Tuesday, April 1, 2008 - 9:50 PM

Hawaii Hydrogen Power Park – Keystone to Developing a Hydrogen Economy in Hawaii

Mitch Ewan, Rick Rocheleau, and Severine Busquet. University of Hawaii

With over 90% of its energy system fueled by imported fossil fuels, isolated by over 2,400 miles of ocean from the nearest land mass, and with the highest energy costs in the nation, there is compelling motivation for Hawaii to harness its diverse renewable energy resources to achieve energy self-sufficiency.  Evolving towards a hydrogen economy is one of the potential paths to achieving that goal.  Arguably, Hawaii has, of all the states, the nearest-term potential to evolve towards a renewable hydrogen economy.  The Hawaii Hydrogen Power Park program (Power Park) funded by the US Department of Energy (USDOE) is a critical component in advancing this vision.  Hawaii’s political leadership is critically concerned with Hawaii's energy situation and has developed supportive policies, backed by funding, to advance a hydrogen economy.  The initial focus of this effort is the Big Island which has significant wind, solar and geothermal resources.  

Power Park was established in 2002 in support of USDOE’s Technology Validation Program, to conduct engineering and economic validation of pre-commercial hydrogen technologies.  Power Park is funded by the USDOE through Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s Strategic Industries Division (DBEDT). The University of Hawaii’s Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) serves as the implementing partner and manages development and operation of Power Park activities.

Power Park utilizes renewable sources for the production of hydrogen for a range of stationary and transportation applications.  Under Phase 1 (2002-2005) HNEI conducted testing of major system components including a 12kg/da Stuart TTR225 electrolyzer, and a 5 kW GenCore Plug Power fuel cell power system at its Hawaii Fuel Cell Test Facility in Honolulu.  Under Phase 2 (2005 - 2007) HNEI developed and has initiated operation of an integrated wind-photovoltaic-electrolysis-hydrogen-fuel cell system at Kahua Ranch on the Big Island.  This system is capable of remote operation with data acquisition and control over the internet.   

Under Phase 3, USDOE and the State of Hawaii have committed $1.6 million for development of hydrogen fueling infrastructure on the Big Island. This effort includes hydrogen production utilizing renewable electricity, compression, storage, delivery, and dispensing to hydrogen vehicles. Separately, the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (HAVO) has proposed to acquire from 2 to 5 battery-dominant fuel cell hybrid plug-in shuttle buses.  These vehicles are expected to reduce congestion at the park and to provide a better (quieter and cleaner) visitor experience. The Hawaii Center for Advanced Transportation Technologies (HCATT), which currently manages a hydrogen fueling station for the US Air Force at Hickam Air Force Base on Oahu, has converted several vehicles for fuel cell use and has been identified by HAVO to manage the vehicle conversions.  It is planned to use the hydrogen infrastructure developed under Phase 3 Power Park to support HAVO’s hydrogen fueling requirements. 

This paper will present the technical results of component testing, describe current plans for establishing renewable hydrogen systems on the Big Island, and will provide an overview of the supporting government policies in Hawaii.  Current status and future plans for the Hawaii Hydrogen Power Park will be described.


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