Fuel cells are becoming more common as energy sources in buildings and in vehicles such as buses, trucks etc,. Especially powering the refrigeration units in trucks and shipping containers are quite attractive. Two leading fuel cell manufacturers, Massachusetts-based Nuvera and Albany, N.Y.-based Plug Power Inc., each receives $650,000 from DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to develop a system for refrigeration units in trucks. Nuvera jointly works with Thermo King, a manufacturer of transport temperature control systems for a variety of mobile applications, to develop the refrigeration unit to keep the truck cool using Nuvera's Orion™ fuel cell stack. And the Plug Power works with Carrier Transicold and Air Products to equip trucks making deliveries for a Sysco Corp. food distribution facility on Long Island. The trucks are equipped with Plug Power's GenDrive fuel cell product. Each fuel-cell powered refrigerated trailer are targeted to run for at least 400 hours at each demonstration site, delivering goods from the distribution centers to stores or other outlets.

For further details, PNNL News Center, http://www.pnnl.gov/news