The Heliocentris hydrogen PEM fuel cell system ensures an emergency power supply to the council’s entire administration IT system for several hours in the case of a grid blackout.

A conventional uninterruptible power supply (UPS), with lead batteries, is not capable of providing power for long bridging periods. Meiningen City Council has now opted for an innovative solution, in which hydrogen fuel cell technology ensures extended backup times as well as low noise levels.

The Heliocentris Nexa 1200 fuel cell system is used in Meiningen in a hybridized form with lithium-ion batteries. The Nexa units are integrated in a cascaded form, which demonstrates the flexibility with which the Nexa 1200 can be used.

A total of eight 1.2 kW systems are connected to create a total power capacity of just under 10 kW. The new UPS solution is being used as an indoor application, and demonstrates the cascaded fuel cell systems in connection with the UPS power electronics.

A special feature of the project is the installation of this innovative technology in the City Council headquarters, the historic Schloss Elisabethenburg building.

The Meiningen system is one of the last to be installed as part of the industrial field test for the Nexa 1200. The field test, which is being carried out between 2010 and 2012, is being supported by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS) as part of its National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP), which is coordinated by NOW GmbH in Berlin.