P&W business enabled a tight integration
\nof the reciprocating engine with the fuel cell
\nexhaust to achieve unparalleled system efficiencies.<\/p>\n

Photo Courtesy GE Global Research Center<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GE Fuel Cells General Manager Johanna Wellington and a team member inspect a test stand of fuel cell stacks like those that will be produced at a plant in Malta Inspired by the advanced manufacturing coating breakthrough and system…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[57,93],"class_list":["post-15513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-news","tag-business-news","tag-malta"],"yoast_head":"\r\nGE Global Research Unit Creating Plant In Malta For Manufacturing Its Fuel Cells - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GE Global Research Unit Creating Plant In Malta For Manufacturing Its Fuel Cells - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GE Fuel Cells General Manager Johanna Wellington and a team member inspect a test stand of fuel cell stacks like those that will be produced at a plant in Malta Inspired by the advanced manufacturing coating breakthrough and system...\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-08-07T21:26:02+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2014\/08\/ge20fuel20cell.jpg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/\",\"name\":\"GE Global Research Unit Creating Plant In Malta For Manufacturing Its Fuel Cells - Saratoga Business Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2014\/08\/ge20fuel20cell.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-07T21:26:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-08-07T21:26:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/ddf5fd6df8c43505ff3a5fb93e64871d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2014\/08\/ge20fuel20cell.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2014\/08\/ge20fuel20cell.jpg\",\"width\":936,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"GE Global Research Unit Creating Plant In Malta For Manufacturing Its Fuel Cells\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\",\"name\":\"Saratoga Business Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/ddf5fd6df8c43505ff3a5fb93e64871d\",\"name\":\"Saratoga Business Journal\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c854d5e50c70dc686bfc980524ca4f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c854d5e50c70dc686bfc980524ca4f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Saratoga Business Journal\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/author\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"GE Global Research Unit Creating Plant In Malta For Manufacturing Its Fuel Cells - Saratoga Business Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"GE Global Research Unit Creating Plant In Malta For Manufacturing Its Fuel Cells - Saratoga Business Journal","og_description":"GE Fuel Cells General Manager Johanna Wellington and a team member inspect a test stand of fuel cell stacks like those that will be produced at a plant in Malta Inspired by the advanced manufacturing coating breakthrough and system...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/","og_site_name":"Saratoga Business Journal","article_published_time":"2014-08-07T21:26:02+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2014\/08\/ge20fuel20cell.jpg"}],"author":"Saratoga Business Journal","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Saratoga Business Journal","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/","name":"GE Global Research Unit Creating Plant In Malta For Manufacturing Its Fuel Cells - Saratoga Business Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2014\/08\/ge20fuel20cell.jpg","datePublished":"2014-08-07T21:26:02+00:00","dateModified":"2014-08-07T21:26:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/ddf5fd6df8c43505ff3a5fb93e64871d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2014\/08\/ge20fuel20cell.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2014\/08\/ge20fuel20cell.jpg","width":936,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/ge-global-research-unit-creating-plant-in-malta\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"GE Global Research Unit Creating Plant In Malta For Manufacturing Its Fuel Cells"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/","name":"Saratoga Business Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/ddf5fd6df8c43505ff3a5fb93e64871d","name":"Saratoga Business Journal","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c854d5e50c70dc686bfc980524ca4f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c854d5e50c70dc686bfc980524ca4f5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Saratoga Business Journal"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/author\/saratogabusinessjournal\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15513"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15513\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}