Domestic fuel cells could be available to the mass market in as little as five years, according to British Gas.

The fuel cells create electricity and heat through an electro-chemical reaction.

The UK’s largest energy supplier has entered into a partnership with Ceres Power who has developed a fuel cell that can run on natural gas. This makes it suitable for use by British Gas’ 14.5m domestic customers with gas central heating systems.

“Making green energy is a core part of our strategy,” confirms Dominic Shorrocks, director of new business at British Gas Home Services. “This technology will be like having a mini power station in the kitchen and could help our customers save money.”

The fuel cell is about the size of a wafer thin CD case. Groups of these can be stacked together and then used to replace the burner unit in a domestic boiler, providing heating and hot water as well as generating electricity. Early estimates put the power output of a 150 mm stack of cells at 1 kW of electricity, enough to power a TV, computer, fridge and lights.

British Gas’ role is to provide expertise on the specification, design and components of the new generation boiler as well as an insight into its customer needs. It is hoped that the partnership will accelerate the final product development, field testing and market roll-out of the system.

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