PHARMA & ADVANCED MECHANICS

Clean energy: Ecor International’s components in cogeneration systems

Photo by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay
On behalf of SOLIDpower, the company produces some components of the fuel cell battery (stack), the heart of the Bluegen micro-cogeneration system which, thanks to fuel cell technology, is capable of producing electricity and thermal energy.

Ecor International enters the clean energy sector and manufactures some indispensable components for the operation of the fuel cell batteryused in cogeneration systems for electricity and heat.

The project was commissioned by SOLIDpower, a leading company in the production of the Bluegen fuel cell cogeneration system, capable of producing electricity and heat for homes and small and medium-sized companies.

A component for cogeneration systems produced by Ecor International
A component of the fuel cell battery, manufactured by Ecor International, that is contained in the SOLIDpower’s micro-cogeneration system.

The compact and silent system extracts hydrogen from natural gas and, through an electrochemical reaction inside the stack, produces electrical and thermal energy without combustion. For this reason, pollutants such as sulfur oxides, oxides of nitrogen and particulates are not released into the atmosphere. As a result, carbon dioxide emissions are halved and the environmental impact is drastically reduced.

Thanks to the technologies in the production plants, Ecor International contributes to the project by creating two important components of the fuel cell battery. For their production, the company performs some mechanical processing activities, welding with laser technology, dimensional control and pressure test.

The micro-cogeneration system produced by SOLIDpower (courtesy of SOLIDpower).

These activities aimed at creating components for cogeneration systems required specific skills, as explained by Fabio Pozzebon, Business Manager Advanced Mechanics.

The components for cogeneration systems have extremely narrow dimensional tolerances and this makes the processes particularly complex” -confirms Pozzebon-. Furthermore, materials used for cells production are not conventional and the welding phase requires special precautions, as well as final cleaning. Tests, metallographic and laboratory analysis carried out in collaboration with Il Sentiero International Campus Research Center were important: they allowed us to verify the success of the work”.

Ecor International has been operating for several years in the Advanced Mechanics business area, addressing all diversified sectors, which require automatic machine systems and critical components in contact with the product in stainless steel and special alloys.

In recent years, Ecor International has collaborated with companies in the research sector: for example, it has produced components of the vacuum pumps used in the Virgo and Ligo systems where gravitational waves have been detected (we’ve talked about it here).