The Philippines telecom company to deploy fuel cell technology
The fuel cell initiative is expected to promote fuel cell technology in the country.
Smart Telecommunication, a subsidiary of PLDT Inc., has commissioned SerEnergy, a Denmark-based renewable energy company, to deploy fuel cell technology this year, H2Bulletin reports.
SerEnergy, will install over 90 green cell sites using its methanol-based fuel cell solutions to power the sites. Mario Tamayo, PLDT and Smart SVP for Network Planning and Engineering, said, “Smart’s transition to green energy places the company upfront as one of the pioneers in its industry.”
The Filipino government decided last year to stop allowing new permit for building new coal power plants, encouraging companies to drive towards cleaner energy sources. Smart, which serves around 95% of the country’s cities and municipalities, plans to transition to environment-friendly solutions. The company is employing fuel cell technology as a part of its ‘Live Smarter for a Better World’ campaign, promoting sustainable and positive actions.
Besides the environmental benefits, fuel cell-powered sites are more cost-effective than existing technologies, while methanol is more cost-effective than gasoline and diesel. SerEnergy fuel cell uses a pre-mix consisting of 60 % methanol and 40 % demineralised and de-ionised water. The liquid fuel is then reformed on-site to produce hydrogen for fuel cells to generate electricity.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, today (22nd March), SFC Energy AG, a supplier of hydrogen and direct methanol fuel cells suppliers, together with Toyota Tsusho, brings hydrogen and direct methanol fuel cell systems around the EFOY series to other Southeast Asian markets. Toyota Tsusho will now sell the units exclusively in Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and China. The long-term goal is to further develop the markets in Southeast Asia and China with a joint team of experts to achieve a sales volume of around € 100 million by 2025.
Early this year, the Philippines Department of Energy and Australia’s Star Scientific Ltd signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities for converting the country’s coal-based power stations with Star Scientific’s Hero technology uses hydrogen and oxygen to produce heat and water without combustion.
In 2019, Israel’s GenCell Energy opened its showroom in Binan, Philippines, where it also installed its first GenCell G5 fuel cell. It also made a partnership with an IT company Amorele Technology, Inc., to help GenCell accelerate its fuel cell adoption across the Philippines. In November 2019, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) organised the Toyota Hybrid Electric Vehicle Drive Expo, which displayed Toyota Mirai, a fuel cell electric vehicle.
