Energy International, Inc. &
EPRI - © Electric Power Research Institute - California
Stirling Engine Assessment - October 2002REPORT SUMMARY
Stirling engines are reciprocating engines that are fueled by an external heat source. This report presents a summary of the technical trends, commercialization status, and economic viability of Stirling engine technology for distributed generation (DG) applications.
Background EPRI strives to provide its utility members with information about emerging DG technologies that may offer new business opportunities and attractive customer solutions. While fuel cells and microturbines have received a majority of the recent focus, Stirling engine technology is beginning to receive more attention as a viable—and potentially competitive—DG option.
Objectives To document the state of the art in the commercial development of Stirling engine technology for DG applications as of June 2002.
Approach The information in this report was obtained through research consisting of literature and web based searches and telephone interviews with nineteen companies worldwide that are involved in the development and/or sales of Stirling engine technology.
Results Recent interest in distributed generation has sparked new activity in the Stirling industry; however, only a single commercially available distributed generation product based on the Stirling engine has emerged thus far. Numerous companies are striving to bring a wide array of Stirling products to market for a breadth of applications. Most popular are products planned for residential combined-heat and power applications and small-commercial DG, particularly where “free” or “inexpensive” fuels are readily available.
Several Stirling companies presently have prototype products available for testing and demonstration. These systems range in size from 1 to 25 kW and vary widely in price from $2,000 to $36,000/kW. Through economies of scale, most Stirling developers ultimately plan to decrease the selling price of their products to less than $1,000/kW.
