Delphi Set to Show Feasibility of Clean, Large-Scale Power Production By Using Gasified Coal to Power a SECA Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

TROY, Mich., May 21, 2003 -- In June 2003, Delphi Corp. will demonstrate a unique innovation by powering its Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) Generation-2 solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) using gaseous fuel extracted from coal.

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The demonstration will take place at the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF) coal-gasification plant in Wilsonville, Alabama. To advance coal-based power systems, the PSDF was established by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Southern Company manages and operates the facility and provides co-funding in conjunction with DOE and other industrial partners.

This demonstration effort that tests whether gas extracted from coal can be effectively used in a fuel cell to generate electricity will be conducted under Delphi's existing cooperative agreement with the DOE's office of Fossil Energy/National Energy Technology Laboratory.

The SECA fuel cell should enable the economical co-production of hydrogen and electricity from coal with near zero emissions. It is a critical component of DOE's Office of Fossil Energy "FutureGen" initiative that is a key part of the President's Hydrogen Fuel Program.

"Most SOFCs need fuel that is low in contaminants. Fuel purity is an issue, and this is especially true for fuel from coal. Gas cleanup processes will also be tested at the PSDF," says Dr. Jean Botti, chief technologist, Delphi's Dynamics and Propulsion Innovation Center. "Since coal is an abundant resource in the U.S., showing that a fuel cell can produce electricity from gasified coal at a competitive cost would mean that the U.S. would become less dependent on energy imports. After the demonstration, which explores what's possible with this process, further R&D could prove-out the reliability and effectiveness of high-power output from the fuel cell using gasified coal."

Delphi has been developing fuel-cell technology for the past 10 years and is a leader among industry-wide efforts to bring fuel-cell technology to the marketplace. This development effort involves the 10-year, $138 million, cooperative agreement with the National Energy Technology Laboratory discussed above. The objective of the agreement is to produce and test a SECA SOFC power-unit design that can be mass produced at low cost. This coal-gas demonstration will be conducted under this development project.

Delphi's development activities have concentrated on the progress of SOFCs that generate auxiliary electric power for passenger, commercial and military applications. Units are being designed to provide baseline power for mobile applications and generate from 1kW to 25kW of power for stationary distributed generation while simultaneously reducing fuel consumption, emissions and noise.

Delphi is ahead of schedule in meeting the DOE's SECA cost and performance criteria for SOFC technology, and leads the way for making them viable for the commercial market.

For more information about Delphi and its operating subsidiaries, visit Delphi's Media Room at www.delphi.com/media .

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