ish Power
FIGURE 6.8 Top Global Wind Operators by Capacity in 2006 (in Megawatts)Source: European Wind Energy Association, “Focus on Industry: New Players onBoard,” Wind Directions, March–April 2007, p. 44, http://www.ewea.org/ﬁleadmin/ewea documents/documents/publications/WD/2007 march/WD0703-focus.pdf.
specializes in low-emissions power generation. As of the end of 2006,FPL Energy was the world’s largest owner/operator of wind power capacity. As of mid-2007, FPL Energy had 14 wind power farms in variousareas of the United States.90 Wind constitutes 30 percent of FPL’s totalpower production portfolio, second only to natural gas (49 percent ofthe portfolio).91 FPL Energy also happens to be the largest generatorof solar power in the United States using trough-based thermal concentrating solar power.92 FPL Energy’s parent company, FPL Group, alsoowns Florida Power and Light.r Iberdrola SA (Madrid: IBE SM). Iberdrola (www.Iberdrola.es) isSpain’s second largest power company and operates elsewhere inEurope and in the Americas. Iberdrola recently made two big acquisitions that allowed Iberdrola to leapfrog FPL Energy into the position as the world’s largest wind power producer for 2007. In early2007, Iberdrola acquired Scottish Power (formerly London: SPW LN)for $24 billion, which was the world’s fifth largest wind power producer before the acquisition. Scottish Power in turn owned PPM Energy (www.ppmenergy.com), a large power utility based in Portland,Oregon that is the second largest wind operator in the United States.Iberdrola in 2007 also announced the acquisition of Energy East, an
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American power and gas company with about 3 million customers inthe northeastern United States, for $4.5 billion.93r Acciona SA (Madrid: ANA SM). Acciona (www.acciona.com) is a largeSpanish infrastructure construction company that also has holdingsin real estate and energy. Acciona operates in 10 countries acrossEurope and North America.94 The company is the world’s largest windpower construction company, having built over 163 wind parks for itself and customers.95 The company itself owns 126 wind parks, representing 3.133 gigawatts of capacity. Acciona, at the end of 2006, had700 megawatts of wind park projects under construction and another 8gigawatts in development. Recently, Acciona acquired 1.3 gigawatts ofwind energy assets from EcoEnergy, LLC, a unit of the Morse Group,to increase its operations in the U.S. market.96r Babcock & Brown Ltd (Australia: BNB AU). Babcock & Brown(www.babcockbrown.com) is an Australian global investment and advisory firm that finances and operates renewable energy projects under its infrastructure division. In 2005, it acquired Enersis, a Europeanrenewable energy company. Babcock & Brown has plans to developaround 3 gigawatts of wind energy capacity for 2007–2011.97
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CHAPTER 7
Fuel CellsPresent and Accounted for inSome Applications Already
he “hydrogen economy” based on fuel cells has been promised formany years as the answer to the world’s energy problems. However,it is taking so long for fuel cells to get to an economical and massmarket stage that many people have become disillusioned with them. Infact, the stock prices for fuel cell companies have been in the doldrumsover the past several years, reflecting this disillusionment.While the viability is questionable for some fuel cell applicationssuch as vehicles, fuel cells are already competing in the power backupmarket every day with incumbent battery technologies. It is thereforeimportant to explain the different types of fuel cell technologies and applications in order to better assess the prospects for investing in fuel cellcompanies.A fuel cell is simply an electricity generation device that uses hydrogenas a feedstock, along with oxygen from the air, to produce electricity. Thefuel cell releases only water and heat as byproducts and releases no gases,greenhouse or otherwise. Fuel cells possess many key advantages, including high efficiency, quiet operation, and clean operation with no greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, fuel cells can be used in a wide rangeof applications, including small electronic devices, vehicle transportation,building power and backup, and utility-grade power generation. The maindisadvantages are cost and how to supply the hydrogen fuel. The followingis a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of fuel cells.
T
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ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGESOF FUEL CELLSAdvantagesr No pollution. Fuel cells use only hydrogen and oxygen as inputs anddispel only water and heat, which are all natural elements. No pollutionmeans that fuel cells are not only good for the environment but alsothat it can be safely used indoors—for example, to power forklifts inwarehouses or to power computer rooms.r Greater efficiency. Energy efficiency is defined as the percentage ofenergy that can be extracted from a given fuel source and turned intoelectricity.1 High temperature fuel cells have efficiencies ranging from32 percent to 47 percent.2 Low temperature fuel cells have a muchwider range of efficiencies, from 25 percent to 60 percent,3 dependingon the specific variety and application.r Backup and distributed power. A building owner can install a fuelcell at a building site (outside or inside), thus providing an electricity generation source that is independent of the grid. This protects thefuel cell owner from grid fluctuations and blackouts and also from therising price of electricity.r Cogeneration as an enhancement to efficiency. High temperature fuelcells generate a lot of heat as a byproduct. Cogeneration refers to capturing and using this heat. This greatly increases the energy efficiencies associated with high temperature fuel cells, which can achieveefficiency rates of nearly 85 percent.4r Silent technology. Fuel cells operate silently, which means they do notcause noise pollution and that they are suitable for use indoors and inresidential areas outdoors.r Remote operation. Fuel cells can run independently in remote locations off-grid with only hydrogen provided as a fuel, which provides asource of electricity where the grid may not be available.r Electricity can be stored. Fuel cells allow for energy to be storedand reserved for later use. Excess electricity can be used to create hydrogen through electrolysis, and that hydrogen can then bestored and used later by the fuel cell when the electricity is neededagain.
Disadvantagesr High cost. Fuel cell technology for some applications (though not all)is still in the developmental stage. Production costs at various stagesneed to be significantly reduced before large-scale manufacturing canoccur. In addition, the construction of a fuel cell can use expensive
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materials, some of which, such as platinum, are actually getting moreexpensive.5r Hydrogen production, delivery and storage. Hydrogen is not easy orinexpensive to produce, store, or transport. Hydrogen gas in its pureform is flammable and requires special handling. Hydrogen gas is alsovery light and must be compressed for transportation and storage.r Production of hydrogen can pollute. Hydrogen used in fuel cells can beproduced through two processes: electrolysis (splitting of water intohydrogen and oxygen) or reformation of hydrocarbons such as naturalgas. Electrolysis is pollution-free, but is still prohibitively expensivetoday. Reformation of hydrocarbons such as natural gas, which is themain technology used at present, pollutes the environment through therelease of CO2 , although the pollution is less than burning the hydrocarbons since hydrogen reformation is a more efficient process.r Perceptions on reliability, durability and safety. Fuel cells are a newtechnology so their reliability and durability have not been statistically proven, though some claim 99.9999 percent reliability.6 Long-termreliability records are limited to the relatively few devices currently inoperation, which are mostly in controlled environments and not exposed to real world problems.7 There are also questions regarding thesafety of hydrogen as a fuel, since it can be extremely flammable whenproduced at high purity and concentration levels.
WHAT IS A FUEL CELL? OVERVIEWOF THE TECHNOLOGYAs mentioned earlier, a fuel cell converts hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, releasing only water and heat as byproducts. There are no moving parts in a fuel cell and nothing is burned. As can be seen in Figure7.1, an anode is used to split hydrogen atoms into positively and negatively charged parts, which are then sent across to the cathode throughdifferent paths. The negatively charged electrons generate electricity, andwhen the hydrogen molecules are combined with oxygen at the cathode,water and heat are produced. This book’s companion Web site at www.ProfitingFromCleanEnergy.com has a link to a video from Ballard Energydemonstrating how a fuel cell works.
Types of Fuel CellsThe different types of fuel cells can be classified by two attributes: (1) thetemperature at which the fuel cell operates; and (2) whether the fuel cell
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e−e−
FuelAnode Catalyst
From air
e−e−
H+
H2
O2
e−e−Electric Circuit
H+H+PolymerElectrolyteMembrane
H+
O2
O2
O2H+Cathode Catalyst
H2OExhaust
FIGURE 7.1 The internal working of a Fuel CellSource: Reprinted by permission and courtesy of Fuel Cells 2000 (www.fuelcells.org)and the U.S. Department of Energy.
is supplied directly with hydrogen or with an intermediate fuel supply thatcontains hydrogen.Operating Temperature: A Tradeoff Fuel cells operate in a range oftemperatures, which can be classified as low (under 300◦ F) or high (from300◦ F to over 1,800◦ F). Low temperature fuel cells are suitable for microelectronic devices, vehicles, and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).High-temperature cells are suitable for stationary energy production, auxiliary power units (APU), megawatt and multimegawatt power productionsuch as power grid support or wastewater treatment plants.High temperature cells typically have lower operating costs becausethey operate with higher fuel efficiency and because they can take advantage of cogeneration (use of waste heat) to produce even more electricity. Low temperature fuel cells cannot take advantage of cogeneration, butthey can still achieve higher energy efficiencies than conventional energysources. High temperature fuel cells also require less stringent hydrogenpurity requirements, which reduce their operating costs. Low temperaturecells, by contrast, contain more sensitive materials that need very pure hydrogen, and very pure oxygen as well in some cases, so as not to damagethe equipment. High temperature fuel cells can also be manufactured withcheaper metals such as nickel. On the other hand, low temperature fuelcells, due to their sensitivity, need to be manufactured with more expensive components such as platinum.
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While high temperature fuel cells have lower operating costs, they arefar more expensive to manufacture in total and they have several practicallimitations to their use. First, exposure to extreme temperature variationscauses damage to the equipment, meaning it is not practical to turn hightemperature fuel cells on and off. This renders high temperature fuel cellsunusable for certain applications, such as vehicles. In general, high temperature fuel cells can only be used for utility or industrial purposes. Second,high temperatures may speed up corrosion of the fuel cells, which meansthey have a shorter life span than low temperature fuel cells.Hydrogen: Internal Production or External Reformer? Hydrogen is the main input fuel for fuel cells. Hydrogen is the most abundant element on earth, but hydrogen does not exist alone in nature and needs to beextracted from other compounds such as water (H2 0) or hydrocarbons likenatural gas (CH4 ) or methanol (CH3 OH). In a fuel cell, the hydrogen can bedelivered in a pure form from an external source straight into the fuel cell’sexternal reformer. The other approach is to have a hydrogen extraction device (internal reformer) attached to the fuel cell unit. That allows the unitto use natural gas or methanol (rather than pure hydrogen), which the fuelcell’s internal reformer then turns into the necessary hydrogen. The choiceof which delivery system to use depends on a variety of factors.
Classification of Fuel CellsTable 7.1 classifies the various types of fuel cell technologies by the twocharacteristics explained in the previous section, that is, temperature andhydrogen reformer type. As mentioned, the “external reformer” fuel cellsrequire the delivery of hydrogen, while “internal reformers” use intermediate products such as natural gas or methanol.TABLE 7.1 Classiﬁcation of Fuel Cell Types
InternalProduction ofHydrogen
High Temperature
Low Temperature
MCFC (Molten Carbonate FuelCell)
DMFC (Direct Methanol FuelCell)
SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell)
DLFC (Direct Liquid FuelCell)ZAFC (Zinc-Air Fuel Cell)
PCFC (Protonic Ceramic FuelCell)
RFC (Regenerative Fuel Cell)External Reformerof Hydrogen
PAFC (Phosphoric Acid FuelCell)
PEM (Proton ExchangeMembrane)AFC (Alkaline Fuel Cell)
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FIGURE 7.2 PEM Fuel Cell: Remote ApplicationSource: Plug Power, “Fuel Cell Systems,” http://www.plugpower.com/technology/overview.cfm.
PEM Fuel CellsPEM stands for proton exchange membrane or polymer electrolyte membrane. The PEM fuel cell is typically used for smaller scale uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and for remote power for instrumentsor lighting (see Figure 7.2). The UPS systems based on PEM fuel cellshave higher reliability than other types of UPS systems, but the PEMbased UPS systems are also a bit more expensive than competing battery technologies.PEM-based fuel cells are also the type of fuel cell that is usually placed invehicles. The commercialization of fuel-cell powered vehicles is stilla long way away, after 2015 according to the Department of Energy(DOE).8 Furthermore, PEM cells require an external reformer of hydrogen, meaning that a suitable hydrogen delivery and refueling system needs to be present to provide fuel for the vehicles.Ballard Power Systems (Nasdaq: BLDP) is involved in the developmentof PEM cells for transportation, while Plug Power (Nasdaq: PLUG)
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FIGURE 7.3 Direct Methanol Fuel CellSource: Toshiba, “Toshiba’s Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Oﬃcially Certiﬁed as World’sSmallest by Guinness World Records”, Press Releases 28 February 2005, http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2005 02/pr2801.htm.
and Hydrogenics (Nasdaq: HYGS) lead the development of using PEMbased fuel cells for the UPS power backup market.DMFC and DLFC Fuel CellsDirect methanol and direct liquid fuel cells, as pictured in Figure 7.3,are small, low-temperature fuel cells that are on the verge of beingcommercialized for use in microelectronic devices and portable powersupplies that can supply electricity for a camping trip, to rechargecell phones on-the-go, or to be carried by the military to power theirincreasing amount of electrical equipment. These fuel cells are idealcandidates for built-in, long-lasting “batteries” for small electronic devices such as cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), or laptop computers. They can be disposable or rechargeable. They can berechargeable with the replacement of the methanol or fueling liquid,although this presents somewhat of a challenge in terms of designand consumer usage. Toshiba (Tokyo: 6502 JP), Medis Technologies(Nasdaq: MDTL) and Mechanical Technology (Nasdaq: MKTY) workwith these types of fuel cells.MCFC Fuel CellsMolten carbonate fuel cells operate at temperatures ranging from 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit to 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit (see Figure 7.4). Theycontain an internal reformer of hydrogen, thus they can work with almost any hydrogen-based fuel, including natural gas, propane, landfill gas (methane), and synthetic coal gasification products.9 Due totheir high efficiency and large output capacity, they are used asbackup power for the megawatt market, which comprises large hotels,
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FIGURE 7.4 Molten Carbonate Fuel CellSource: FuelCell Energy, “Direct Fuel Cells—About the Technology,” Webhttp://www.fce.com/site/products/about.html.
hospitals, and wastewater treatment facilities. These fuel cells are themain candidates to supply the multimegawatt market, which includesbackup power for central-station power grids. They are still expensiveto produce, but research continues on trying to cut costs to more competitive levels. FuelCell Energy (Nasdaq: FCEL) is the main companythat works with molten carbonate fuel cells.
FUEL CELL INDUSTRY ANALYSIS:INDUSTRY PLAYERSTable 7.2 presents a table with the larger U.S.-listed fuel cell companies,ranked by market capitalization. A quick glance at the table shows thatall of the fuel cell companies are burning large amounts of cash. Most ofthe companies have partnerships or agreements with other companies todevelop fuel cell technology toward specific applications, such as telecommunications or transportation, and U.S. government subsidies and taxbreaks are critical for them to be cost-competitive.
r Plug Power (Nasdaq: PLUG): The fuel cell industry is moving into thecommercialization stage in some niche markets. For example, Plug
Nasdaq: BLDPNasdaq: FCELNasdaq: MDTLNasdaq: PLUGNasdaq: HYGSNasdaq: MKTYNasdaq: DESC
Ballard Power SystemsFuelCell EnergyMedis TechnologiesPlug PowerHydrogenicsMechanical TechnologyDistributed Energy Systems
$560$530$490$265$115$55$35
Market Cap
$49.8$33.3$0.2$7.8$30.1$7.7$45.1
Revenues
($37.4)($72.4)($24.0)($55.3)($32.6)($11.9)($52.5)
EBITDA
($181.1)($76.1)($33.0)($50.3)($130.8)($13.7)($53.4)
Net Income (Loss)
($42.7)($48.4)($22.9)($46.1)($24.5)($12.7)($21.8)
Cash Flow from Operations
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Source: Company ﬁnancial statements (data as of June 2007).
Symbol
Company
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TABLE 7.2 U.S. Fuel Cell Companies: Selected Financial Data, 2006 (in USD millions)
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Power has already delivered over 650 PEM-based fuel-cell power systems worldwide that have logged some 2.6 million operating hours,according to the company. Plug Power’s GenCore system is a UPSbackup system that is targeted at large telecom and utility customers.GenCore can be customized, and has already been evaluated andpurchased by companies including Verizon Communications. PlugPower’s fuel-cell-based UPS system is competing with legacy batteryand generator UPS technologies. The company has development agreements with many firms, including General Electric and Honda.Plug Power burned $46 million in cash on operations in 2006 onrevenues of only $7.8 million.10 However, Plug Power in June 2006received a $270 million cash infusion from Smart Hydrogen, a partnership between the world’s largest nickel-and-palladium-producerNorilsk Nickel and the Russian private investment firm Interros. SmartHydrogen made the investment after carefully reviewing all players inthe fuel cell industry. This cash infusion reduced Plug Power’s financing risk and allowed it to accelerate its path to profitability and broadenits product lines and target customer base.r Medis Technologies (Nasdaq: MDTL): Micro fuel cells for use withportable electronic devices are another application that has a path tomass commercialization. Medis Technologies focuses on this sectorwith its disposable Power Pack charging device, which is based on direct liquid fuel cell (DLFC) technology. The company plans to rampup production from a few hundred Power Packs per month in 2006 to1.5 million per month by 2008. While the firm has big plans, it remainsin start-up mode and hence the risks are high. The company has virtually no revenue and yet has a market cap near $500 million.r Mechanical Technology (Nasdaq: MKTY): Mechanical Technology isanother startup firm targeting the micro fuel cell sector for portableelectronic applications, which uses direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC).Though small, the company has partnerships with large firms, including Samsung, DuPont, and Gillette/Duracell.r Ballard Power Systems (Nasdaq: BLDP): Ballard Power Systems,based in Canada, was an early mover in the transportation PEM fuelcell industry and has perhaps the most recognized brand name in thefuel cell industry. Ballard has partnerships with large auto companiessuch as DaimlerChrysler and Ford. Ballard is a member of the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP), which is an industry research collaboration group focused on fuel cell vehicles. Ballard is also involvedin the cogeneration possibilities that fuel cells have to offer. It is cautiously entering the Japanese residential cogeneration market throughpartnerships with EBARA, Tokyo Gas, and Nippon Oil. Nevertheless,
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Ballard is still heavily involved in research and development and has along road to commercialization and profitability.FuelCell Energy (Nasdaq: FCEL): FuelCell Energy tackles a different market and builds large, stationary, high temperature MCFC systems designed to produce electricity for the megawatt market. It hasalready installed over 60 power stations, generating a total of over 150million kilowatt-hours of electricity. There are significant cost issuesassociated with this technology and FuelCell Energy relies on U.S. government subsidies to be competitive. However, economies of scale dueto increasing order volume, together with ongoing research, are reducing costs each year.Hydrogenics Corp (Nasdaq: HYGS): Hydrogenics Corp, also basedin Canada, is taking a broader view of the fuel cell product market. Hydrogenics sells (1) PEM fuel cells; (2) onsite hydrogen generation systems to provide the hydrogen that fuel cells need to operate(via electrolysis); and (3) fuel cell testing systems to manufacturersand customers who are testing fuel cell prototypes. Hydrogenics hasbeen working on experimental projects with Chevron, Toyota, and theCUTE Project (Clean Urban Transport Europe),11 including prototypesfor fuel cell powered forklifts and buses. It has a close relationship withGM, which in turn owns around one-eighth of the company. Like mostfuel cell companies, Hydrogenics has a high cash burn rate and littlevisibility for a path to profitability.Distributed Energy Systems (Nasdaq: DESC): Distributed EnergySystems operates in several divisions, producing conventional power,fuel cells, and hydrogen (for fuel cell power as well as for laboratoryand industrial uses). The company’s fuel cell division produces PEMfuel cells for backup power systems, with an emphasis on compatibility with renewable sources of energy. It has also been developing regenerative fuel cells (RFCs)12 for applications within the military andaerospace industries (e.g., for satellites). Developing hydrogen fuelingsystems, which are a necessary complement for many fuel cell varieties, is an important area of research for the company.GrafTech International (NYSE: GTI): There is a large marketfor supplying fuel cell manufacturers with specialized materials, andGrafTech International (GTI) has taken the lead in that area. GrafTechmanufactures graphite products for several industrial uses, and has recently begun to make parts for portable, stationary, and transportationoriented fuel cells, including PEM cells. The company’s products areused in 70 percent of fuel cell vehicles and in over 50 percent of fuelcell bus programs worldwide.13 Ballard Power Systems is one of thecompany’s main customers.
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FUEL CELL INDUSTRY TARGET MARKETSFuel cells are on the verge of entering mass production in some niche markets, mainly in the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) market. Large quantities of fuel cells are already being sold into the power backup market forthe telecommunications industry, which is estimated to be a $1.9 billionmarket.14 Motive power, which mainly involves powering forklift and similar material handling trucks, is another niche target market for fuel cells.The motive market is a $1.5 billion market.15 Ballard is already selling prototype units to various customers in the motive power market, with commercialization in view for 2009–2010.Residential cogeneration is a potentially large market, although fornow fuel cell companies are only considering the market in Japan.Ballard’s estimate for Japan’s residential market size is $9 billion a year for2009–2010, taking into account 1.8 million homes.16 However, the commercialization of residential generation is a long way off and intensive researchis still needed to lower costs.Fuel cell production for automotives and fleet vehicles is a potentially huge market. However, the path for its mass production has beenagonizingly slow and mass commercialization is not expected until atleast 2015–2020. The industry still faces significant challenges in termsof technology and cost, including the problems of building a nationwide hydrogen delivery network. This book’s companion Web site atwww.ProfitingFromCleanEnergy.com has links to video demonstrations ofvarious fuel cell vehicles.
COMMERCIALIZATION CHALLENGESHow to Obtain HydrogenHydrogen needs to be separated from other compounds since it does notnormally exist on its own in nature. There are two main types of processes:(1) electrolysis, and (2) reforming of hydrocarbon fuels.Electrolysis is the ideal scenario, where hydrogen is obtained from water in a process that is essentially the reverse from what a fuel cell does.Using electricity, electrolysis separates water into its two parts, hydrogen and oxygen. However, electrolysis cannot be considered completelyclean unless the electricity used for the electrolysis process comes froma zero-carbon renewable electricity generation source such as wind or solar power. The reality today is that electrolysis is expensive and years ofresearch are still necessary to make electrolysis commercially viable as ameans for producing hydrogen.
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Even though electrolysis is currently expensive, it is still necessary forsome applications where customers need pure hydrogen onsite in quantity. There are at least two key companies that manufacture electrolysismachines. Distributed Energy Systems (Nasdaq: DESC) has a HOGEN®electrolysis product line that allows users to produce hydrogen at theirown location with just water and electricity as inputs.17 Teledyne EnergySystems, a subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies (NYSE: TDY), also sells anelectrolysis-based hydrogen generation unit as well as a PEM-based fuelcell product line.18The alternative process for obtaining hydrogen is the reforming of fuels that contain hydrogen through thermochemical processes. These fuelsinclude fossil fuels (e.g., natural gas, coal), alcohol fuels (e.g., methanol,ethanol), carbon-free hydrogen compounds (e.g., ammonia, borohydride),biomass, methane, landfill gas, and anaerobic digester gas from wastewater treatment plants.19 Fuel reforming uses a chemical reaction to extracthydrogen from fuels, but then produces waste products similar to thosedispelled by current fuel burning techniques. Nevertheless, even if hydrogen is obtained through reforming and is then used in a fuel cell, the overallprocess is still a more environmentally friendly method than burning fossil fuels. Cars can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent whenpowered by hydrogen obtained from natural gas reforming, compared withinternal combustion engine vehicles using gasoline.20Steam reforming of natural gas accounts for 95 percent of the hydrogen that is currently produced in the United States.21 The U.S. Departmentof Energy set a goal, which has already been reached, of producing hydrogen for $2.00 to 3.00 per gasoline gallon equivalent (gge)22 for delivered,untaxed hydrogen fuel, measured in 2005 dollars.23 This goal was met in2006 for high scale production, with hydrogen costs in the range of $2.75to $3.50 gge.24 This is a comparable cost to U.S. gasoline prices, which arecurrently near $3 per gallon.25
Hydrogen Delivery CostsAs mentioned earlier, some types of fuel cells require pure hydrogen tobe delivered and loaded into a fuel cell. This is not a big problem for industrial and commercial applications in the backup power and motive marketssince there is already a sales and distribution network for industrial gases.This network can also be expanded