Wednesday, April 2, 2008 - 11:50 AM
Integrating Large-Scale Co-Generation of Hydrogen and Electricity from Wind and Nuclear Souces (NUWIND)
As carbon-free fuels, hydrogen and electricity are headed for major roles in replacing hydrocarbons as the world constrains carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the transport sector. A general trend toward electric drive on-board vehicles is already evident and hydrogen converted to electricity by a fuel cell is likely to be a major source of on-board electricity. The major car manufacturers continue to invest heavily in this option and significant government initiatives in both the USA and Canada are beginning to establish infrastructure for hydrogen refueling.
But both hydrogen and electricity are secondary fuels and are only effective if the source of the primary energy is a low CO2 emitter such as nuclear and wind. A competitive cost is also essential and, to achieve this, one must rely on off-peak electricity prices. This paper examines historical data for electricity prices and the actual output of the main wind farms in Ontario to show how nuclear and wind can be combined to generate hydrogen by water electrolysis at prices that are competitive with fossil-based hydrogen production.
The NuWind™ concept depends on operating electrolysis cells over a moderate range of current densities to accommodate the variability of wind and of electricity prices. The cost of co-producing hydrogen by wind-generated electricity (20%) alongside nuclear-generated electricity (80%) is very close to that of production from a constantly available electricity source. In contrast, hydrogen produced using electricity from wind alone is estimated to cost about $1500/tonne more because the electrolysis facility must be much larger (Ontario wind averages just over 30% on nameplate capacity factor) and cavern storage capacity must be much increased to accommodate the large seasonal variation in wind.
But both hydrogen and electricity are secondary fuels and are only effective if the source of the primary energy is a low CO2 emitter such as nuclear and wind. A competitive cost is also essential and, to achieve this, one must rely on off-peak electricity prices. This paper examines historical data for electricity prices and the actual output of the main wind farms in Ontario to show how nuclear and wind can be combined to generate hydrogen by water electrolysis at prices that are competitive with fossil-based hydrogen production.
The NuWind™ concept depends on operating electrolysis cells over a moderate range of current densities to accommodate the variability of wind and of electricity prices. The cost of co-producing hydrogen by wind-generated electricity (20%) alongside nuclear-generated electricity (80%) is very close to that of production from a constantly available electricity source. In contrast, hydrogen produced using electricity from wind alone is estimated to cost about $1500/tonne more because the electrolysis facility must be much larger (Ontario wind averages just over 30% on nameplate capacity factor) and cavern storage capacity must be much increased to accommodate the large seasonal variation in wind.
Manuscript