Jan 31 2006
Fuel cells supply electricity and heat – this is why the environmentally-friendly power packs are ideal for the supply of residential or office buildings. Together with the Heinz-Piest Institute for Trades Technology at the University of Hannover and L-B-Systemtechnik GmbH in Ottobrunn, the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research is examining what consequences this has for trades. Even if fuel cells are not expected to appear in greater numbers in cellars and basements until the end of the decade, trade firms should deal with this issue now if they want to profit from the new technology. "Otherwise there is the danger that the energy utilities will take business away from them", warns ISI project leader Frank Marscheider-Weidemann.
Currently the energy utilities are leading the field tests because surplus electricity from the fuel cells is being fed into the public grid. Because such installations also produce heat, however, the lucrative market of heating systems could dwindle for trades' firms as a result. This could lead to lost jobs. Firms could counter this, however, and even gain jobs, according to Marscheider-Weidemann. The prerequisite for this is that trades' firms develop new business models.
One such possibility is contracting which is already being practised by energy suppliers today in modern cogeneration plants. Here, the final customer no longer has to worry about purchasing and operating the plant, but only pays for the heat and power. For trades' firms, such models are still new and can only be realised if firms are prepared to work together and unite in consortiums. But the Fraunhofer ISI recommends that the sector should not wait to do so until fuel cell technology has been introduced. Today's motor-driven cogeneration systems already offer interesting contracting opportunities for small firms.
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