McPhy couples solid hydrogen storage and industrial electrolysis
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NEWS October 2013 Fuel Cells Bulletin 7 ‘The technology is here and automakers are ready,’ says Catherine Dunwoody, executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP). ‘Before they can sell or lease fuel cell electric vehicles, a much larger fueling infrastructure must be in place.’ CaFCP says that the new stations will follow its Hydrogen Roadmap, which includes stations in South Orange County, Los Angeles County, Silicon Valley, and Berkeley [see the CaFCP feature in FCB, November 2009]. ‘One of the biggest obstacles to introducing fuel cell electric vehicles was the lack of fueling certainty,’ says Professor Dan Sperling, CaFCP chairman and California Air Resources Board member. ‘No more. The passage of AB 8 sends a clear signal to automakers, consumers, and others that California will launch a market for FCEVs.’ Assembly Bill 8 was supported by a broad range of 80-plus stakeholders, led by the American Lung Association, Calstart, and the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association. ‘The wide-ranging, bipartisan support caught us off guard a bit,’ CaFCP’s Keith Malone told DigitalTrends.com. Governor Brown also signed Senate Bill 359, proposed by Senator Ellen Corbett, which includes $20 million for rebates to Californians who purchase a plug-in hybrid, battery, or fuel cell electric vehicle. California Fuel Cell Partnership: www.cafcp.org California Governor Jerry Brown: www.gov.ca.gov TNSC develops Hydro Shuttle packaged low- cost hydrogen station T okyo-based Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation (TNSC) has developed a low-cost, compact, packaged-type hydrogen station to supply 700 bar (10 000 psi) hydrogen gas to fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The company plans to add the Hydro Shuttle to its existing network of hydrogen refueling station deployments in Japan. With automakers planning general sales of FCEVs from 2015, the building of hydrogen station infrastructure is urgently needed [FCB, February 2011, p5]. In Japan, a project has been under way since April to install hydrogen stations at approximately 100 locations in four major urban areas over a three-year period. Reducing the cost of hydrogen stations has become a major challenge in accelerating their spread. By lowering the cost of each component, TNSC has been able to halve the cost of the new system compared to the previous model. TNSC has integrated the four key hydrogen station components – dispenser, pre-cooling device, compressor, and storage vessel – into a single unit, significantly reducing fabrication and installation costs. The company has lowered the cost and reduced the size of the dispenser and pre-cooling device, which cools the hydrogen to –40°C. The compressor uses an air-driven booster system, while a Type IV carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) vessel was chosen for the 255 litre, 930 bar (13 500 psi) storage unit. The packaged hydrogen station is 7 m long, 2 m deep and 2.6 m high, and has a maximum hydrogen supply capacity of 300 Nm 3 /h. The hydrogen filling speed is 5 kg in 3 min, and three FCEVs designed to run on 700 bar hydrogen gas can be filled consecutively. In addition, the hydrogen stations are of a common design and able to deal with all onsite, offsite, and mobile operations as stipulated in Japanese laws and regulations relating to high-pressure gas safety. Airtight welding and sleeve nut-type joints are used to increase safety and, through maintenance-friendly design, the periodic voluntary inspection process can be substantially reduced. TNSC anticipates additional cost reductions through standardisation and mass production. Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation: www.tn-sanso.co.jp/en Linde raises pressure for hydrogen transport efficiency, fills in US T he Linde Group has developed a new storage technology that will enable much more efficient transportion of larger amounts of hydrogen. Linde also plans to incorporate the new technology into its next-generation hydrogen fueling stations. The new solution works at a higher pressure of 500 bar (7250 psi) and uses lighter storage materials to more than double the amount of compressed gaseous hydrogen (CGH 2 ) that can be transported in a single truck load. Successful field tests with the first reference customer have confirmed the benefits of the 500 bar technology over conventional 200 bar (2900 psi) systems. Linde has opened a 500 bar fueling station at its gases centre in Leuna, eastern Germany. The company developed the new 500 bar trailers in collaboration with compressed gas storage specialist Wystrach GmbH. The project is supported by the federal ministry of transport, building and urban development (BMVBS), and coordinated by NOW GmbH. Each trailer features 100 lightweight composite storage elements developed in collaboration with xperion Energy & Environment GmbH. A single trailer can transport over 1100 kg (or 13 000 Nm 3 ) of hydrogen gas. In addition, the trailers can now be filled and emptied in less than 60 min. This innovative technology gives bulk customers a cost-effective alternative to existing cryogenic transport solutions for liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ). Linde is participating in the German H 2 Mobility initiative, whose members have just agreed an action plan for construction of a nationwide hydrogen refueling network for fuel cell electric vehicles, aiming for 400 hydrogen stations by 2023 [see page 6]. Meanwhile in the US, hydrogen fueling stations using Linde North America technology have passed half a million fills, powering a variety of vehicles including forklifts, cars, and buses. One of the major contributors to the milestone is the BMW Manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, which earlier this year more than doubled its fleet of fuel cell powered materials handling equipment refueled by Linde hydrogen systems [FCB, March 2013, p1]. BMW’s forklifts and trucks are powered by hydrogen fuel cells from Plug Power [FCB, October 2010, p1], Linde’s partner in the BMW installation and the leading provider of hydrogen fuel cells in the materials handling market [see the Plug Power feature in FCB, December 2011]. The Linde Group: www.linde.com/cleantechnology Linde Industrial Gases US: www.lindeus.com Plug Power: www.plugpower.com McPhy couples solid hydrogen storage and industrial electrolysis F rench-based McPhy Energy has premiered the first system to couple an industrial-scale hydrogen generator with a 100 kg solid hydrogen storage unit. Meanwhile, the company’s German subsidiary has taken over electrolyser development and manufacturing from Enertrag HyTec GmbH. The industrial-scale pilot demonstration represents the Phase 1 results of the French PUSHY (Potential Use of Solid Hydrogen) programme. Such onsite hydrogen supply systems enable approaches such as Power-to- Gas and hydrogen mobility to become technical and commercial reality. The demonstration 60 kW electrolyser is manufactured by McPhy Italy and powered by
Transcript of McPhy couples solid hydrogen storage and industrial electrolysis
NEWS
October 2013 Fuel Cells Bulletin7
‘The technology is here and automakers are ready,’ says Catherine Dunwoody, executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP). ‘Before they can sell or lease fuel cell electric vehicles, a much larger fueling infrastructure must be in place.’ CaFCP says that the new stations will follow its Hydrogen Roadmap, which includes stations in South Orange County, Los Angeles County, Silicon Valley, and Berkeley [see the CaFCP feature in FCB, November 2009].
‘One of the biggest obstacles to introducing fuel cell electric vehicles was the lack of fueling certainty,’ says Professor Dan Sperling, CaFCP chairman and California Air Resources Board member. ‘No more. The passage of AB 8 sends a clear signal to automakers, consumers, and others that California will launch a market for FCEVs.’
Assembly Bill 8 was supported by a broad range of 80-plus stakeholders, led by the American Lung Association, Calstart, and the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association. ‘The wide-ranging, bipartisan support caught us off guard a bit,’ CaFCP’s Keith Malone told DigitalTrends.com.
Governor Brown also signed Senate Bill 359, proposed by Senator Ellen Corbett, which includes $20 million for rebates to Californians who purchase a plug-in hybrid, battery, or fuel cell electric vehicle.
California Fuel Cell Partnership: www.cafcp.org
California Governor Jerry Brown: www.gov.ca.gov
TNSC develops Hydro Shuttle packaged low-cost hydrogen station
Tokyo-based Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation (TNSC) has developed
a low-cost, compact, packaged-type hydrogen station to supply 700 bar (10 000 psi) hydrogen gas to fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The company plans to add the Hydro Shuttle to its existing network of hydrogen refueling station deployments in Japan.
With automakers planning general sales of FCEVs from 2015, the building of hydrogen station infrastructure is urgently needed [FCB, February 2011, p5]. In Japan, a project has been under way since April to install hydrogen stations at approximately 100 locations in four major urban areas over a three-year period. Reducing the cost of hydrogen stations has become a major challenge in accelerating their spread. By lowering the cost of each component, TNSC has been able to halve the cost of the new system compared to the previous model.
TNSC has integrated the four key hydrogen station components – dispenser, pre-cooling device, compressor, and storage vessel – into a single unit, significantly reducing fabrication and installation costs. The company has lowered the cost and reduced the size of the dispenser and pre-cooling device, which cools the hydrogen to –40°C. The compressor uses an air-driven booster system, while a Type IV carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) vessel was chosen for the 255 litre, 930 bar (13 500 psi) storage unit.
The packaged hydrogen station is 7 m long, 2 m deep and 2.6 m high, and has a maximum hydrogen supply capacity of 300 Nm3/h. The hydrogen filling speed is 5 kg in 3 min, and three FCEVs designed to run on 700 bar hydrogen gas can be filled consecutively.
In addition, the hydrogen stations are of a common design and able to deal with all onsite, offsite, and mobile operations as stipulated in Japanese laws and regulations relating to high-pressure gas safety. Airtight welding and sleeve nut-type joints are used to increase safety and, through maintenance-friendly design, the periodic voluntary inspection process can be substantially reduced. TNSC anticipates additional cost reductions through standardisation and mass production.
Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation: www.tn-sanso.co.jp/en
Linde raises pressure for hydrogen transport efficiency, fills in US
The Linde Group has developed a new storage technology that will
enable much more efficient transportion of larger amounts of hydrogen. Linde also plans to incorporate the new technology into its next-generation hydrogen fueling stations.
The new solution works at a higher pressure of 500 bar (7250 psi) and uses lighter storage materials to more than double the amount of compressed gaseous hydrogen (CGH2) that can be transported in a single truck load. Successful field tests with the first reference customer have confirmed the benefits of the 500 bar technology over conventional 200 bar (2900 psi) systems.
Linde has opened a 500 bar fueling station at its gases centre in Leuna, eastern Germany. The company developed the new 500 bar trailers in collaboration with compressed gas storage specialist Wystrach GmbH. The project is supported by the federal ministry of transport, building and urban development (BMVBS), and coordinated by NOW GmbH.
Each trailer features 100 lightweight composite storage elements developed in collaboration with xperion Energy & Environment GmbH. A single trailer can transport over 1100 kg (or 13 000 Nm3) of hydrogen gas. In addition, the trailers can now be filled and emptied in less than 60 min. This innovative technology gives bulk customers a cost-effective alternative to existing cryogenic transport solutions for liquid hydrogen (LH2).
Linde is participating in the German H2 Mobility initiative, whose members have just agreed an action plan for construction of a nationwide hydrogen refueling network for fuel cell electric vehicles, aiming for 400 hydrogen stations by 2023 [see page 6].
Meanwhile in the US, hydrogen fueling stations using Linde North America technology have passed half a million fills, powering a variety of vehicles including forklifts, cars, and buses. One of the major contributors to the milestone is the BMW Manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, which earlier this year more than doubled its fleet of fuel cell powered materials handling equipment refueled by Linde hydrogen systems [FCB, March 2013, p1]. BMW’s forklifts and trucks are powered by hydrogen fuel cells from Plug Power [FCB, October 2010, p1], Linde’s partner in the BMW installation and the leading provider of hydrogen fuel cells in the materials handling market [see the Plug Power feature in FCB, December 2011].
The Linde Group: www.linde.com/cleantechnology
Linde Industrial Gases US: www.lindeus.com
Plug Power: www.plugpower.com
McPhy couples solid hydrogen storage and industrial electrolysis
French-based McPhy Energy has premiered the first system to couple
an industrial-scale hydrogen generator with a 100 kg solid hydrogen storage unit. Meanwhile, the company’s German subsidiary has taken over electrolyser development and manufacturing from Enertrag HyTec GmbH.
The industrial-scale pilot demonstration represents the Phase 1 results of the French PUSHY (Potential Use of Solid Hydrogen) programme. Such onsite hydrogen supply systems enable approaches such as Power-to-Gas and hydrogen mobility to become technical and commercial reality.
The demonstration 60 kW electrolyser is manufactured by McPhy Italy and powered by
NEWS
8Fuel Cells Bulletin October 2013
the local electric grid, and can produce 12 m3/h of hydrogen. This is stored in McPhy’s HDS 100 system, which is based on its low-pressure, high-density magnesium hydride technology. This first model, with a storage capacity of 100 kg (for an energy content of 3.3 MWh), is the first in a commercial range for up to 500 kg of stored hydrogen (16.5 MWh).
This technology enables traditional hydrogen logistics (high-pressure gas delivery) to be replaced with production located at the point-of-use and aligned with demand. The E12 million (US$16 million) PUSHY project, funded by Bpifrance (formerly OSEO/ISI), was developed through an industrial consortium led by McPhy Energy, with the CEA Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission and the ‘green’ hydrogen producer WH2. Pascal Mauberger, CEO of McPhy Energy, says that the next PUSHY deliverable will be a demonstration next year of hydrogen production using hydroelectric energy.
In other news, McPhy Energy Deutschland GmbH has taken over electrolyser development and manufacturing, as well as the employees, of Enertrag HyTec GmbH in Germany. McPhy and Enertrag AG will continue to jointly develop economic wind-hydrogen solutions.
The large-scale electrolysers from HyTec, now known as McPhy Deutschland, range in power from 500 kW to multi-MW. They are used, for example, in the Prenzlau Hybrid Power Plant built by Enertrag, showing that demand-driven energy supply from renewable resources is possible [FCB, December 2012, p9, and see the News Feature in May 2012, p14].
McPhy Energy’s core expertise is its innovative technology for solid-state hydrogen storage based on magnesium hydrides. Earlier this year the company acquired another electrolyser producer, PIEL in Italy, which specialises in smaller electrolysis systems up to 500 kW [FCB, February 2013, p9].
McPhy Energy, La Motte-Fanjas, France. Tel: +33 4 7571 1505, www.mcphy.com
PUSHY project: http://tinyurl.com/mcphy-pushy
Enertrag, Hybrid Power Plant: http://tinyurl.com/enertrag-hybrid
German wind site with 1 MW Hydrogenics P2G energy storage
A 140 MW wind farm in northeastern Germany has been put into
operation with a 1 MW electrolysis
system from Hydrogenics. The wind farm, in the municipality of Grapzow in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state, is connected via a new substation to the local high-voltage grid.
Hydrogenics has installed the 1 MW Power-to-Gas (P2G) system inside a newly constructed building. The unit produces 210 Nm3/h of hydrogen. The plant’s owners have the option to use the hydrogen in an internal combustion engine to produce electricity, or inject it directly into the local natural gas grid, depending on operational needs. The hydrogen compression and storage system stores up to 27 MWh of energy, and dramatically increases the overall efficiency of the wind park by tapping into wind energy which otherwise would be wasted.
The wind farm, with 28 wind turbines, can provide electricity for 125 000 households, some 15% of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region. The plant is operated by the engineering group RH2-Werder/Kessin/Altentreptow (RH2-WKA). The storage project is funded by the German federal government through the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology, coordinated by NOW GmbH.
E.ON recently inaugurated its first Power-to-Gas unit in Falkenhagen in eastern Germany, injecting hydrogen into the regional natural gas transmission system on an industrial scale [FCB, September 2013, p9]. That P2G unit also uses wind power to run electrolysis equipment supplied by Hydrogenics, to produce hydrogen from water for injection into the gas grid.
Hydrogenics Corporation, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 905 361 3660, www.hydrogenics.com
Hydrogenics Europe – Electrolysers, Oevel, Belgium. Tel: +32 14 462110.
RH2-WKA project: www.rh2-wka.de [in German]
NOW GmbH: www.now-gmbh.de
ITM Power delivers Power-to-Gas unit to Thüga Frankfurt plant
UK-based ITM Power has delivered its first Power-to-Gas (P2G) plant
to the Thüga Group in Frankfurt, Germany, on time and to budget [FCB, August 2013, p7].
The plant is now deployed at the Mainova AG site in Schielestrasse, Frankfurt am Main, where the compliant gas mixing and grid injection infrastructure is already in place. The plant will undergo an extensive acceptance, compliance and commissioning phase before
going live in December and the plant first injects hydrogen into the German gas grid.
The installation also includes a monitoring facility and visitor’s reception, so that members of the Thüga Group can examine the performance of the plant. The operational data will be shared by the whole Thüga Group, the largest network of energy companies in Germany with around 100 municipal utility members.
The Thüga plant is the first to be delivered of £4.5 million (US$7.2 million) worth of equipment being manufactured at ITM Power, funded by commercial sales and grant-funded collaborative projects. The Thüga delivery marks a significant moment for ITM Power, which has an order book of £1.7 million ($2.7 million) and a rapidly developing pipeline of revenue [see the ITM Power feature in FCB, January 2012].
‘Power-to-Gas technology is key to the success of the Energiewende [energy transition], and the Thüga Group have a clear understanding of this technology and where it fits for the energy network of the future,’ says Phil Doran, managing director of ITM Power GmbH, its German subsidiary [FCB, March 2011, p8].
ITM Power, Sheffield, UK. Tel: +44 114 244 5111, www.itm-power.com
Thüga Group: www.thuega.de [in German]
GM and US Army TARDEC to expand fuel cell testing
In the US, General Motors and the US Army Tank Automotive
Research, Development & Engineering Center (TARDEC) are expanding their collaboration in the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology through a new Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). GM and TARDEC will jointly test new hydrogen fuel cell-related materials and designs to evaluate their performance and durability, before assembling them into full-scale fuel cell propulsion systems.
This collaborative effort will enable GM and TARDEC to jointly develop technology that meets both partners’ requirements, accomplishing more tangible results than either could achieve on its own. The project is expected to continue for up to five years.
This is the second fuel cell-related announcement from GM this year. In July,
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