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    ABB, GenCell deliver Hydrogen-based Generator backup for Israeli Medical Center

    May 26, 2022
    Even momentary delays between grid and generator can cause medical equipment to malfunction. In response, ABB and GenCell developed a bespoke solution which incorporates GenCell fuel cell modules and ABB’s advanced UPS technology
    Image credit ABB
    Hospital Image 628fdc21b0e95

    Hospitals and other mission critical facilities have relied on diesel-powered generators in emergency situations for many decades. You couldn’t beat the backup reliability.

    Nowadays many gen-sets are running on natural gas to achieve lower emissions. In Israel, the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center has taken it an energy transition step further by converting to a unique hydrogen-based Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) system.

    This fuel-cell technology promises to bring down greenhouse gases even further, as hydrogen does not emit carbon when burned. ABB partnered with GenCell to install what they call the first H2-fired backup power solution for a hospital in the nation.

    Before installing the system, an energy cost analysis revealed that the hospital’s diesel generators had only limited capacity. Even momentary delays between grid and generator can cause medical equipment to malfunction.

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    In response, ABB and GenCell developed a bespoke solution which incorporates GenCell fuel cell modules and ABB’s advanced UPS technology to form the hydrogen-based stationary power system. Located in Hadera, the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center serves a population of 450,000.

    ““As grid related power failures continue to expose hospitals to financial risk and reputational damage, it has never been more important to build resilience,” Cas Rosenberg, who handles power protection business development at ABB, said. “Moving to a GenCell hydrogen-powered backup solution, the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center now has a reliable power supply 24/7 which will keep patients safe, decarbonize its operations and reduce costs to operate. This landmark project signifies a crucial step forward, as medical facilities and other public sectors contemplate hydrogen as a future fuel source.”

    Following the success of the initial installation, Hillel Yaffe Medical Center plans to install additional units to backup other critical medical equipment. This forms part of the center’s wider ambition to create its own microgrid to reduce its reliability on the national grid and build resilience in an increasingly volatile energy landscape.

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    (Rod Walton, senior editor for EnergyTech, is a 14-year veteran of covering the energy industry both as a newspaper and trade journalist. He can be reached at [email protected]).

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    About the Author

    Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

    For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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