Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology Is Todays Choice & Our Future
Hydrogen Energy Conversion Using Fuel Cells
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology Holds Promise for the Hydrogen Economy
Fuel cells are one of the key enabling technologies for a future hydrogen economy. They have the potential to replace the internal combustion engine in vehicles and to provide power in stationary and portable power applications because they are energy-efficient, clean, and fuel-flexible. For transportation applications, DOE is focusing on direct hydrogen fuel cells, in which on-board storage of hydrogen is supplied by a hydrogen generation, delivery, and fueling infrastructure. For distributed generation fuel cell applications, the program focuses on near-term fuel cell systems running on natural gas or liquid petroleum gas and recognizes the longer term potential for systems running on renewable/alternate fuels. In addition to the transportation fuel cell application focus (i.e. direct hydrogen fuel cell vehicles) to reduce our nation’s dependence on imported petroleum, the program also supports stationary, portable power and auxiliary power applications in a limited fashion where earlier market entry would assist in the development of a fuel cell manufacturing base.
This DOE Hydrogen Program activity is focused on the conversion of hydrogen to electrical or thermal power and the use of hydrogen to power vehicles via polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells, for auxiliary power units on vehicles, or for stationary applications. Phosphoric acid, Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC), and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) R&D is also underway within DOE, although not directly under the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative since these technologies have a stronger tie to stationary usage than transportation.
PEM Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is working to lower the cost and improve the durability of PEM fuel cells. Current R&D activities focus on improving electro catalysts, membranes (both for ambient and high-temperature applications), and biopolar plate materials.
Basic Hydrogen Fuel Cell Research Programs
In Office of Science’s basic research program, the emphasis will be on defining the knowledge that enables new and novel materials to transcend the barriers for low-cost and high efficiency energy conversion applications. New and improved materials need to be developed for electrodes, electrolytes, membranes, and catalysts to enable new and novel fuel cell components and operating concepts. \
The Basic Scientific Research Behind the Future Hydrogen Economy
U.S.
DOE’s Office of Science, through its Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES), seeks to foster revolutionary advances in hydrogen production, delivery, storage, and conversion technologies to close the gap between today’s knowledge and technology and that required for a future hydrogen economy. Recent advances in nanosciences, catalysis, modeling, simulation, and bio-inspired approaches offer exciting new research opportunities for a variety of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. By emphasizing cross-cutting research directions, and promoting broad interdisciplinary efforts, strong coordination between the basic and applied sciences and cooperation among BES and the Offices of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Fossil Energy and Nuclear Energy, scientific breakthroughs in one area can be leveraged to advance progress in others.
This integrated approach will ensure that discoveries and related conceptual breakthroughs achieved in basic research programs will provide a foundation for the innovative design of materials and processes that will produce improvements in the performance, cost, and reliability of hydrogen production, storage, and use. The Department of Energy is confident basic research can help overcome technical challenges to a hydrogen economy.
The priority basic research areas identified in this report include:
Priority Research Areas for Hydrogen Production, Storage and Fuel Cells
Novel Materials for Hydrogen Storage
On-board hydrogen storage is considered to be the most challenging aspect for the successful transition to a hydrogen economy. Basic research is essential for identifying novel materials and processes that can provide potential breakthroughs needed to meet the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative (HFI) goals.
Complex hydrides. A basic understanding of the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of metal hydrides and chemical hydrides is needed.
Nanostructured materials. Tailored nanostructures need to be explored since nanophase materials offer promise for superior hydrogen storage due to short diffusion distances, new phases with better capacity, reduced heats of adsorption/desorption, faster kinetics, and surface states capable of catalyzing hydrogen dissociation.
Other materials. Research is needed to explore other novel storage materials, e.g., those based on nitrides, imides, and other materials that fall outside of metal hydrides, chemical hydrides, and carbon-based hydrogen storage materials.
Theory, modeling, and simulation. Theory, modeling, and simulation will enable (1) understanding the physics and chemistry of hydrogen interactions at the appropriate size scale and (2) the ability to simulate, predict, and design materials performance in service.
Novel analytical and characterization tools. Sophisticated analytical techniques are needed to meet the high sensitivity requirements associated with characterizing hydrogen-materials interactions while maintaining high specificity.
Membranes for Separation, Purification, and Ion Transport
Membranes that selectively transport atomic, molecular, or ionic hydrogen and oxygen are vital to the hydrogen economy as they purify hydrogen fuel streams, transport hydrogen or oxygen ions between electrochemical half-reactions, and separate hydrogen in electrochemical, photochemical, or thermo chemical production routes.
Integrated nanoscale architectures. The similar nanoscale dimensions of catalyst particles and of pores that transport fuel, ions, and oxygen hold promises to enable gas diffusion layers, catalyst support networks, and electrolytic membranes in fuel cells to be integrated into a single network for ion, electron, and gas transport.
Fuel cell membranes. Novel membranes with higher ionic conductivity, better mechanical strength, lower cost, and longer life are critical to the success of fuel cell technologies.
Theory, modeling, and simulation of membranes and fuel cells. The diversity of transport mechanisms and their dependence on local defect structure requires extensive theory, modeling and simulation to establish the basic principles and design strategies for improved membrane materials.
Design of Catalysts at the Nanoscale
Catalysis is vital to the success of the HFI owing to its roles in converting solar energy to chemical energy, producing hydrogen from water or carbon-containing fuels such as coal and biomass, and producing electricity from hydrogen in fuel cells. Catalysts can also increase the efficiency of the uptake and release of stored hydrogen with reduced need for thermal activation. Breakthroughs in catalytic research would impact the thermodynamic efficiency of hydrogen production, storage, and use, and thus improve the economic efficiency with which the primary energy sources — fossil, biomass, solar, or nuclear — serve our energy needs.
Nanoscale catalysts. Nanostructured materials — with high surface areas and large numbers of controllable sites that serve as active catalytic regions — open new opportunities for significantly enhancing catalytic activity and specificity.
Innovative synthetic techniques. Emerging technologies that allow synthesis at the nanoscale with atomic-scale precision will open new opportunities for producing tailored structures of catalysts on supports with controlled size, shape and surface characteristics. New, high-throughput innovative synthesis methods can be exploited in combination with theory and advanced measurement capabilities to accelerate the development of designed catalysts.
Novel characterization techniques. To fully understand complex catalytic mechanisms will require detailed characterization of the active sites; identification of the interaction of the reactants, intermediates and products with the active sites; conceptualization and, possibly, detection of the transition states; and quantification of the dynamics of the entire catalytic process.
Theory, modeling, and simulation of catalytic pathways. Close coupling between experimental observations and theory, modeling, and simulation will provide unprecedented capabilities to design more selective, robust, and impurity-tolerant catalysts for hydrogen production, storage, and use.
Solar Hydrogen Production
Efficient conversion of sunlight to hydrogen by splitting water through photovoltaic cells driving electrolysis or through direct photo catalysis at energy costs competitive with fossil fuels is a major enabling milestone for a viable hydrogen economy.
Nanoscale structures. The sequential processes of light collection, charge separation, and transport in photovoltaic and photo catalytic devices require nanoscale architectural control and manipulation. Light harvesting and novel photoconversion concepts. New strategies are needed to efficiently use the entire solar spectrum.
Organic semiconductors and other high performance materials. The organic semiconductors offer an inexpensive alternative to traditional semiconductors for photovoltaic and photo catalytic devices.
Theory, modeling, and simulation of photochemical processes. Theory and modeling are needed to develop a predictive framework for the dynamic behavior of molecules, complex photoredox systems, interfaces, and photo electrochemical cells.
Bio-inspired Materials and Processes
Fundamental research into the molecular mechanisms underlying biological hydrogen production is the essential key to our ability to adapt, exploit, and extend what nature has accomplished for our own renewable energy needs.
Enzyme catalysts. A fundamental understanding is needed of the structure and chemical mechanism of enzyme complexes that support hydrogen generation.
Bio-hybrid energy coupled systems. As more is understood about biocatalyst hydrogen production, there is the possibility that critical enzymes that are synthesized and employed by biological systems can be harvested and combined with synthetic materials to construct robust, efficient hybrid systems that are scalable to hydrogen production facilities.
Theory, modeling, and nanostructure design. Taking cues from these various natural processes, computational approaches may be employed for rational redesign of enzymes for improved hydrogen production, reduced sensitivity to inhibitors, and improved stability.
Department of Energy Program Contact:
Patricia M. Dehmer
Office of Basic Energy Sciences (SC-22)
301-903-3081
Economics of Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Understanding the Viability of the Future Hydrogen Economy
By Aaron Schwartz
Hydrogen is the most promising energy source to be used in future and as such the economics of hydrogen fuel cells are a quite important issue today. This paper targets the above issue and considers the following aspects: opportunity cost factors, supply and demand, role of government and impact on
This is an example of opportunity cost or the cost of a forgone opportunity. Of course it is very difficult to make a more or less precise assessment of the opportunity cost concerning the oil and hydrogen energy sources in financial terms and that is why such assessment is not used in economics. But why is opportunity cost issue is so important and why it is raised ultimately? To answer these questions it is necessary to understand that growing needs of our society can not be satisfied because of lack of resources. Modern technologies allow to produce energy by extracting oil from the deepest entrails and of course such production is more expensive. Despite of growing prices on energy the demand grows also and increased demand increases prices even more. One day most people just could not afford using oil as a primary source of energy and it will result in economic crisis if another energy sources would not be mastered. For this reason scientists search new energy sources taking into consideration its price, availability and cleanness. Demand on one or another energy source depends on consumers’ income, tastes, wealth, inflationary expectations and future expectations. It means that hydrogen will be purchased only by those people who can afford it, who like it (from the point of ecology, convenience, prevalence etc), who need it (e.g. to fill up a car powered by hydrogen) etc.
If there would be a clear and marked trend to use hydrogen as the energy of future the demand would also increase because people would buy hydrogen powered cars and need fuel. Supply of hydrogen is affected by the following non-price factors: availability of resources and production techniques – if technology would be not too expensive but effective and based on the resources which are available in abundance then supply will be significant and vice versa; taxes and subsidies – if the government would establish very high tax rate on production or distribution of hydrogen then such business will not be profitable and fetching, in the opposite subsidies and low tax rate will cause supply increase by attracting investors.
The government plays an important role in the economics of hydrogen fuel cells. First of all, the
Burning hydrogen is considered to be ecologically clean but its production is concerned with atmospheric pollution and this in turn requires regulation on governmental and legal basis, in other words, the allowed pollution amounts must be determined by the international law. In addition, the world community is not aware of all effects of burning and producing hydrogen processes and future researches may reveal new facts of pollution or other harmful effects and thus the law should make certain restrictions and limitations in accordance to which hydrogen producers are subjects to licensing and active government regulation.
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In : Hydrogen Fuel Cell Future
Tags: hydrogen fuel technology energy fuel cells technologies vehicle economy gas alternative alternate liquid natural vehicles transportation scientific future storage energy electrolysis hybrid
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