Tuesday, April 1, 2008 - 7:50 AM
Renewable Energy and Distributed High Pressure Hydrogen Generation
Mark Schiller, Distributed Energy Systems
We can produce hydrogen fuel by water electrolysis, powered by renewable energy sources such as sunlight and wind, and consequently avoid emissions of greenhouse gases in the production and use of hydrogen. High-pressure proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis is especially conducive to distributed hydrogen generation options where the cost of transporting hydrogen can be prohibitive. One of the options is home refueling of hydrogen vehicles which would augment the broader hydrogen infrastructure rollout. The California Energy Commission has suggested that an action to be taken for hydrogen as a fuel is to install up to 170,000 hydrogen home refueling appliances over 10 years and integrate production from rooftop solar photovoltaic systems through utility programs and rate structure.
Hydrogen electrolyzers coupled to renewable sources can take many forms depending on the availability of renewable energy and the intended application of the hydrogen. For fueling, we desire low cost electrical energy. For critical back-up power applications, the cost of a kilowatt-hour is far less important than the value of technical availability.
Distributed high pressure hydrogen generation from PEM electrolysis can facilitate overall increases in system efficiency, energy density, and reliability. This is particularly true if renewable energy is incorporated. In cases of 30 bar, 100kg/day generation, mechanical compressor size and energy requirements can be reduced. For smaller systems with 165 bar generation, mechanical compression can be omitted altogether.
We discuss the latest and near-future commercially available distributed high-pressure hydrogen generation. We discuss the generation rate, efficiency, pressure, and power consumption of high-pressure PEM electrolyzer systems with comparisons between high-pressure electrolysis and mechanical compression of hydrogen to typical application and storage pressures.
Hydrogen electrolyzers coupled to renewable sources can take many forms depending on the availability of renewable energy and the intended application of the hydrogen. For fueling, we desire low cost electrical energy. For critical back-up power applications, the cost of a kilowatt-hour is far less important than the value of technical availability.
Distributed high pressure hydrogen generation from PEM electrolysis can facilitate overall increases in system efficiency, energy density, and reliability. This is particularly true if renewable energy is incorporated. In cases of 30 bar, 100kg/day generation, mechanical compressor size and energy requirements can be reduced. For smaller systems with 165 bar generation, mechanical compression can be omitted altogether.
We discuss the latest and near-future commercially available distributed high-pressure hydrogen generation. We discuss the generation rate, efficiency, pressure, and power consumption of high-pressure PEM electrolyzer systems with comparisons between high-pressure electrolysis and mechanical compression of hydrogen to typical application and storage pressures.
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Back to The NHA Annual Hydrogen Conference 2008 (March 31-April 4 2008)
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Back to The NHA Annual Hydrogen Conference 2008 (March 31-April 4 2008)