Carbonate Fuel Cell System Research Articles

Environmental and economic analyses of fuel cell and battery-based hybrid systems utilized as auxiliary power units on a chemical tanker vessel

This study aims to investigate the environmental and economic impacts of implementing fuel cell and battery-based hybrid configurations. Phosphoric acid and molten carbonate fuel cell systems in the place of diesel generators of a large tanker to supply the vessel's total electricity demand. Environmental and economic analyses of the utilization of the specified fuel cell systems with LiNiCoALO2 and LiNiMnCoO2 chemical types of battery cells on a large marine vessel are provided in this paper. In addition, the assessment of the most suitable battery cell and charge-discharge hours for fuel cell systems is carried out with a grid-search algorithm. Six different fuel cell and battery configurations are investigated to obtain the optimum system layout. The results show that the CO2 emissions could be reduced by up to 49.75% and the lowest electricity production cost is found as 0.181 $/kWh for the current fuel prices with the utilization of molten carbonate fuel cells and LiNiMnCoO2 battery cells.

Conceptual design and technical analysis of a hybrid natural gas/molten carbonate fuel cell system for combined cooling, heating, and power applications

Hydrogen can be extracted by various processes such as coal gasification, natural gas modification, and electrolysis. it can be used in fuel cell systems that have been used for energy generation. Fuel cell systems are several types including polymer membranes, sulfuric acid, solid oxide, methanol, alkali, and molten carbonate, which are mainly used in combination with other energy systems. In this research, methods of hydrogen production and types of fuel cells are reviewed. Then, an attempt was made by using a hybrid system connected to the molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) system which is capable of generating electricity and heating synchronously, to meet the welfare needs of a family in Bandar-e Deyr, such as heating, cooling, drinking water, hot water, and electricity. The MCFC produces 117 kW of required power in total. The cell can generate 12 kW power to supply the electricity required. Furthermore, this hybrid system can supply cooling and heating loads, which are 96 kW and 36 kW, respectively. the investment in the hybrid system is up to $1257,780, which can be reduced by economic analysis. Also, this system has the lowest amount of carbon dioxide emission, i.e. 4 %, and has the least amount of pollution.

Economic and environmental impact assessments of hybridized aircraft engines with hydrogen and other fuels

Hybridized engines have become the focus of research nowadays in order to update the existing engines in different transportation sectors. This paper presents a hybridized aircraft engine consisting of a molten carbonate fuel cell system and a commercial turbofan system. The MCFC units are connected to a steam reforming and a water gas shift system. Also, five clean fuels are selected, such as dimethyl ether, hydrogen, ethanol, methane, and methanol, which are combined with different mass ratios to form five different fuel blends. The hybridized aircraft is investigated using three approaches: exergy analysis, exergoeconomic analysis, and exergoenvironmental analysis. It is found that the proposed engine has an average exergetic efficiency of 88% and an average exergy destruction ratio of 12%. The specific exergetic cost of electricity of the engine has an average value of 710 $/GJ for the high-pressure turbine and 230$/GJ for the intermediate and low-pressure turbines, as well as 50 $/GJ for the MCFC. The average specific exergoenvironmental impact of electricity is 14 mPt/MJ for turbines and 4 mPt/MJ for the MCFC. In addition, a blend of ethanol and hydrogen appears to be a viable option economically and environmentally.

Parametric thermodynamic analysis and economic assessment of a novel solar heliostat-molten carbonate fuel cell system for electricity and fresh water production.

With the ever-rising paces of fuel consumption and CO2 emission, the urge for renewable energy resources is becoming a challenge in today's world; especially for Iran that has started to reduce its fuel subsidies. The need for electricity and fresh water in the southern coastal regions of the country is increasing with the increase in the population. The high solar radiation level in the region is a promising alternative to mitigate the fuel consumption of the conventional power or desalination plants by the solar thermal source through the concentrated solar technology. In addition, the CO2 emission of the aforementioned plants significantly diminishes by using the molten carbonate fuel cell that is suitable for the CO2 capture. Furthermore, the combination of different power and water technologies, which are operating at different temperatures and pressures, leads to enhance the overall efficiency of the integrated systems. To this end, a novel integrated power/water plant comprising a solar tower, a molten carbonate fuel cell, a gas turbine, a solar Rankine cycle, an organic Rankine cycle, a multi-effect distillation, and reverse osmosis desalination was techno-economically investigated. The multi-objective genetic algorithm was used to find the optimum configuration of the system with the low amount of CO2 emissions, and low unit costs of the electricity and fresh water. The results showed that the most effective parameter on system performance is the operating pressure of the molten carbonate fuel cell. For the optimum configurations of the system, the electricity unit of the cost was found as a value between 0.022 and 0.025 $/kWh. Part of the electricity unit of the cost that is associated with the output power that is generated based on solar thermal energy was obtained as a value between 0.08 and 0.092 $/kWh. In addition, the average unit cost of fresh water was obtained as 1.21 $/m3. The payback period of the system was obtained as 10.44 years if the electricity and fresh water are sold as 0.023 $/kWh and 1.21 $/m3. This can be reduced to 2.88 years for the electricity and fresh water selling prices of 0.069 $/kWh and 1.40 $/m3, respectively. Based on the results, the system with the solar thermal resource will be economically justifiable if the fuel price is increased.

Thermodynamic and Economic Analysis of State-of-the-Art Reversible SOFC-SOEC Systems Using Stable Rare-Earth Nickelate Oxygen Electrodes

Gaia Energy Research Institute (Gaia) will present a preliminary thermodynamic and techno-economic analysis of a state-of-the-art (SOA) reversible solid oxide electrolyzer (SOE) using stable rare-earth nickelate oxygen electrodes. Part of the significance of this work is that it quantifies the potential future cost of producing extremely pure hydrogen and oxygen using SOA reversible SOEs in dollars per kilogram of hydrogen ($/kg H2) and oxygen ($/kg O2). This work also analyzes the impact of thermal storage on increasing reversible SOE round-trip efficiency, and the value of electrochemically-compressing the H2 and O2.Primary cost drivers of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) systems tend to include the power density of the SOFC stack. Primary cost drivers of SOE systems tend to include (1) system capital costs and (2) the electricity consumed per unit of hydrogen / oxygen produced. In SOEs, electricity consumption can be displaced by heat consumption. In a combined reversible SOE system, heat produced by the SOFC can be stored and reused to provide heat to the SOE. The extent of this heat reuse is estimated to be a primary cost driver, because for every unit of electricity input displaced by reused heat as an input, the SOE produces more hydrogen and oxygen per unit of electricity input. Heat reuse by the reversible SOE can increase the hydrogen and oxygen output per unit of electricity by up to ~30%. Efficient design of this heat reuse subsystem is crucial to the reversible SOE achieving round-trip efficiencies of >70%, a necessity for viability in the long-duration energy storage market. The work examines the primary cost drivers for the reversible SOE system, including the heat storage and reuse subsystem. This research effort considers valid heat storage media including, but not limited to, (1) the ceramic materials of the reversible SOE stack, (2) steam exhausted from the SOE stack (in the same stream as the hydrogen but with the hydrogen potentially electrochemically separated at high temperature via proton-conducting ceramics), and (3) phase change materials, such as molten salts.The reversible SOE stack being evaluated is a unique, all-ceramic stack, and therefore, the materials of the stack have the potential to maintain greater stability as a thermal storage media compared with stacks composed of multiple material types each with potentially quite different thermal expansion coefficients. A primary failure mechanism of high temperature electrochemical systems is a mismatch in thermal expansion coefficients of electrochemical stack materials. For example, historically, the FuelCell Energy Inc. stationary, commercial Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) system has been limited to a turn down ratio of only 12% of maximum rated power over the course of one (1) hour, primarily due to mismatches in the thermal expansion coefficients of its MCFC stack materials.The all-ceramic reversible SOE stack evaluated here is also unique in that it has the capacity to supply hydrogen and oxygen at pressure. This analysis also quantifies the value of this electrochemically-compressed hydrogen and oxygen, compared with hydrogen and oxygen produced by mechanical compression. Based on techno-economic analyses of electrochemical and mechanical compression, electrochemical compression has the most compelling cost advantage over mechanical compression in the lower pressure range (i.e., for example, 1 to 100 bar). Electrochemical compression appears to have the highest theoretical efficiency advantage over mechanical compression across a larger pressure range going up to very high pressures (1 bar to 900 bar). When practical, measured, in-use efficiencies are considered, electrochemical compression appears to have a substantial potential advantage over mechanical compression in part because mechanical compression systems are often not designed to maintain high efficiencies at lower throughputs and are limited in their turn-down ratio (in some cases, their turn-down ratio is limited to only 25% of maximum flow rate.) Electrochemical compression with an all-ceramic stack is estimated to be less limited in response time and less limited in turn-down ratio due to more uniform thermal expansion coefficients, compared with some mechanical compressor systems built today.Model results indicate that the reversible SOE is expected to produce hydrogen at less than $2/kg H2, which is the DOE Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) H2 production cost target. Model results further indicate that, between near-term and far-term cases, the estimated energy storage costs are expected to decline due to decreases in (1) the reversible SOE system capital costs (mainly at the stack), (2) net system-wide energy consumption, (3) the extent of waste heat dissipated by the system, and (4) operations and maintenance costs. Energy storage costs are also analyzed using single-variable sensitivity studies and Tornado charts.

Low-carbon hydrogen via integration of steam methane reforming with molten carbonate fuel cells at low fuel utilization

Hydrogen production is critical to many modern chemical processes – ammonia synthesis, petroleum refining, direct reduction of iron, and more. Conventional approaches to hydrogen manufacture include steam methane reforming and autothermal reforming, which today account for the lion's share of hydrogen generation. Without CO2 capture, these processes emit about 8.7 kg of CO2 for each kg of H2 produced. In this study, a molten carbonate fuel cell system with CO2 capture is proposed to retrofit the flue gas stream of an existing Steam Methane Reforming plant rated at 100,000 Nm3 h−1 of 99.5% pure H2. The thermodynamic analysis shows direct CO2 emissions can be reduced by more than 95%, to 0.4 to 0.5 kg CO2/kg H2, while producing 17% more hydrogen (with an increase in natural gas input of approximately 37%). Because of the additional power and hydrogen generation of the carbonate fuel cell, the efficiency debit associated with CO2 capture is quite small, reducing the SMR efficiency from 76.6% without capture to 75.6% with capture. In comparison, the use of standard amine technology for CO2 capture reduces the efficiency below 70%. This demonstrates the synergistic nature of the carbonate fuel cells, which can reform natural gas to H2 while simultaneously capturing CO2 from the SMR flue gas and producing electricity, giving rise to a total system with very low emissions yet high efficiency.

Life cycle assessment of molten carbonate fuel cell system for power plants

This study evaluated the environmental impacts of a 2.5 MW molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) system on impact categories such as climate change (CC), abiotic resource depletion (ARD), acidification (AC), and eutrophication (EU) using a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology with the functional unit of 1 kWh electricity. Because MCFC systems produce electricity and heat simultaneously, the allocation was performed based on the amounts of exergy contents between electricity and heat (0.636 and 0.364, respectively). The impact on CC, expressed in global warming potential (GWP), was estimated as 3.53E-01 kg CO2 eq./kWh, while the impact on ARD was 1.90E-03 kg Sb eq./kWh, the impact on AC was 3.05E-04 kg SO2 eq./kWh, and the impact on EU was 1.35E-05 kg PO43− eq./kWh. The main cause for the impact on CC was found to be the reforming of liquefied natural gas in the operation stage. For the other categories (ARD, AC, and EU), the contributions of the operation stage were also over 80%. A comparison of the MCFC system with the Korean grid mix showed that the environmental impacts of the grid mix were larger than those of the MCFC system. Several improvement strategies were simulated to reduce the GWPs. First, to improve the efficiency of the heat exchanger, instead of using the heat generated by the MCFC system to produce high-temperature steam as is currently done, the generated heat was proposed to be used to produce medium or low-temperature water. This change reduced the GWPs of the MCFC by approximately 1.72E-02 kg CO2 eq./kWh. Second, this study simulated with an improved electricity production efficiency, with an increase from its current level (45%) to the theoretical maximum value of 60%. This improvement achieved a reduction of approximately 4.00E-02 kg CO2 eq./kWh. Finally, the electricity production efficiency was further increased using unreacted hydrogen, resulting in a reduction of 2.70E-02 kg CO2 eq./kWh.

A feasibility assessment of a retrofit Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell coal-fired plant for flue gas CO2 segregation

This work considers the use of a Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) system as a power generation and CO2 concentrator unit downstream of the coal burner of an existing production plant. In this way, the capability of MCFCs for CO2 segregation, which today is studied primarily in reference to large-scale plants, is applied to an intermediate-size plant highlighting the potential for MCFC use as a low energy method of carbon capture. A technical feasibility analysis was performed using an MCFC system-integrated model capable of determining steady-state performance across varying feed composition. The MCFC user model was implemented in Aspen Custom Modeler and integrated into the reference plant in Aspen Plus. The model considers electrochemical, thermal, and mass balance effects to simulate cell electrical and CO2 segregation performance. Results obtained suggest a specific energy requirement of 1.41 MJ kg CO2−1 significantly lower than seen in conventional Monoethanolamine (MEA) capture processes.

Performance assessment of a hybrid solid oxide and molten carbonate fuel cell system with compressed air energy storage under different power demands

As electricity demand can vary considerably and unpredictably, it is necessary to integrate energy storage with power generation systems. This study investigates a solid oxide and molten carbonate fuel cell system integrated with a gas turbine (GT) for power generation. The advanced adiabatic compressed air energy storage (AA-CAES) system is designed to enhance the system flexibility. Simulations of the proposed power system are performed to demonstrate the amount of power that can supply to the loads during normal and peak modes of operation under steady-state conditions. The pressure ratios of the GT and AA-CAES and the additional air feed are used to design the system and analyze the system performance. The results show that a small additional air feed to the GT is certainly required for the hybrid system. The GT pressure ratio of 2 provides a maximum benefit. The AA-CAES pressure ratio of 5 is recommended to spare some air in the storage and minimize storage volume. Moreover, implementation of the GT and AA-CAES into the integrated fuel cell system allows the system to cope with the variations in power demand.

Methods of On-Site Electricity Generation with Landfill Gas

The US consumes large quantities of electricity. As a result, there is a growing concern that energy may not be readily available in the future. This worry is compounded by the depletion of traditional sources such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Municipal solid waste in landfills is a resource the country may utilize as a renewable source of energy, as the gas produced from landfills can be used to power generators for electricity production, rather than wasted and flared to comply with Resource Conservation and Recovery Act standards. Systems that utilize reciprocating internal combustion engines, microturbines, and molten carbonate fuel cells can feasibly and cleanly reduce landfill gas emissions while producing electricity. However, these methods require input work and initial investments. The main economic goal is to maximize energy production. After economic analysis, the molten carbonate fuel cell system was determined to be the most efficient due to its versatility and low emissions. The successful implementation of the system may result in the propagation of the system, the increase in value of landfill gas, and the waste that produces landfill gas. This may also lead to restructuring of municipal waste system to enhance the usage of landfill gas. Keywords: municipal solid waste, MSW, landfill gas, reciprocating internal combustion engines, microturbines, molten carbonate fuel cells, MCFCs, siloxanes, emissions, greenhouse gases.

Crystal Morphology and Phase Transformation of LiAlO2: Combined Experimental and First-Principles Studies

Layered α-LiAlO2 matrix often suffers from detrimental structural and morphological changes during its lifetime, especially under H2-containing fuel inlet environments of molten carbonate fuel cell systems. However, the underlying mechanism of this phase and the morphological transformations has rarely been explored. In this study, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques were used to determine the changes in structure and morphology of LiAlO2 samples lifted by a focused ion beam. In accordance with X-ray diffraction analysis, TEM images show that under H-rich conditions the rhombohedral α-LiAlO2 transforms to tetragonal γ-LiAlO2 phase with the appearance of the (101)-terminated octahedral-shaped γ-LiAlO2 crystallites. We further support, and plausibly rationalize, the observed transformations using density functional theory (DFT) calculation. The DFT computed surface energies of γ-LiAlO2 reveal that the {101} surface becomes the lowest energy surface upon H-adsorption, thus leading to formation of observed octahedral geometry. Contrary to stabilization of γ-LiAlO2 surfaces upon H passivation, DFT revealed H adsorption on α-LiAlO2 surfaces to be energetically unfavorable. This contrasting behavior of α-LiAlO2 and γ-LiAlO2 under H-rich environments could be a potential driving force for the observed α-LiAlO2 to γ-LiAlO2 phase transformation.

Multi-Objective Optimization of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell and Absorption Refrigerator Hybrid System

The multi-objective optimization of the hybrid system consisting of molten carbonate fuel cell and absorption refrigerator is carried out based on the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II). The operating current density, temperature, pressure of the molten carbonate fuel cell and the irreversibility parameter of the absorption refrigerator are selected as the decision variables, and the equivalent power, efficiency and ecological performance of the hybrid system are treated as the comprehensive optimization objective functions. The Pareto optimal solution set under the constraint conditions of decision variables is get. Two kinds of effective decision-making tools are used: TOPSIS and LINMAP. They are used to obtain relative optimum solution as well as the optimized operation condition. At last, the results of the multi-objective optimization are compared with those of the single objective optimization.

13X Ex-Cu zeolite performance characterization towards H2S removal for biogas use in molten carbonate fuel cells

A 13X zeolite modified with Cu ions (13X Ex-Cu) by means of an innovative technique was employed as adsorbent for H2S removal from biogas, to obtain a desulfurized fuel suitable for molten carbonate fuel cell systems. Sorbent performance was characterized over a wide range of operating conditions typical of biogas mixtures (high H2S content - 200 and 1000 ppmv; CH4 (60%)/CO2 (40%) matrices) and compared to several conventional sorbents. A sensitivity performance analysis was conducted, varying parameters as space velocity, reactor temperature, gas matrix composition and particles size, finalized to identify the optimal conditions for the studied application.13X Ex-Cu zeolite showed high potentiality for H2S uptake, specifically lowering space velocity, increasing reactor temperature and in presence of high methane concentration in the gas mixture, with adsorption capacity of 40 mg/g under specific and optimized conditions. By means of B.E.T. and XRD analyses, it was demonstrated that the obtained enhanced performance is due to the presence of a large amount of Cu2+ ions, guaranteed by the innovative synthesis procedure, able to realize an efficient physical-chemical adsorption mechanism.

Process development and exergy cost sensitivity analysis of a hybrid molten carbonate fuel cell power plant and carbon dioxide capturing process

An integrated power plant with a net electrical power output of 3.71 × 105 kW is developed and investigated. The electrical efficiency of the process is found to be 60.1%. The process includes three main sub-systems: molten carbonate fuel cell system, heat recovery section and cryogenic carbon dioxide capturing process. Conventional and advanced exergoeconomic methods are used for analyzing the process. Advanced exergoeconomic analysis is a comprehensive evaluation tool which combines an exergetic approach with economic analysis procedures. With this method, investment and exergy destruction costs of the process components are divided into endogenous/exogenous and avoidable/unavoidable parts. Results of the conventional exergoeconomic analyses demonstrate that the combustion chamber has the largest exergy destruction rate (182 MW) and cost rate (13,100 $/h). Also, the total process cost rate can be decreased by reducing the cost rate of the fuel cell and improving the efficiency of the combustion chamber and heat recovery steam generator. Based on the total avoidable endogenous cost rate, the priority for modification is the heat recovery steam generator, a compressor and a turbine of the power plant, in rank order. A sensitivity analysis is done to investigate the exergoeconomic factor parameters through changing the effective parameter variations.

Hydrogen production using the waste heat of Benchmark pressurized Molten carbonate fuel cell system via combination of organic Rankine cycle and proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis

Energy and exergy analyses are carried out for hydrogen production via combination of Benchmark system and organic Rankine cycle (ORC) coupled with a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer. A parametric study is reported and effects of such organic Rankine cycle significant variables as evaporator temperature, pinch point temperature difference in the evaporator and degree of superheat at the ORC turbine inlet on the rate of produced hydrogen, sustainability index, overall exergy efficiency and organic Rankine cycle net produced power are investigated. It is observed that the rate of produced hydrogen and overall exergy efficiency of the proposed combined system take the maximum value to change in the evaporator temperature. Also, it is revealed that increasing the pinch point temperature difference in the evaporator decreases the rate of produced hydrogen and the overall exergy efficiency of the system. Furthermore, the effects on the rate of produced hydrogen and the overall exergy efficiency of the degree of superheat at the ORC turbine inlet are the same as the effect of pinch point temperature difference.

FULL SCALE EXPERIMENT AND NUMERICAL ANALYSIS FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF HEAT EXCHANGER IN MOLTEN CARBONATE FUEL CELLS

This study presents a numerical simulation of heat transfer and flow characteristics of the heat exchanger in molten carbonate fuel cell system. In this study, the actual size of the heat exchanger was simulated in order to avoid errors that can occur from the scale-down test, also the simulation gas (air) was verified with the heat duty of 800,000 kcal/hr. It is analyzed by using a commercial heat exchanger calculation code based upon the test condition. It is found that a reasonable agreement is obtained from comparison between the predicted results and the measured data. Furthermore, the verified similarity was presented in this analysis. In particular, the simulation gas used for the shell side service for the heat exchanger is obtained through the combustion calculation, i.e. by using a flow rate of the fuel gas. In addition, the performance of the heat exchanger is predicted under various conditions in the fuel cell operation conditions by the numerical model.

Molten carbonate fuel cell system fed with biofuels for electricity production

This study investigates on the efficiency of integrated reformer-MCFC system. Performances of a Ni catalyst working under steam reforming conditions of three different bio-fuels (biogas, ethanol and glycerol) are experimentally evaluated. Reformers outlet stream were applied as fuel for a MCFC stack in order to estimate the total integrated system efficiencies.It is found that the large amount of heat (20%–54% of the inlet fuel – LHV basis) is employed for the reforming of the biofuel during the heating phase of inlet stream to the reforming operative temperature. Moreover, among the examined biofuels the highest amount of externally supplied energy (∼79% of the inlet fuel – LHV basis) is wasted in the fuel processor unit for the steam reforming of ethanol, mostly due to the high amount of the water required (S/C = 4.2 mol/mol). Finally, it is also found that the combined biogas reformer-MCFC system is exhibited the highest electrical efficiency (76%).

Biogas upgrading and utilization from ICEs towards stationary molten carbonate fuel cell systems

ABSTRACTBiogas production from anaerobic digestion has increased rapidly in the last years, in many parts of the world, mainly due to its local scale disposition and to its potential on greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions mitigation. Biogas can be used as fuel for combined heat and power systems (CHP), in particular for internal combustion engines (ICEs). In recent investigations, fuel cells have been considered as alternative CHP systems. In the present article, two different energy conversion systems are compared: a 1.4 MW class MCFC system, running on pipeline natural gas, and an in situ ICE, running on biogas. In the first case, biogas is considered as a source fuel to obtain upgraded gas to be injected in the natural gas grid. In such scenario, the location of the fuel cell power plant is no longer strictly connected to the anaerobic digester site. Several energy balances are evaluated, considering different upgrading techniques and different biogas methane/carbon dioxide ratios.

Study on coal-fired power plant with CO2 capture by integrating molten carbonate fuel cell system

In this paper a coal-fired power plant with CO2 capture by integrating MCFC (molten carbonate fuel cell) system is studied. Aspen Plus software is used to establish the overall system model. The thermal and economic performances of the new hybrid system are investigated and compared with the benchmark system of coal-fired power plant without CO2 capture and the benchmark system with CO2 capture by using the MEA (Mono ethanol amine) method. The effects of the key parameters on the thermal and economic performances of the new hybrid system are studied. The research results show that compared with the benchmark system without CO2 capture, the efficiency of the new hybrid system is increased and the maximum CO2 capture rate can be 96.21%. While ensuring the high CO2 capture rate, the total efficiency of the new system with CO2 capture can be improved by4.05 percent points. Compared with the conventional CO2 capture method with the MEA, the CO2 capture method based on the electrochemical method of MCFC proposed in this paper has the obvious thermal performance advantage, however, its economic performance should be further improved. Achievements in this paper will provide the valuable reference for CO2 capture of coal-fired power plant with low energy consumption.

FuelCell Energy in Canada carbon capture study with Cenovus

US-based FuelCell Energy has announced a contract with Canadian oil sands company Cenovus Energy, to complete the preliminary front-end design and engineering (pre-FEED) for siting a molten carbonate fuel cell system to capture CO2 from flue gas. The system would be at an existing 14 MW natural gas-fired turbine cogeneration facility at the University of Calgary in Alberta.