Iberdrola, through its subsidiary Avangrid, has put into service its first fuel cell-powered network in the city of Woodbridge, Connecticut. It is a pilot project that guarantees the supply of electricity to key services, such as the police or firemen, in emergency situations. It also contributes to increasing the penetration of renewable sources.
The population of Woodbridge suffers severe storms periodically, in which it is not uncommon for conventional power supply to be interrupted. To prevent these blackouts from affecting basic services, Iberdrola has installed the first micro-grid powered by a US fuel cell and has received a grant of 3 million dollars, some 2.6 million euros at the current exchange rate.
If a conventional battery only stores energy, a fuel cell produces it with a chemical reaction from an input. This input, which can be electricity, which is why it is also susceptible to storage, becomes hydrogen, which in turn reacts with oxygen or another oxidant.
