Press Release Back Number(2006)

Test Operations Begin on Biomass Stirling Engine Small
-scale 55 kW biomass direct injection combustion power generator under development

June 21, 2006
Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.

Chubu Electric, working in partnership with the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO; 1310 Omiya-cho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki) and C-Tech Corporation (Masao Shimizu, President; 4-45 Sukumo-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya), is taking part in a "Project to Research and Develop Small-Scale Biomass Direct Injection Combustion Power Generators" (running from FY2004 - 2006).

Evaluation and testing of Stirling engines has taken place previously, but Chubu Electric is now pleased to report the successful generation of 55kW of power through direct injection combustion of biomass* at a test facility within our Technical Development Center (Midori-ku, Nagoya).

The developers will now make partial improvements to the test equipment that will enable it to generate steady power and will begin full-scale test operations from September.

*Biomass: biological resources, such as wood from forest thinning. Energy from biomass is recognized as renewable energy under Japan's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Law and could help reduce CO₂ emissions.

The Project to Research and Develop Small-Scale Biomass Direct Injection Combustion Power Generators seeks to develop high-efficiency, low-cost small-scale biomass power generation systems by combining a biomass direct injection combustion burner with a Stirling engine.

This system directly burns finely ground biomass with a burner, then supplies the combustion gas to the Stirling engine. This means that the biomass does not need to be gasified for combustion, so equipment can be simplified and equipment and operating costs can be reduced.

A practical version of such a biomass-powered small-scale decentralized power source would lead to reduced emissions of the greenhouse gas CO₂.

Characteristics of the Stirling engine used for testing, made by the US company STM Power, Inc. (http://www.stmpower.com/), are as below.

• Runs on biomass fuel This engine enhances the feasibility of small-scale, decentralized power fueled by biomass (wood from thinning operations, farming waste, and so on). Because it is an external-combustion engine, fuel gasification is not necessary, and heat exhaust from combustion of woody biomass, etc. can be used directly, reducing equipment costs. • Compact and eco-friendly The external-combustion engine has several environmental benefits, including low noise and vibrations and low emissions of NOx. Using high pressure hydrogen as the working gas yields exceptional compactness and efficiency. • Engine output in 50 kW class The engine's ability to generate power with available heat sources and fuels can be applied to a number of needed applications. The use of several engines in parallel can generate up to several hundred kilowatts of energy.