[ROCKMAN]

Fuel cells can certainly have their uses. And I'm sure most understand that FC's aren't an energy source but an energy storage system. Some fossil fuel or alt system will be needed to create the energy stored in the FC's. I'm sure most here know that. The general public...not so much.

[Graeme]

Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicle News From Los Angeles Auto Show

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he biggest news in zero-emission vehicles at last month's Los Angeles Auto Show was the formal introduction of the 2016 Toyota Mirai.

But several other companies made news in the hydrogen fuel-cell market as well.

Here's our brief roundup of the hydrogen stories we covered in LA.

[Graeme]

Shocker! 2015 Hyundai Fuel Cell EV Nails 10 Best Engines List

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')f you feel a disturbance in the Intertubes today, that would be the fallout from the announcement of Ward’s 10 Best Engines List for 2015. For the first time since Ward’s Automotive Reports began the annual list in 1995, a fuel cell engine has made the cut. That would be the one humming away inside the 2015 Hyundai Tucson fuel cell EV.

We were just talking about the Tucson fuel cell EV last month, when Hyundai issued a point-by-point response to a series of questions about fuel cell EVs posed by the car experts at Edmunds. The Ward’s 10 Best Engines List doesn’t particularly settle any of those questions, but the editors at WardsAuto.com sure had some interesting thing to say about the fuel cell EV experience.

The Fuel Cell EV Experience

To qualify for the 10 Best Engines List, the powertrain has to be new or improved, and it has to beat out anything on the previous year’s list.

Rather than zeroing in on the details of the technology, the 10 Best Engines List reflects the driving experience of eight WardsAuto editors in metro area Detroit during the chilly months of October and November, as they go about their normal commute and other business.

The cars are rated in these areas:

…horsepower, torque, drivability, noise mitigation, flexibility, observed fuel economy and onboard technology.

As far as the Hyundai Tucson goes, the editors seemed most impressed by just how normal the fuel cell EV experience is. Here’s their take on Hyundai’s “stunning job:”

The 5-passenger Tucson FCV is powerful, quiet and, in a good way, completely ordinary. Pop the hood, and the fuel-cell stack even looks like a combustion engine. It’s as if this CUV was delivered from another galaxy by ingenious extraterrestrials who know how to make an Earthling feel right at home behind the wheel.

If you go over to your dealership and pop the hood, you might not quite agree that the fuel cell stack resembles a combustion engine, but then again looks aren’t everything.

[Graeme]

Hydrogen fuel can address India's energy needs: CNR Rao

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'R')enowned scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee Professor CNR Rao said the country should unlock hydrogen as fuel to address the growing energy needs and also tackle greenhouse gas emissions.

The process of synthesising hydrogen fuel through artificial photosynthesis process, on which Rao is currently working at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) in Bengaluru, will help India generate enough fuel from the atmospheric water vapour and sunlight to meet its transportation fuel requirements and industrial energy needs.

While plants utilise photosynthesis-generated hydrogen to prepare food for their growth, in the artificial process, scientists are using semiconductors to harness hydrogen fuel from water vapour present in the air in the presence of sunlight. The other element released during the process is oxygen gas.

Underscoring the importance of artificial photosynthesis, he said,"the US government two months ago had declared producing hydrogen through artificial photosynthesis as a national mission and the US President had granted a $120-million research funding to the two scientists working on it." However, in India, research in hydrogen fuel is very limited, he added.

According to him, the key to taking forward the use of hydrogen fuel lies in its storage.

[Graeme]

That's right, it is coming. Just wait....

Organizations team to expand the hydrogen fuel infrastructure of the US

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'L')inde and Sandia National Laboratories form cooperative research agreement
Sandia National Laboratories and Linde, a producer of industrial gases, have signed a cooperative research agreement that may help accelerate the development of clean technologies, specifically hydrogen fuel cells. The agreement will launch two new projects that aim to accelerate the expansion of a hydrogen fuel infrastructure, through the development of new fuel stations. These fueling stations are needed in order for fuel cell vehicles, which will become more common in the next few years, to find success.

Linde expected to play a significant role in the development of new hydrogen fuel stations
Earlier this month, Linde opened the first, fully certified commercial hydrogen fuel station in Sacramento. The station was built with the aid of the California Energy Commission. New fueling stations are currently in the development phase and some may become commercially available at some point in early 2015. Linde is expected to play a major role in the development of a hydrogen fuel infrastructure throughout the United States.

Existing fuel stations may be able to supply hydrogen fuel

Hydrogen Fuel - Organizations team upA recent study from Sandia found that 18% of fueling stations in so called “high priority” areas of the country are capable of providing hydrogen fuel without making significant changes to the facilities themselves. These stations have the capability to distribute hydrogen, if they are provided with the right kind of pumps and storage technologies. Introducing new pumps and storage solutions would break existing building codes, making these fueling stations ideally suited to aid in the expansion of the hydrogen infrastructure.

[Graeme]

Improving Hydrogen Refueling Tech

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')ow can we ensure safe, fast and efficient refueling of hydrogen-powered cars, all at the same time?

This brain teaser, key to the successful deployment of hydrogen technology in our future green economies, is being mulled over thanks to sensor technologies and a prediction model developed under the HYTRANSFER project.

When discussing the market potential of hydrogen, the sceptics often have refueling at the top of their list of cons. Not only will it take decades to build the necessary infrastructure, but the refueling operation itself is challenging to say the least.

Let’s pretend that you have a ‘Fuel cell vehicle’ (FCV) and need to fill the tank up before a long trip. With a ‘standard’ fuel car, the operation would be completed in about a minute, whereas the latest FCVs require about three minutes for the whole operation.

And getting to this result hasn’t exactly been a sinecure for engineers: unlike petrol or diesel, hydrogen tends to heat up as it is being compressed into the fuel tank, and the composite materials used to create these tanks while keeping their weight as low as possible cannot withstand temperatures above 85 °C. In order to make the three-minute fast-filling operation possible, current refueling stations pre-cool the hydrogen to -40 °C.

Improving this process to bring more efficient fuelling and even defuelling is the core objective of the HYTRANSFER (Pre-Normative Research for Thermodynamic Optimization of Fast Hydrogen Transfer) project, which started in June 2013 and will end in November 2015.

Should it achieve its objectives, the project would help in reducing investment and operating costs, increase the reliability of refueling stations and reduce maximum refueling time, which would be a huge step forward in the successful rollout of the technology.

Sofia Capito, coordinator of the project, tells us more about HYTRANSFER’s achievements so far, and how close it is to the ultimate goal of providing new recommendations for implementation into international standards and refueling protocols.

[Graeme]

Toyota releases thousands of patents for hydrogen fuel cell tech

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')oyota today announced it is opening up to other carmakers and the renewable energy market more than 5,600 patents related to its fuel cell technology.

The move is similar to one last year by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who opened up patented designs for all-electric vehicle (EV) "supercharging stations," which can fully charge a battery in about 45 minutes. By allowing other automakers to use the supercharging technology, Musk said he hoped to boost EV adoption.

Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell patents include ones related to its recently announced Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car, which began selling in December with a base sticker price of $57,500.

"The first generation hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, launched between 2015 and 2020, will be critical, requiring a concerted effort and unconventional collaboration between automakers, government regulators, academia and energy providers. By eliminating traditional corporate boundaries, we can speed the development of new technologies and move into the future of mobility more quickly, effectively and economically," Bob Carter, senior vice president of Automotive Operations at Toyota's U.S. Motor Sales, said in a statement.

[Graeme]

Project to transform food waste into graphene and renewable hydrogen

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) is leading a European collaborative project that aims to transform food waste into a sustainable source of significant economic added value, namely graphene and renewable hydrogen.

The project titled PlasCarb will transform biogas generated by the anaerobic digestion of food waste using an innovative low energy microwave plasma process to split biogas (methane and carbon dioxide) into high value graphitic carbon and renewable hydrogen.

CPI as the coordinator of the project is responsible for the technical aspects in the separation of biogas into methane and carbon dioxide, and separating of the graphitic carbon produced from the renewable hydrogen. The infrastructure at CPI allows for the microwave plasma process to be trialled and optimised at pilot production scale, with a future technology roadmap devised for commercial scale manufacturing.

Graphene is one of the most interesting inventions of modern times. Stronger than steel, yet light, the material conducts electricity and heat. It has been used for a wide variety of applications, from strengthening tennis rackets, spray on radiators, to building semiconductors, electric circuits and solar cells.

The sustainable creation of graphene and renewable hydrogen from food waste in provides a sustainable method towards dealing with food waste problem that the European Union faces. It is estimated that 90 million tonnes of food is wasted each year, a figure which could rise to approximately 126 million tonnes by 2020. In the UK alone, food waste equates to a financial loss to business of at least £5 billion per year.

Waste to be used in Advanced Biological Fermentation Processes to Produce Renewable EnergyDr Keith Robson, Director of Formulation and Flexible Manufacturing at CPI said, “PlasCarb will provide an innovative solution to the problems associated with food waste, which is one of the biggest challenges that the European Union faces in the strive towards a low carbon economy. The project will not only seek to reduce food waste but also use new technological methods to turn it into renewable energy resources which themselves are of economic value, and all within a sustainable manner.”

PlasCarb will utilise quality research and specialist industrial process engineering to optimise the quality and economic value of the Graphene and hydrogen, further enhancing the sustainability of the process life cycle.

[Graeme]

The Economics of Waste to Energy -- Part I

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')uel cell manufacturers worldwide have been examining waste-to-energy applications (WtE, also referred to as EfW, energy from waste, and more specifically hydrogen from waste) since the early 1990s. During that time, proton-exchange membrane (PEMFC), alkaline (AFC), molten carbonate and direct carbonate (MCFC/DFC), solid oxide (SOFC), and phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC) have been demonstrated. Recent, promising WtE economics are resulting from biogas-fueled fuel cells that can generate multiple revenue streams at MW scale.

Compared to the hydrocarbon-based ‘dirty’ fuel options (such as flaring methane and burning coal), WtE conversion of biohydrogen (bioH2) for use in fuel cells offers the cleanest electrical power available. In many cases, fuel cell WtE installations can produce combined heat and power (CHP) onsite along with excess electricity, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide (CO2) that can be sold back to the grid and other customers.

Granted, there may still be a ‘dirty’ connotation associated with various non-hydrocarbon feedstocks, based on their unique origins in the organic waste realm. From hog farms in China to dairies in Minnesota (think manure management), food and manufacturing waste in Japan, forestry dross in Pennsylvania, to agricultural silage (such as grasses and molasses), potato peel, onion skins, pond scum (algae), chicken litter, and sewage sludge, this stuff can be mighty stinky. Yet there's no garbage in the fact that such solid waste material (some 11.2 billion tonnes per annum collected worldwide) can be converted into biomass – and from that, renewable bioH2 as a reliable fuel resource for powering fuel cells.

Beyond solid waste, existing landfills, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and chemical and manufacturing plants currently emit by-product hydrogen directly or as a component of waste methane gas. Although regulated, by-product methane is often flared (burnt off), making it an unused asset and creating pollutants such as nitrous oxides. The US Department of Energy (DOE) reports that, if captured, annual domestic methane emissions from these facilities could provide an estimated 12.9 million tonnes per annum as a biofuel source, and in turn, generate around 8.3 million kg of bioH2 per day.

Furthermore, the 40 000 anaerobic digesters already operating in the US industrial sector could provide 300 million m3 (10.8 trillion cubic feet) of bioH2 and another 200 million m3 (7 trillion cubic feet) of bioH2 from landfill gas. [Anaerobic digestion occurs in oxygen-free, sealed reactors where micro-organisms break down biomass.] An estimated 15% – or 216 000 tonnes per annum – of excess hydrogen produced annually from chlor-alkali manufacturing is flared. At a 50% conversion rate to fuel cell-grade hydrogen, this biogas resource could produce 420 MW of electricity.

[Graeme]

Hydrogen Fuel Cell market to reach nearly $57bn by 2023

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he global hydrogen fuel cell market continued to accelerate in 2013 and 2014 and the market is likely to reach $57bn (£37bn) annually by 2023, according to a new report from Navigant Research.

Rising demand in portable and transportation hydrogen fuel cell applications as well as stationary uses, such as utility-scale use in industrial and commercial buildings and residential power, drove the increase.

“Right now, the stationary sector of the fuel cell market is where we’re seeing the most interest,” says Lisa Jerram, principal research analyst with Navigant Research. “In terms of fuel cell systems shipped, this area has the strongest global potential.”

Encouraging this potential is the power sector’s shift toward distributed generation, which means moving away from central power generation models to a more diverse and resilient grid infrastructure.

According to the report, however, the launch of commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in 2015 and 2016 will bring the transportation sector to the fore. By 2023, the transportation sector is expected to command the largest share of the fuel cell market in terms of capacity shipped.

Many automotive companies have already created their first working hydrogen fuel cell cars. The Toyota Mirai went on sale in Japan last month and will be launched in Europe and the United States this year.

[Graeme]

Hydrogen Fuel Now Available For Sale In California

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he small number of drivers with hydrogen fuel-cell cars in California are now able to purchase their fuel.

The Cal State L.A. Hydrogen Research and Fueling Facility is now the first fueling station to sell hydrogen, rather than giving it away for free.

It recently passed a state performance evaluation for certifying new hydrogen fueling stations--receiving a certification known as California Type Approval that allows it to sell hydrogen by the kilogram.

Until now, all hydrogen was provided to fuel-cell vehicle owners for free, because of the lack of an accurate metering system.

With no way to measure how much hydrogen is being dispensed, there hasn't been a way to charge customers until now.

[Graeme]

DOE to award $55.8M for advanced vehicle technologies; $35M for fuel cell and hydrogen

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'U')S Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced a new Vehicle Technologie program-wide funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0001201) for $55.8 million. DOE also announced up to $35 million to advance fuel cell and hydrogen technologies, including enabling the early adoption of fuel cell applications, such as light duty fuel cell electric vehicles. This new funding opportunity announcement will be available in early February.

The Vehicle Technologies funding is targeted at a wide range of research, development, and demonstration projects that aim to reduce the price and improve the efficiency of plug-in electric, alternative fuel, and conventional vehicles. Topics addressed include: advanced batteries (including manufacturing processes) and electric drive R&D; Lightweight materials; Advanced combustion engine and enabling technologies R&D; and Fuels technologies (dedicated or dual-fuel natural gas engine technologies).

The DOE anticipates making awards that range from $350,000 to $4,500,000, with a 24- to 48-month project duration.

[Graeme]

BMW looks to develop fuel cell car by 2020

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')fter carefully testing the waters, BMW has decided to go ahead with the development of its own fuel cell car, which could go on sale by the end of the decade.

A company source, who briefed AutoExpress on the matter, said that the company was aiming for a 2020 reveal as it believes that the technology -- which will be in its second-generation form by then -- will be ready for BMW's client base.

The comments follow an interview late last year where the German luxury car maker confirmed that after some time experimenting with the technology that it was ready to build a test car for putting fuel cell technology through its paces.

[Graeme]

Toyota Fuel-Cell 'Megafactory' Matches Tesla Gigafactory In Impact

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')his year, Toyota plans to double worldwide commercial production of Proton-Exchange-Membrane Fuel Cells, or PEMFCs.

Those are the fuel-cell stacks used in its 2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen-powered vehicle, with a production of 700 cars this year. The company plans to triple Mirai production next year to 2,000 vehicles.

And those 228 MW of PEMFC’s will be more than the last three years of worldwide production combined (2012 through 2014), which European consultancy E4Tech pegs at about 210 MW in its Fuel Cell Industry Review 2014.

Toyota’s fuel-cell production will reportedly stabilize at 3,000 Mirais per year (equivalent to 342 MW) until its second-generation fuel cell vehicle debuts, no doubt in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

[hvacman]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Graeme', '[')b]Toyota Fuel-Cell 'Megafactory' Matches Tesla Gigafactory In Impact

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')his year, Toyota plans to double worldwide commercial production of Proton-Exchange-Membrane Fuel Cells, or PEMFCs.

Those are the fuel-cell stacks used in its 2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen-powered vehicle, with a production of 700 cars this year. The company plans to triple Mirai production next year to 2,000 vehicles.

And those 228 MW of PEMFC’s will be more than the last three years of worldwide production combined (2012 through 2014), which European consultancy E4Tech pegs at about 210 MW in its Fuel Cell Industry Review 2014.

Toyota’s fuel-cell production will reportedly stabilize at 3,000 Mirais per year (equivalent to 342 MW) until its second-generation fuel cell vehicle debuts, no doubt in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

[Graeme]

Can you really predict the price of NG? Don't think NG will be cheap forever. If Toyota doesn't get into market now, it never will:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'E')ven allowing for uncertainties in the data, PEM volumes don’t seem to have grown (much) in the past five years. That may indicate that suppliers haven’t been able to wring cost out through economies of scale, or justify aggressive technology development for a growing market.

The Toyota Megafactory jump-starts that growth, and should help bring costs down rapidly. Toyota itself wants to cut two-thirds to three-quarters of the cost of its fuel cells by 2020 (from about $50,000 to around $15,000).

It also means that while the 2016 Toyota Mirai ($57,500) is priced slightly below the current Tesla Model S ($75,000), its successor may be reasonably price-competitive with the planned Tesla Model 3 at $35,000.