Rentech and Fuel Cell Energy Agree to Study Sand Creek Fuel Cell Plant

Rentech Inc. (Denver, CO) has signed a memorandum with FuelCell Energy Inc. (Danbury, CT) to immediately begin a feasibility study for the siting of a 9,000kW commercial scale fuel cell power plant at the Sand Creek Energy LLC (SCE, Commerce City, CO).

Rentech plans to convert the existing methanol plant at Sand Creek into a gas-to-liquids facility capable of producing from 800 to 1,000 barrels per day of high-value fuels and products. Sand Creek will demonstrate Rentech's GTL and FuelCell Energy's fuel cell technologies at a commercial scale. GTL fuels contain no sulfur, aromatic compounds or metals that can contaminate a fuel cell stack. GTL also contains twice as much hydrogen as other potential liquid fuel cell feedstocks, including methanol.

The joining of the two technologies will provide a clean power that will prove most applicable when local conditions require little or no harmful emissions. These areas put into effect “the island power concept," where an adequate supply of sulfur-free natural gas may not be available at a reasonable cost.