Bobcat installs HyAxiom fuel cells at North Dakota facilities

The stationary fuel cells will supply a majority of the annual power and heat needs of the Bismarck facility and about half the needs of the Gwinner facility. (Photo: Bobcat Company)

Bobcat Company, a global provider of compact equipment and worksite solutions, has enhanced two of its North Dakota manufacturing facilities with the installation of 14 HyAxiom PureCell M400 stationary natural gas-powered fuel cells. The units are the first commercial installations of stationary fuel cells in the state.

The PureCell M400 from HyAxiom Inc., a Doosan Group company, is a proprietary phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) that can use natural gas, hydrogen, LPG or a blend of fuels to produce rapidly deployable baseload electricity and heat. The units feature load-following capabilities, providing the ability to switch between grid-connected and grid independent modes and facilitating ease of accessibility to reliable and clean electricity, the company stated.

Three fuel cells have been installed at Bobcat’s Bismarck facility and 11 units are installed at the Gwinner location. The recently commissioned fuel cells will operate in parallel with the commercial power grid while producing clean energy for the facilities’ operations. They will supply a majority of the annual power and heat needs of the Bismarck facility and about half the needs of the Gwinner facility, Bobcat noted.

In Bismarck, Bobcat is able to provide power back to the grid as a registered power producer, reducing the demand on Bismarck energy and facilitating grid resiliency. The usable heat produced by the fuel cells will also enable Bobcat to reduce its overall energy use by eliminating two boilers previously required to produce heat on its paint line.

The project is owned and operated by DESA Service LLC, a subsidiary of Doosan Energy Solutions America Inc.