Jul. 1--COLONIE -- Union College will be the guinea pig for a new combined heat-and-power fuel cell in development by Plug Power Inc.

The units are considered the holy grail for fuel-cell manufacturers like Plug because they are designed to replace boilers in homes and small businesses and also generate electricity.

The machines convert natural gas to hydrogen to create power. Since the systems achieve temperatures as high as 180 degrees Celsius, they also generate heat that can be used to warm homes and water.

Union will use the 5-kilowatt system, known as GenSys, at its Beuth House residence hall. Plug spokeswoman Teal Vivacqua said the college wants the system in place before students return to the Schenectady campus in August.

"They're over there working as we speak," she said.

Latham-based Plug is undertaking the demonstration project in conjunction with National Grid, the dominant gas and electric utility in the region. National Grid must connect a gas pipe to the fuel cell and oversee other aspects of the project, which also involves the U.S. Department of Energy. DOE and National Grid plan to test the feasibility of the system.

The Plug-National Grid partnership was first announced in November.

Plug previously developed a combined heat-and-power fuel cell system that never got off the ground. But it has since revamped the technology, which Plug believes could lead to profitability in the future.

"The technology that is being used in this fuel cell has been in development for 10 years," Vivacqua said. "The technology has developed."

She said Beuth House is home to about two dozen students, but it's unclear at this point if the fuel cell will provide all the electricity needed in the residence hall. The house will keep its existing boiler, which would be used as a back-up system.

Plug has said in the past that GenSys can reduce home energy costs by 20 percent to 40 percent.

The fuel cell project will also have an educational angle, with sixth and seventh graders from Ballston Spa Central School District visiting the site next week.

Plug Chief Executive Officer Andy Marsh has said he hopes GenSys will drive revenue in the future. Currently, the company's best-selling product is a fuel cell for fork lift trucks, although the home market is much bigger.

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