DOE, Sprint partner on rooftop hydrogen fuel cells

January 28, 2014 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

With financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Sprint will deploy hydrogen fuel cell technology as backup power to rooftop network sites, allowing for lower network site maintenance and cleaner network energy sources and increasing network survivability during power outages.

This is not the first time Sprint and the DOE have come together to deploy hydrogen fuel cells. Sprint pioneered the introduction of fuel cell technology to ground-based networks in 2005. In 2009, the DOE provided a $7.3 million grant for Sprint to support fuel cell technology advances. Rooftop cell sites comprise almost 25 percent of Sprint's total network locations for which fuel cells have not been an option for fuel cell deployment until now. As much as 30 percent of total network cell sites are located on rooftops in some major metropolitan areas.

"We are excited to once again partner with the DOE to bring a new fuel cell technology solution to the market," said Bob Azzi, chief network officer at Sprint. "To date, we've deployed approximately 500 hydrogen fuel cells in our network. This technology will provide backup power for our network and could extend to other industries as well."

Although still in development, the technology could enable innovative approaches to promote rooftop fuel cell deployments. For example, a modular and lightweight fuel cell solution that can be easily installed without heavy cranes, and can be refueled from the ground, overcoming the need to transport fuel to rooftops.

Hydrogen fuel cells provide a much cleaner alternative to diesel-powered backup generators, a common solution with negative outcomes such as increasing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), increased risk of ground contaminants, and higher maintenance costs.

The hydrogen fuel cell solution is expected to begin installations by the end of 2014.

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http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/doe-sprint-partner-rooftop-hydrogen-fuel-cells/2014-01-28