Hydrogen Economy

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Hydrogen Economy
Travis Bayer Energy Law, 2010
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Overview

• Hydrocarbon Economy vs. Hydrogen Economy
• Past excitement vs. Current focus
• Hydrogen Basics
• How we produce it
• How we can use it
• Costs
• The future?

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Current Hydrocarbon Economy

• Fossil Fuels
• Pollution
• Local
• Global
• Energy Dependent
• Cost
• Supply

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What about a different solution?

• Benefits of Hydrogen
• Replace a limited fuel supply
• Security
• Clean?
• Possible safety from cyber-attacks?

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Excitement in early 2000s

• President Bushs Hydrogen Fuel Initiative in 2003
• EPAct of 2005
• 2006 Advanced Energy Initiative
• EISA

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But

• Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu
• We asked ourselves, Is it likely in the next 10
  or 15, 20 years that we will convert to a
  hydrogen car economy?
• The answer, we felt, was No.

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Hydrogen Basics

• Most Abundant Element
• Almost always found in compounds
• E.g. H20
• High specific energy
• An energy carrier, not a form of primary energy

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What we use it for today

• Producing Ammonia for crop fertilizers 60
• Hydrocracking 23
• Methanol 9
• Miscellaneous
• Includes space programs!

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How do we produce Hydrogen?

• Breaking down compounds
• Fossil Fuels
• Water Electrolysis

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Production Fossil Fuels

• 48 Natural Gas, 30 Oil, 18 Coal
• Natural Gas Steam Reforming
• CH4 H2O Energy ? CO 3 H2
• CO H2O ? CO2 H2
• Kvaener-process
• CnHm Energy ? nC 1/2mH2

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Steam Reforming
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Production Water Electrolysis

• Electrical power sources are connected to two
  electrodes which are placed in water
• Anode (oxidation) 2 H2O(l) ? O2(g) 4 H(aq)
  4e-
• Cathode (reduction) 2 H(aq) 2e- ? H2(g)
• Most of the 4 produced by electrolysis is a side
  product in the production of industrial chlorine

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Electrolysis Efficiency

• Consumes about 50kWh of electricity per kg of
  Hydrogen produced
• Energy efficiency is in the range of 50-80

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Renewable Sources and Electrolysis The Carbon
Free Solution?

• Solar
• E.g., Daniel Nocera
• Wind
• E.g., Xcel and NREL

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Green Dream
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Solar

• Under the Recovery Act, Sun Catalytix received 4
  million through ARPA-E
• Claims near 100efficicency

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Wind
Approval Granted in 2007, already making fact
findings
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Hydrogens role in our energy system

• Hydrogen Fuel Cells
• Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine

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Hydrogen Fuel Cells

• Basics
• Different Varieties
• Efficiency
• Possible Uses
• Vehicles
• Stationary Sources

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Fuel Cell Basics

• Electrochemical energy production
• Not exactly like batteries
• Reliable
• 99.999 reliable in ideal conditions
• Basic Design

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Fuel Cell Varieties

• Fuel Cells are defined by the electrolyte used
• Mobile Proton exchange membrane fuel cell
• Stationary PAFC
• Many others

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PEMFC PAFC Diagram
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Fuel Cell Efficiency

• High Theoretical Electrical Output Efficiency
• In practice, about 40-50 efficient
• Compare to practical efficiencies of
• Internal Combustion Engines about 20
• Lithium-ion battery about 90
• Still, a Hydrogen fuel cell requires about 2.5x
  more energy to make it than it provides in its
  service life.

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Fuel Cell Possible Uses

• Vehicles
• No longer US administrations target, but
• Ford Airstream Concept car
• 2008 Honda FCX Clarity

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Fuel Cell Possible Uses

• Stationary Sources
• Cogeneration in Homes and Offices
• Dont need pure hydrogen, and dont use platinum
  in anode
• PAFC fuel cells can provide efficiencies close to
  80
• New focus on SOFC
• Mixed Source plants Renewable Fuel Cell
• Distributed Generation?

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Hydrogen ICE

• Possible, but recall that fuel cells are more
  efficient than combustion engines.

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Costs

• Storage
• Hydrogen Production
• Cell Production
• Distribution
• Bottom line

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Costs Storage

• Liquid H
• Too expensive
• Compressed Gas
• Container issues
• Stored as a chemical hydride
• Absorb in a solid storage material
• Nanotubes?

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Costs Hydrogen Production

• 1 kg of H is roughly equivalent to 1 gallon of
  gasoline
• Baseline cost of water electrolysis is currently
  about 6.25/kg of H
• DOE goal of 3.10 by 2012
• Steam Reformation of Natural Gas is around
  1.50/kg right now
• Highly dependant on natural gas prices

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Costs Fuel Cell Production

• Platinum very expensive
• A commodity, like natural gas, fluctuates in
  price

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Costs Fuel Cell Production

• Cost of most widely deployed stationary fuel
  cells 4,500 per kilowatt
• Cost of diesel generators 800-1,500 per
  kilowatt
• Cost of natural gas 400 per kilowatt
• DOE fuel cell goal 400 per kilowatt
• Cost of automobile fuel cells 61 per kilowatt
• Cost of internal combustion engine 25-35 per
  kilowatt
• DOE fuel cell goal 30 per kilowatt

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Costs Hydrogen Distribution

• Hydrogen Pipelines Refueling Stations
• Embrittlement issues
• Solvable problem
• California Hydrogen Highway
• The Chicken and the egg problem
• GM still thinks feasible
• With governmental incentives
• Happening in other countries

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Where does that leave us?

• Fuel cells in cars?
• GM v. Chu

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DOE Goal

• Lower Fuel Cell Costs to as low as 400 per
  kilowatt by 2020
• Keep in mind, Secretary Chus focus is on
  stationary fuel cells
• EPAct of 2005 tax incentives
• State financial incentives
• State RPS

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Where does that leave us?

• Fuel cells in stationary sources?
• Private and Academic research?
• GM and other automakers pushing towards Hydrogen?
  Can they do that without government support?
• New electrolytes and catalysts that can lower
  costs?

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THE END

• Sources
• NREL
• http//www.nrel.gov/hydrogen/proj_wind_hydrogen_vi
  deo.html
• http//www.nrel.gov/hydrogen/pdfs/47302.pdf
• DOE data
• http//fossil.energy.gov/programs/powersystems/fue
  lcells/index.html
• GM Study http//www.h2andyou.org/pdf/GM-SH20HYDR
  OGEN20INFRA20PAPER.pdf
• Wikipedia http//www.wikipedia.com
• Energy, Economics, and the Environment class
  textbook
• Howstuffworks.com http//auto.howstuffworks.com/f
  uel-efficiency/alternative-fuels/fuel-cell4.htm
• Scientific America http//www.scientificamerican.
  com/blog/post.cfm?idrip-hydrogen-economy-obama-cu
  ts-hyd-2009-05-08
• Fuelcells.org http//www.fuelcells.org/BusinessCa
  seforFuelCells.pdf
• Report to Congress http//www.hydrogen.energy.gov
  /pdfs/epact_743_fuel_cell_school_bus.pdf
• http//www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/f
  uelcells/fc_challenges.html