Review of the Research Program of the FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership Second Report (2008) / Chapter Skim
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4 Hydrogen Production, Delivery, and Dispensing
4 Hydrogen Production, Delivery, and Dispensing
Pages 81-101
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From page 81... ...
: fuel pathway integration, hydrogen production, and hydrogen delivery, with participation from DOE and the five energy companies that joined the Partnership 3 years ago. The technical teams report to the Fuels Operations Group, consisting of energy directors and DOE program managers, who in turn report to the Executive Steering Group.
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From page 82... ...
As will be shown in this chapter, DOE through its HFCIT program has made substantial progress on hydrogen production, ensuring that hydrogen can be made available to meet the needs of fuel-cell-powered vehicles as they emerge. However, success in work still under way is needed to minimize cost and to make feasible the production of this hydrogen without increasing carbon dioxide emissions or natural gas imports.
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From page 83... ...
The potential roles of the different transitional hydrogen supply paths need to be viewed from the perspective of this uncertainty. For instance, while transitional hydrogen for 10 million cars might be produced from natural gas without increasing the cost of the natural gas, transitional hydrogen for 40 million cars produced from natural gas would most likely increase the natural gas cost significantly.
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From page 84... ...
The hydrogen production technical team facilitates the development of commercially viable production technologies. The energy sources under consideration for hydrogen generation, in addition to grid-based electrolysis, are natural gas, coal, biological systems, nuclear heat, wind, and the Sun.
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From page 85... ...
Production Technologies For centralized plants, the DOE hydrogen production program includes coal gasification, biomass gasification, electrolysis of water with wind energy or off-peak electricity, high-temperature water splitting with nuclear heat, and longer term approaches, including solar electrochemical and biological means. Existing commercial technologies can be used to convert natural gas or coal to hydrogen, and work currently under way at DOE, including the FutureGen program on coal with carbon sequestration, should reduce their costs moderately.
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From page 86... ...
To the extent that this project is delayed or fails to provide evidence acceptable to the public that CCS affords adequate protection at an acceptable cost, hydrogen production from coal will suffer corresponding delays. These delays could have multiple causes -- for example, • Simple slippage in the FutureGen project schedule, a possible conse quence of underfunding, unforeseen technical problems, siting difficul ties, and so forth, • Issues arising from ambiguity surrounding regulatory authority, • Liability concerns, • The inability of FutureGen to provide a model for the commercial de
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From page 87... ...
Hydrogen Production from Nuclear Heat NE seeks to demonstrate by 2017 the commercial-scale production of hydrogen using heat from a nuclear energy system. Some advanced nuclear reactor designs operate at very high temperatures, making them well suited for thermally driven hydrogen production processes.
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From page 88... ...
Hydrogen from Electrolysis The electrolysis of water, though energy intensive, is one of the few options under consideration for distributed, on-site, point-of-use production and delivery of hydrogen when conventional sources and processes are not available. When coupled with a renewable power generation scheme such as for wind or solar power, the overall advantages are considerable, especially when carbon emissions are taken into account.
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From page 89... ...
Both technologies have extensive histories: Membrane electrolysis offers the advantage of high hydrogen generation rates and efficiencies and the promise of further enhancing these rates (thereby reducing capital outlay) , whereas alkaline systems have track records for lifetime, reliability, and lower capital costs.
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From page 90... ...
concluded that the United States has sufficient land resources to sustain production of biomass to supply 30 percent or more of the nation's current consumption of liquid transportation fuel. To achieve that level of production, it is assumed that three times more forest biomass than today will be collected; that crop yield will be increased by 50 percent and recovery of crop residues by 75 percent; that 55 million acres will be dedicated to the production of perennial bioenergy crops; and that other non-farm-use residues will be converted
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From page 91... ...
The committee believes that the impact of biomass on the supply of hydrogen cannot be reliably estimated until programs relating to biomass production, harvesting, collection, storage, preprocessing, and transportation can define commercially viable pathways from crops or other biomass sources to hydrogen production plants and until the specific government-sponsored incentives become clear, along with land and water use policies that may be required to stimulate wider use of this option. Resolving these issues will require the involvement of other government departments, including the Department of Agriculture.
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From page 92... ...
However, if successful, hydrogen supply from biomass gasification could supplement other sources of hydrogen, and the committee continues to believe that this program is a very important element in the portfolio of hydrogen production technologies. The impact of biomass on future hydrogen supply is difficult to evaluate, in part because there are so many alternative paths.
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From page 93... ...
Special Production Considerations During Market Transition No one knows just how hydrogen will be supplied during the transition period when fuel-cell-powered cars first become available. However, it is reasonable to expect that it will first be supplied to fueling stations from existing centralized sources and distributed as a gas by tube trailer or as a liquid by carrier, since a pipeline distribution system similar to the system for natural gas will not initially be available.
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From page 94... ...
Dehydrogenation of a carrier liquid that is subsequently returned to a refinery or chemical plant for rehydrogenation is another option. DOE has made substantial progress in understanding the transition to a sustainable market, defining requirements for forecourt production systems based on natural gas reforming that meet initial cost targets and advancing other options for onsite generation.
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From page 95... ...
Recommendation. DOE should put more emphasis on the space requirements for forecourt hydrogen generation by studying ways to minimize these requirements. HYDROGEN DELIVERY, DISPENSING, AND TRANSITION SUPPLY Overview Unlike the traditional petroleum delivery system, whereby gasoline and diesel fuel are delivered from refineries to fueling stations and stored there at relatively low cost and low energy consumption, the system for delivering hydrogen from central production to a refueling station with subsequent storage and dispensing to vehicles will be a significant factor in hydrogen fueling.
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From page 96... ...
In addition, because today's gaseous delivery technology costs several times as much as the technology for pipeline delivery depending on volume, it may not be cost-effective. New technology developments focus on increasing the payload using cryogenic gaseous hydrogen storage -- that is, storage as a gas at low temperatures and/or higher pressures.
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From page 97... ...
While methanol and ethanol reforming onsite may be more expensive than natural gas reforming, they could have some advantages (costs and efficiency) from a delivery stand point, particularly during the transition.
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From page 98... ...
natural gas supply and demand and of the issues involved in getting natural gas to the refueling station for on-site steam methane reforming (SMR)
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From page 99... ...
Recommendation. DOE should increase funding for the delivery and dispensing program to meet the market transition and sustained market penetration time frames. If DOE concludes that a funding increase is not feasible, the program should be focused on the pipeline, liquefaction, and compression programs, where a successful if only incremental short-term impact, could be significant for the market transition period.
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From page 100... ...
integrating the hydrogen generation and delivery operations with a stationary fuel cell system that generates electricity for the home and is fueled by a natural gas (propane) or by a liquefied propane gas (LPG)
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From page 101... ...
2006. Initial Look at Potential Natural Gas Infrastructure Constraints Related to Transition to Hydrogen Transportation Fuels.
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