Webinar “Fuel cell update Q1’20: Breakthrough Innovation & Technology Landscape”- Q&A’s
Mobility
11 min readQ. What about the hydrogen storage? Actors, disruptors and new technologies?
A. We capture hydrogen storage solutions for mobility applications in our FutureBridge Mobility Insider program while FutureBridge’s Energy Insider captures Industrial applications. Regarding new technologies,
1. Carbonaceous materials, such as CNTs and metal hydrides, are currently being considered for on-board Hydrogen storage systems because of their versatility, multi-functionality, mechanical properties and low cost with respect to other alternatives.
2) Nanomaterials are also being used.
3) What’s more, porous manganese hydride shows promising results as a hydrogen storage material even after reasonable estimates for losses due to implementation. This storage material will allow provide a practical alternative to incumbents such as 700 bar systems, which generally provide volumetric storage values of 40 kgH2/m3 or less while retaining advantages over batteries such as fill time and energy density.
4) Different studies have shown that the transport and catalytic properties of Nafion membranes used in HFCs can be enhanced with TiO2/SnO2 nanoparticles. Compressed hydrogen in hydrogen tanks at 350 bar (5,000 psi) and 700 bar (10,000 psi) is used for hydrogen tank systems in vehicles. Nominal working pressure is 700 bar.
Q. What is the current solution most used for H2 storage? (gas / liquid / solid)
A. Due to the low density of hydrogen, it cannot be stored as easily as traditional fossil fuels. Hydrogen requires compression, cooling, or a combination of them. The most favorable method of hydrogen storage is physical containment, specifically in compressed tanks, because they are readily available.
Hydrogen can be physically stored as either a gas or a liquid. Storage as a gas typically requires high-pressure tanks (5000–10,000 psi tank pressure). Storage of hydrogen as a liquid requires cryogenic temperatures because the boiling point of hydrogen at one-atmosphere pressure is -252.8°C.
Q. Any difference in the system architecture according to FC type?
A. There are architecture and design changes based on different FC types. For an indirect fuel cell, there will be a reformer to convert the fuel into Hydrogen and thereby to energy. Design parameters also change according to the operating temperature.
Q. What do you see as the future cost of H to Petrol?
A. While the future price is uncertain, NREL estimates that hydrogen fuel prices may fall to $10 to $8/kg in the 2020 to 2025 period.
A kilogram of hydrogen has about the same energy content as a gallon of gasoline. FCVs are about twice as efficient as gasoline-powered vehicles: an FCEV travels about twice as far as a conventional vehicle given the same amount of fuel energy. At $3.50 per gallon gasoline, a conventional vehicle costs about $0.13 per mile to operate, while an FCV using $8/kg hydrogen fuel would cost about $0.12 per mile.
Q. Following discussion I understand that there is no EU common policy about fuel cell. Is it correct?
A. There are common policies and Programs within the EU. EU initiatives and funding opportunities have greatly contributed to the growing market for hydrogen across multiple sectors in the region. Here are the most important initiatives in the past 5 years:
– The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) was established in 2008 between the EU, industry leaders, and research organizations in an attempt to speed up the development and deployment of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies across Europe.
– In 2014, the EU decided to continue this initiative under the Horizon 2020 Framework, the EU’s largest research and innovation program.
– In March of 2018, the EU launched a five-year project to replace backup diesel generators with hydrogen fuel cells across Europe.
– As of November 2018, the FCH JU had contributed to the deployment of hundreds of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), along with dozens of fuel cell buses and hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) across Europe.
– In September 2019, European leaders from 28 countries signed the Linz Hydrogen Initiative in Linz, Austria, alongside a group of industry partners which included FCHEA members Hydrogenics and Hexagon.
– The European Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan identifies fuel cell and hydrogen technologies as crucial technologies contributing to reaching the ambitious goals of the integrated European energy and climate policy with a time horizon of 2020 and beyond.
Q. What do you mean with fuel cell batteries and which voltage you foresee here? 400V vs. 800V.
A. We see 400V. In a fuel cell, an electric vehicle is an electrically driven vehicle in which electricity is generated by a fuel cell using hydrogen as an energy source. The electric drive converts the energy into motion. Alternatively, this energy can be temporarily stored by the traction battery. Usually, this battery could be a Nickel-metal hydride battery which stores energy recovered from deceleration and assist fuel cell stack output during acceleration.
In Dec’19, Bosch announced that it broke ground on a fuel cell battery development center in China. The new site will develop, test and produce fuel-cell battery systems and related key components including hydrogen injection valves and electronic air compressors, the German supplier added. Their center is due to start operation in 2021.
Q. Can you expand on EcV and BEV?
A. You can find European car sales of EcV and BEV for 2019 in the following link – https://www.acea.be/uploads/publications/ACEA_progress_report_2019.pdf
Q. Is the total number of FC operational hours or kWh output monitored/assessed?
A. Yes. H2 fuel cells currently in production have a life expectancy of from 5,000 to 10,000 hours. If we apply that to an average driving speed of 45 mph (a combination of in-town on highway driving), we should expect to get 225,000 to 450,000 miles.
A fuel cell that is 60% efficient requires 1.666 kWh of chemical energy to generate 1 kWh of electrical energy. A kilogram of hydrogen contains 141.8 megajoules. A 5kg tank typical in most fuel cell-powered cars would operate this would last for 5000/42.3 = 118.2 hours. (4.925 days) Three tanks last approximately two weeks.
Q. What are the mainstream onboard storage system for Hydrogen? 350, 500, 700, 900 bar liquid or cryocompressed?
A. Carbonaceous materials, such as CNTs and metal hydrides, are currently being considered for on-board storage systems due to their versatility, multi-functionality, mechanical properties and low cost with respect to other alternatives. Nanomaterials are also used. Different studies have shown that the transport and catalytic properties of Nafion membranes used in HFCs can be enhanced with TiO2/SnO2 nanoparticles.
Compressed hydrogen in hydrogen tanks at 350 bar (5,000 psi) and 700 bar (10,000 psi) is used for hydrogen tank systems in vehicles. Nominal working pressure is 700 bar.
Q. What is a fuel cell battery?
A. In Dec’19, Bosch announced that it broke ground on a fuel cell battery development center in China. The new site will develop, test and produce fuel-cell battery systems and related key components including hydrogen injection valves and electronic air compressors, the German supplier added. Their center is due to start operation in 2021.
A fuel cell electric vehicle is an electrically-driven vehicle in which electricity is generated by a fuel cell using hydrogen as an energy source. The electric drive converts the energy into motion. Alternatively, this energy can be temporarily stored by the traction battery. Usually, this battery could be a Nickel-metal hydride battery which stores energy recovered from deceleration and assist fuel cell stack output during acceleration.
Q. What’s the difference between Fuel Cell batteries and Hybrid Electric Vehicles batteries? (ref slide 40, where Bosch worked on FC batteries)
A. In Dec’19, Bosch announced that it broke ground on a fuel cell battery development center in China. The new site will develop, test and produce fuel-cell battery systems and related key components including hydrogen injection valves and electronic air compressors, the German supplier added. Their center is due to start operation in 2021.
In a Hybrid EV, the auxiliary battery provides electricity to start the car before the traction battery is engaged and also powers vehicle accessories. Using power from the traction battery pack(Stores electricity for use by the electric traction motor), the motor drives the vehicle’s wheels. The charge port allows the vehicle to connect to an external power supply in order to charge the traction battery pack. Onboard charger takes the incoming AC electricity supplied via the charge port and converts it to DC power for charging the traction battery. It monitors battery characteristics such as voltage, current, temperature, and state of charge while charging the pack.
A fuel cell electric vehicle is an electrically driven vehicle in which electricity is generated by a fuel cell using hydrogen as an energy source. The electric drive converts the energy into motion. Alternatively, this energy can be temporarily stored by the traction battery. Usually, this battery could be a Nickel-metal hydride battery which stores energy recovered from deceleration and assist fuel cell stack output during acceleration.
Q. There’s some technology which works with hydrogen storage in a vehicle, and some that work with an onboard hydrogen generator. Any indication which is leading in terms of research?
A. In terms of research activity, hydrogen storage in a vehicle is picking up more pace than in on-board hydrogen generator. More research takes place on storage materials such as Metal-organic frameworks, nanomaterials, etc.
Q. Renault Kangoo and Renault Master hydrogen?
A. In October 2019, Renault revealed its first hydrogen vehicles, the Kangoo ZE Hydrogen and Master ZE Hydrogen, making it the first manufacturer to bring hydrogen-powered vans to production. (https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/renault-launches-hydrogen-range-extender-electric-kangoo-and-master-vans)
Q. Can you mention off-road applications?
A. At present, we are not monitoring off-road, agricultural or construction equipment applications in our coverage. But we assess that fuel cells in off-road vehicles, marine and aircraft applications have performed quite well but are not yet adopted in mass volume. We have recently seen some concepts from carmakers for FCV for off-road applications, such as a Hydrogen fuel cell-based emergency truck developed by DOE and US Army and Toyota’s Moon rover.
Q. Regarding the importance of H2 FC in China: which Chinese Universities are leading?
A. Some of the leading innovation hubs conducting research in FCs in China include the Tongji University, the Tianjin University and the Tsinghua University. Tongji University in Shanghai, Shell Hydrogen BV and Shell (China) Ltd have signed an agreement to build the city’s first hydrogen fueling station for fuel cell vehicles.
Q. Do you know the amount of Pt for FC vehicle vs. a standard exhaust catalyst for the combustion engine?
A. The average amount of a platinum in a hydrogen fuel cell is between 30 and 60 grams. Diesel catalytic converters, on the other hand, only use between 3 and 7 grams.
Q. To me, FCV makes the most sense for Heavy Duty and Medium Duty vehicles where batteries are not yet a good alternative for diesel. H2 will then still be more expensive, but pollution and NOx/CO2 can be greatly reduced, the political decision at the end of the day, not a decision based on cost.
A. We agree we assess that FCV holds strong potential for Heavy Duty and Medium Duty vehicles where batteries are not yet a good alternative for diesel.
A fully electric long-haul truck would have significant restrictions due to the battery pack size and weight necessary for this application.A passenger car is expected to last 150,000-200,000 miles (240,000-320,000 km) whereas a Class 8 truck is expected to travel 1,000,000 miles (1,600,000 km) over its lifetime. The truck’s extensive travel is primarily highway use as opposed to local driving for automobiles.
Q. With a lower energy density compared to batteries, why is FCV expected to be cleaner mobility as well as more efficient?
A. Hydrogen offers much higher specific energy than batteries. The lighter weight could contribute to solving the range and payload issues inherent to a 100% battery-powered propulsion. They could be zero-emission electric vehicles since they emit only water vapor.
Q. How can a Belgian citizen buy a FCV, when there is zero filling station?
A. According to ACEA, there were 2 Hydrogen refueling stations in 2018, one of which is located in (HRS) Colruyt Group, Halle, Belgium. In Germany, 6 hydrogen refueling stations initiatives are within 90 km of the border of Belgium.
In an extension of the large public hydrogen refueling station that will be installed in The Hague, a collaboration between Shell and Resato, a second large HRS will be installed in Belgium, which will have a capacity of 480kg/day hydrogen.
Recent developments in H2-Mobilty in Belgium include:
• To develop a National Implementation Plan (NIP) for the implementation of a hydrogen refueling infrastructure in Belgium for the timeline 2015 – 2030, focussing on the TEN-T corridors and connection to the NIP’s in the neighboring countries
• To prepare the Belgian market for the introduction of fuel cell electric vehicles, focussing on passenger cars and buses
We can expect that HRS will be opening in Belgium soon.
In case you still have any further questions, do write them to prakash.dogra@futurebridge.com and we will respond to you directly.
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