Plug Power has selected Magnetek to provide power conditioners for a new line of stationary fuel cell it’s developing. Magnetek will complete the delivery of two prototype power conditioners in August 2005.
The power conditioners will invert the DC produced by the proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells into the AC required for stationary applications. Doing this will enable the fuel cells to operate in grid-tied or stand-alone mode in the event of utility power loss.
In stand-alone mode, each fuel cell will be able to handle peak power loads as high as 9kW and accommodate load imbalances from 0% to 80%. Should a utility fail in grid-tied mode, the power conditioner will pick up the load immediately and the fuel cells will continue to operate in a stand-alone mode until the utility power is restored.
