Dpurdy's List: Hydrogen

• Just as solar, hydro and biomass energy has been utilized for thousands of years, hydrogen technology as a fuel source has also been known for over 150 years.
• Hydrogen is a simple element - an atom with only one proton and one electron. It is also the most plentiful element in the universe. Despite its simplicity and abundance, hydrogen doesn't occur naturally as a gas on the Earth - it is always combined with other elements.
• Water, for example, is a combination of hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen can be separated from hydrocarbons by applying heat, a process known as "reforming" hydrogen.

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• Like electricity, hydrogen is a secondary source of energy. It stores and carries energy produced from other resources (fossil fuels, water, and biomass).

• ydrogen is the simplest element. Each atom of hydrogen has only one proton. It is also the most plentiful gas in the universe. Stars like the sun are made primarily of hydrogen.

   

  The sun is basically a giant ball of hydrogen and helium gases. In the sun's core, hydrogen atoms combine to form helium atoms. This process — called fusion — gives off radiant energy.
• Hydrogen gas is so much lighter than air that it rises fast and is quickly ejected from the atmosphere. This is why hydrogen as a gas (H2) is not found by itself on Earth. It is found only in compound form with other elements. Hydrogen combined with oxygen, is water (H2O). Hydrogen combined with carbon forms different compounds, including methane (CH4), coal, and petroleum.
• Hydrogen has the highest energy content of any common fuel by weight
• Like electricity, hydrogen is an energy carrier and must be produced from another substance. Hydrogen is not currently widely used, but it has potential as an energy carrier in the future. Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of resources (water, fossil fuels, or biomass) and is a byproduct of other chemical processes.
• Steam reforming is currently the least expensive method of producing hydrogen and accounts for about 95% of the hydrogen produced in the United States. This method is used in industries to separate hydrogen atoms from carbon atoms in methane (CH4). But the steam reforming process results in greenhouse gas emissions that are linked with global warming.1

• Electrolysis Creates No Emissions but Is Costly

   

  Electrolysis is a process that splits hydrogen from water. It results in no emissions, but it is currently an expensive process. New technologies are currently being developed.
• Hydrogen fuel cells make electricity. They are very efficient, but expensive to build. Small fuel cells can power electric cars. Large fuel cells can provide electricity in remote places with no power lines.
• Portable fuel cells are being sold to provide longer power for laptop computers, cell phones, and military applications.

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• Hydrogen as the Main Fuel of the Future

      

  Over  the last decades hydrogen, (H2) has gained more and more  attention as an environmentally friendly fuel and storage medium. Combustion  of pure hydrogen produces only water as exhaust. Hydrocarbon and carbon  oxide emissions can only come from motor oil in the combustion chamber.  Nitrous oxide emissions result from the nitrogen content in the air and  increase exponentially with the combustion temperature. By using H2  in fuel cells, practically no pollution occurs. In this respect, hydrogen  offers emission levels that are much lower than existing and future  standards.
• Hydrogen  is the most common of all elements in the universe.
• The  desire for a long-term transition to a hydrogen society is mainly based on  the need to reduce polluting and climate-affecting emissions and the concern  about depletion of fossil fuel resources. Today about 90 % of the world's  energy consumption is covered by fossil fuels, and most of this comes from a  limited number of regions in the world. Even if hydrogen will be used on a  large scale in the future, there is still a need for an energy source to  produce it. Renewable energy technology such as hydro electricity, wind,  wave and solar power are in principle available, but are not yet mature for  mass production and/or fully developed. 

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• One of the  first applications for fuel cells based on their advantageous properties was  in the US space program.
• Compared to IC engines, fuel cells have  practically no polluting exhaust like NO_x and sulphides.
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  It  is generally acknowledged that the feasibility and durability of fuel  cells in automobiles has been proven. The major  focus now is on cost reduction

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• The  best known early fuel cell experiments were performed in 1842 by the British  physicist and lawyer, Sir William R. Grove (1811-1896)
• Due to easily accessible and large amounts of oil and the invention of the  combustion engine (Carl Friedrich Benz and Gottlieb Daimler), fuel cells  were forgotten until the middle of the 20th century. In the US Apollo space programme, fuel cells exhibited their first renaissance in the  1960’s. 
• Fuel cell development has  been slowed down by a fear of hydrogen as a fuel. It is commonly believed  that hydrogen is an extremely explosive and dangerous gas. Most of this  belief was founded in 1937, when the hydrogen-filled zeppelin “Hindenburg”  caught fire and crashed in Lakehurst, USA.

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• Cost
  Chief among the problems associated with fuel cells is how expensive they are. Many of the component pieces of a fuel cell are costly.
• Infrastructure
  In order for PEMFC vehicles to become a viable alternative for consumers, there must be a hydrogen generation and delivery infrastructure. This infrastructure might include pipelines, truck transport, fueling stations and hydrogen generation plants

• With low emissions of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and particulate matter as well as dramatically lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2),

• How much will Hydrogen fuel cost?

   

  The U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies Program is working to achieve the following goals:

   

  By 2005, the technology will be available to produce hydrogen at the pump for $3.00 per gallon gasoline equivalent, and DOE wants to validate this technology by 2008.  By 2010, the price goal is $1.50 per gallon of gasoline equivalent (untaxed) at the station.

     

  Even $3 a gallon would save most of us money, since FCVs will   be two to three times more efficient than internal combustion   engine (ICE) vehicles.  If all the goals are met, FCVs offer   the promise of energy at $1 a gallon - or less! 

• • The elimination of pollution caused by fossil fuels - When hydrogen is used in a fuel cell to create power, it is a completely clean technology. The only byproduct is water. There are also no environmental dangers like oil spills to worry about with hydrogen. 
  • The elimination of greenhouse gases - If the hydrogen comes from the electrolysis of water, then hydrogen adds no greenhouse gases to the environment. There is a perfect cycle -- electrolysis produces hydrogen from water, and the hydrogen recombines with oxygen to create water and power in a fuel cell. 
  • The elimination of economic dependence - The elimination of oil means no dependence on the Middle East and its oil reserves. 
  • Distributed production - Hydrogen can be produced anywhere that you have electricity and water. People can even produce it in their homes with relatively simple technology.

• In the hydrogen economy, there is no storehouse to tap into. We have to actually create the e­nergy in real-time.

• There are two possible sources for the hydrogen: 

  • Electrolysis of water - Using electricity, it is easy to split water molecules to create pure hydrogen and oxygen. One big advantage of this process is that you can do it anywhere. For example, you could have a box in your garage producing hydrogen from tap water, and you could fuel your car with that hydrogen. 
  • Reforming fossil fuels - Oil and natural gas contain hydrocarbons -- molecules consisting of hydrogen and carbon. Using a device called a fuel processor or a reformer, you can split the hydrogen off the carbon in a hydrocarbon relatively easily and then use the hydrogen. You discard the leftover carbon to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
• To have a pure hydrogen economy, the hydrogen must be derived from renewable sources rather than fossil fuels so that we stop releasing carbon into the atmosphere. Having enough electricity to separate hydrogen from water, and generating that electricity without using fossil fuels, will be the biggest change that we see in creating the hydrogen economy.
• In the future, barring some technological breakthrough, it seems likely that one of two things will happen to create the hydrogen economy: Either nuclear-power or solar-power generating capacity will increase dramatically.
• The electrical-generation problem is probably the biggest barrier to the hydrogen economy

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• Advantages by Application

   
   
  • Telecoms
   
  • CHP
   
  • Fuel Cell Generators
   
  • Electric Vehicles - APU's and Range Extenders
   
  • Fuel Cell Forklifts
   
  • Marine Power
   
  • Portable Power

• Figuring out an inexpensive and carbon-neutral way to produce an abundant amount of hydrogen will be key to the success of fuel cell vehicles

• Price projections vary among fuel cell developers, but most are targeting costs below $1,500/kW
• At the current price, units are only used in high value, "niche" markets where reliability is premium, and in areas where electricity prices are very high and natural gas prices are low.
• Maintenance costs of a fuel cell are expected to be comparable to that of a microturbine, ranging from $0.005-$0.010/kWh (based on an annual inspection visit to the unit).

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