haas schreef op 7 augustus 2014 21:02:
JSE-listed platinum producer Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) and Canada-based Ballard Power Systems on Tuesday launched the world’s first platinum-using fuel cell mini-grid electrification field trial.
Amplats and Ballard Power Systems partnered with State-owned power utility Eskom and the Department of Energy to conduct the 12-month trial in the rural community of Naledi Trust, which is part of the Moqhaka local municipality in the southern part of the Fezile Dabi district of the Free State.
As part of the trial, 34 households would be powered using a methanol fuel cell prototype product developed for use in off-grid residential application where the cost of electrification through an expansion of the national grid may be cost or technically prohibitive.
The fuel cell prototype had been delivering electricity to the households for the past three weeks, subsequent to the testing of the system.
Speaking at the launch, Department of Mineral Resources Deputy Minister Godfrey Oliphant highlighted that there were 3.4-million households in South Africa without access to electricity from the national grid – 1.4-million of these households were in rural areas.
He further pointed out that upon successful completion of the trial phase, plans were to proceed to a pilot test of the off-grid fuel cell technology, which entailed installing between 200 and 300 units in villages across rural South Africa by 2015.