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London, UK
LONDON WANTS 21ST CENTURY ENERGY SYSTEM
Kit Malthouse, the Deputy Mayor of London and Chairman of the London Hydrogen Partnership, believes that in the 21st century hydrogen and fuel cells will alleviate the problems associated with oil in the 20th century. He said that the delegates at the Grove meeting are writing the opening chapters of this new era. The London Hydrogen Partnership (LHP) is here to help to make this happen. Honda could not bring their hydrogen cars to London because there was no refuelling infrastructure, but the LHP will ensure that there is a ‘hydrogen highway’ in London, starting with six refuelling stations across the city.
The LHP is working with coalitions of vehicle users, called ‘hy-nets’ who will start using hydrogen in order to seed its growing use. For instance, Kit Malthouse is responsible for the London police, who have 4500 vehicles. The Post Office also has a large fleet and there is interest from the big supermarkets and local authorities. Five hydrogen fuel cell buses will come into operation next spring and Intelligent Energy is supplying the technology for the trial of twenty fuel cell taxis by 2012. At that time there will be at least 150 hydrogen fuelled vehicles to ferry Olympic visitors around. The London Hydrogen Partnership is working with Air Products to build up the hydrogen infrastructure. In conjunction with Logan Energy, Transport for London and the London Development Agency, they are starting distributed power production with a 200 kW fuel cell. They are aiming to improve the air quality in London and are ploughing back into clean energy projects a lot of the funds raised in London’s low emission zone. Kit Malthouse would like to own the first hydrogen car in London and he and the LHP at City Hall would like to hear of any proposals to expedite the introduction of hydrogen and fuel cells.
 GROVE MEDAL PRESENTED TO HONDA
Lars Sjunnesson, Chairman of the Grove Symposium Steering Committee (right) welcomed delegates to the conference. Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor of London, (left) presented the Grove Medal to Mr Yuji Kawaguchi, Managing Director of Honda R & D Co Ltd. Mr Kawaguchi explained that Honda has been developing fuel cell powered vehicles since the late 1980s in order to reduce C02 emissions and to ensure future energy security.
HONDA COMMITTED TO HYDROGEN AND FUEL CELLS
Honda is beginning to lease out their FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell powered car. The 100 kW fuel cell weighs 67 kgs, it starts from a very low temperature (-30C) and gives a range of 280 miles. The energy density of the fuel cell is nearly 400 Wh/kg, almost four times greater than that of a lithium -ion battery. Honda is contributing to building up a new society, based on home energy generation, producing hydrogen with solar power. They are committed to ensuring that the cost and reliability of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are comparable with those of gasoline powered vehicles.
MARKETS FOR HYDROGEN
Rupert Gammon of Bryte Energy said that we have had unrealistically low energy prices during the fossil fuel age, but economies are now going to change radically. All energy sources are going to get a lot more expensive, but hydrogen developers are proposing taking low value periodic surpluses of electricity output from renewables and turning it into a high value fuel for transport. Hydrogen can provide solutions to the challenges of climate change and energy security. Its production has the advantage of providing a dispatchable load – that is it is easy to switch on and off and ramp up and down. Although hydrogen storage is less efficient than batteries, it is more cost effective for longer term and inter-seasonal storage and offers a range, weight and compactness for vehicles that is superior to that of batteries. Like any fuel it is dangerous, but often in ways which are more manageable. There is plenty of scope for technical advances and cost reductions. Renewable energy is best used directly by the grid, but temporary surpluses can be stored as hydrogen fuel for vehicles, balancing supply and demand on the grid.
The nature of the hydrogen market is that it links heat, power and transport. It is an essential part of decarbonisation, whether policies favour clean coal or renewables. Hydrogen is essential to smooth out peak loads and provide fuel for transport, but electrolysers must be able to cope with low capacity factors. It may be better to install electrolysers downstream at garage forecourts and make hydrogen locally, rather than install hydrogen pipelines. Some hydrogen might also be made locally from onsite renewable energy. Large quantities of hydrogen could become available for transport from pre-combustion clean coal and carbon capture and storage technologies, at least until fossil fuel prices rise. Biofuels may be best used in stationary power generation, where they have value as dispatchable energy. To understand hydrogen markets, a holistic view across all energy sectors is needed.
BALANCING THE GRID
Mark Kammerer of Hydrogenics GmbH discussed the role of hydrogen with renewable energy systems for remote communities, for grid balancing and energy storage. The increasing use of renewable energy is causing instability in the grid and back up with fossil fuels undermines the value of renewable energy. The electricity may be stored as hydrogen to power transport.
Hydrogen used for transport
The use of hydrogen for energy storage is already competitive with diesel in many remote areas and will be increasingly competitive elsewhere as the cost of hydrogen continues to go down and the price of fossil fuels increases. An electrolyser starts up in seconds, and can displace the need for fossil fuel powered spinning reserve, thereby freeing existing plant to actually generate electricity.
CALIFORNIA LEADING WITH HYDROGEN INFRASTRUCTURE
Catherine Dunwoody, executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership presented the California Fuel Cell Partnership “action plan” to guide the coordinated rollout of fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen stations as the technology moves into the early commercial market. In summary, the CaFCP Action Plan calls for ongoing support for the six existing public stations and building 40 new stations. The stations are focused in three geographic areas, with the emphasis on passenger vehicles in Southern California, transit buses in the San Francisco Bay Area and development of regulations and codes and standards in Sacramento. To support this level of effort, stations need to be funded during the next four years, and be built and begin operating over the next six years. To accomplish these goals, CaFCP estimates the total investment needed from government and industry is $180 million.
Since publishing the action plan, seven new stations have been announced and awarded matching government funds. All fall into the target areas outlined in the action plan. Two of the new stations will be retail stations, including one independent operator. Two will be accessible stations at universities and the last is an accessible station at a waste water treatment plant where the hydrogen is 100% renewable from waste. CaFCP has learned some of the challenges of building new stations, including the lack of a business case, the need to build stations more quickly, and creating a level playing field for hydrogen compared to other conventional and alternative fuels.
To maximize fuel availability and ensure the efficient use of funds, it’s important to coordinate the rollout of vehicles and stations. People will not buy or lease vehicles that they cannot fuel. Station owners, who are primarily small business owners, will not invest in a fuel that customers don’t demand. There are no easy answers, but the CaFCP Action Plan is a model that other regions can follow.
Jack Brouwer of the University of California at Irvine said that there are 28 MW of stationary fuel cells in California, half of which are powered by bio-digester gas. Prof Kevin Kendall of the University of Birmingham was impressed by the USA programme with energy from waste and said that in the UK we still incinerate our waste and we need to catch up with the USA. Jack Brouwer also referred to lower temperature fuel cells where capital cost is the major barrier, but said that there have been dramatic reductions in platinum loadings in the past ten years.
HYDROGEN ESSENTIAL TO MEET C02 REDUCTION TARGETS
Dr Martin Blake of the Royal Mail said that we need a radical paradigm shift to meet the target for an 80% reduction in C02 by 2050. People are still looking for a ‘silver bullet’ to meet their needs for clean, secure energy – it is already here – it is called hydrogen. He was impressed by the recent Memorandum of Understanding by leading automotive companies to start building up the hydrogen infrastructure now, in order to prepare the way for volume production of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2015.
 A hydrogen fuel cell van from Microcab, which distributes mail at the University of Birmingham, was demonstrated to delegates at the meeting. The Royal Mail has 33,000 vehicles and they are working with the Carbon Trust, Cenex and Forum for the Future to dramatically cut emissions by 2015. The Royal Mail envisages that battery electric vehicles will be suitable for urban operations and hydrogen will be utilised in rural areas. They are working with the European Fuel Cell Association and Cenex to develop a universal design specification for the mail van with 44 postal operators.
The Royal Mail is also starting to modify their buildings in order to meet the potential Government requirement for commercial buildings to be carbon neutral by 2019. There may also be problems with electricity supply by 2013, as coal and nuclear plants close down and it is essential for the human race to get carbon off its books if we want to avoid flooding, famine, migrations and war. Scotland also wants to pursue the hydrogen economy. A Royal Mail van powered by hydrogen produced by anaerobic digestion will be operated on the Isle of Lewis and a conceptual building incorporating a molten carbonate fuel cell has been designed as a vision for the Royal Mail delivery office on the Island.
BUILDING CANADA’S HYDROGEN FUEL CELL INDUSTRY
Ry Smith of the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (CHFCA) said that their ‘hydrogen village’ is not an actual village but a market development programme, a springboard for the wider uptake of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. It is spread over Greater Toronto and involves users, environmentalists, financiers and manufacturers. The total investment is $15m and the costs are now reducing and shifting towards the customer. Projects include a refuelling station for vehicles at the base of a wind turbine, forklift trucks, a van for a courier company, ten liquid hydrogen powered vehicles with a refuelling station and three Ford hydrogen i.c. engine shuttle buses. Stationary power includes 20kW back up for an internet service provider and a 1.2MW molten carbonate fuel cell combined with a 1MW turboexpander. Two 100MW grid management systems are being developed which will optimize the use of intermittent energy from wind and solar power. Projects under development are small vehicles, i.c. engine shuttle buses, a locomotive scale train for commuter and airport services, five refuelling stations, as well as auxiliary power units (APUs). The outreach programme includes a hydrogen float to inform the public about the benefits of hydrogen and fuel cells and they are building two houses powered by hydrogen.
The objective of CHFCA is to overcome the barriers to employing new hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. They must ensure proper timing and the right place for projects, without spreading funding too thinly. They have to overcome regulatory resistance and help to dispel misconceptions about hydrogen. There are public concerns about safety but little understanding of the benefits of hydrogen. There are also competitive technologies such as batteries, but both have important roles. The aim of CHFCA is to define the markets for early development and to build up service chains for hydrogen and fuel cells. Chris Sacré commented that it is an outreach programme by industrial technology companies and the development of standards requires central coordination. The programme is synergistic and they are building together an overall hydrogen industry for Canada.
PREMIUM ONSITE ELECTRICAL POWER
Michael Bode of MTU Onsite Energy GmbH outlined their work with co-gen and tri-gen molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC). These range from 235kW to 350 kW and they are increasing up to the MW scale. Electrical efficiency is 47% and thermal around 40%, with average co-gen 80% and the best efficiency 95%. The system provides premium electrical power, with no fluctuations, and operates from 650°C. For base load power it has unmatched efficiency. It is fuel flexible and can be powered by biogas, sewage or methanol. Their latest system is powered by brewery effluent in Munich. It is so clean, that it has exhaust air, not exhaust gas! Applications are in low emission zones, hotels, data centres and for Energy Service Companies (ESCOs). In the next 20 years heat production in inner cities will be based on co-gen and fuel cells are the only environmentally sound option for CHP in low emission zones. No one will complain if they have one near their home!
EFFICIENT C02 CAPTURE FOR FOSSIL FUELS
MCFC are also being developed for use with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. Flavio Federici of Ansaldo Fuel Cells SpA explained that in a conventional fossil fuel power station, carbon capture requires 10% to 15% of the energy generated, thereby reducing a plant’s efficiency from 45% down to 30% or 35%. The MCFC does not use additional power, but a C02 stream is moved automatically during operation to the anode where it provides additional electric power. This technology can be retrofitted to existing plants, although it is more difficult with coal than with natural gas plants. The advantages of MCFC are its high efficiency, it can be used with both fossil and renewable fuels, and it can be retrofitted to power plants.
Jack Brouwer of the University of California at Irvine agreed that fuel cells will be used in the coal power plants of the future. They will be the most efficient option for 100 MW class coal power stations with carbon capture and storage (CCS) as they have a low C02 penalty. A conventional coal power plant is about 35% to 40% efficient, but energy is required for separating the carbon, which reduces efficiency to around 30%. The fuel cell, on the other hand, already separates the C02 stream and can achieve up to 65% electrical efficiency.
INVESTMENT IN CLEAN ENERGY
Michael Wilshire of New Energy Finance Ltd said that global stimulus funds are supporting investment in clean energy and will continue to increase during 2010 and 2011. The USA and China are contributing most to energy programmes, the E.U. is contributing much less and the UK contribution is very small. There will be incentives to invest in oil substitution if the price rises to over $80/barrel and carbon pricing is an important driver. Venture capital and private equity investment in fuel cells is increasing after the fall last year, although investment in public markets is falling. New Energy Finance has surveyed over a hundred investors with assets totalling over $1trillion and finds that 75% will invest more in clean energy and only 3% will invest less in this sector.
INTRODUCE FUEL CELLS NOW
Bill Ireland of Logan Energy outlined the immediate potential for fuel cells in suitable stationary applications. Scotland is aiming to achieve 42% C02 reduction by 2020 and fuel cells will help to meet this goal. They will also contribute to London’s aim for 60% C02 reduction by 2025 and reduce emissions of NOx, SOx and particulates. The use of fuel cells will contribute to future energy security and help to avoid conflicts over increasingly scarce resources.
The UK electricity infrastructure needs reviewing and upgrading and much higher efficiency can be achieved with distributed generation providing both electricity and heat. Transport for London have installed a Combined Cooling, Heat and Power (CCHP) system incorporating a 200kWe fuel cell and an 800kWe i.c.e. system. It provides more electricity than heat and over a 20 year life cycle it will enable considerable cost saving. Smaller fuel cells are ideal for uninterrupted power supplies, powered by a variety of indigenous fuels, including hydrogen, methane, methanol, LPG, ammonia or ethane, depending upon the requirements and available resources.
At present there is lack of awareness and short termism is prevalent. We must break the mould, change our perceptions and cooperate to even out electricity loads. Surplus electricity from intermittent renewable sources can be used to generate H2 to power transport. Different types of fuel cell are already commercially available in units from 1kWe to 2.8MWe and as energy prices increase there will be even higher returns on investment.
Government incentives are boosting alternative energy systems but a level playing field is needed. Some Government incentives, such as CHP Quality Assurance, discourage fuel cells.
The benefits of fuel cells are that they have the highest electrical efficiency of any distributed generation option, they have higher availability and they are already competitive when considering life cycle costs rather than short term payback. The UK needs a programme like Callux in Germany, which supports the introduction of CHP systems. Hydrogen is the transition fuel from fossil to renewables and the more hydrogen fuel cells we get out there the better.
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FIG 1 Financial comparison CCHP Fuel Cell v ICE v Grid. Extra cost/saving per kWe over 20 year life cycle |
FIG 2 with 60% energy price rise |
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REMOVING BARRIERS TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FUEL CELLS
David Morgado of Delta Energy and Environment, said that Japan has started to commercialize PEM micro CHP systems, with a target of at least 4,000 sales this financial year. In the German Callux programme 800 SOFC and PEM mCHP are planned by 2012. He estimated that Japan and Europe could each have annual sales of 100,000 micro fuel cell CHP units <5kWe for residential applications by 2020 and perhaps as many as a million by 2025.
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Potential fuel cell mCHP annual commercial sales |
Financing fuel cells: type of entity and available financing instruments |
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To meet these estimates, manufacturers must reach their proposed targets, including cost reduction, lifetime and reliability. Fuel cells will be best suited to operation in new insulated homes where the requirement is for more electricity than heat. Incentives will expedite the implementation of fuel cells. Feed In Tariffs (FIT) are being introduced in the UK for in-house or export electricity generation. There are also subsidies, tax reduction efficiency incentives and R & D grants in Germany’s Callux programme and in Japan. Globally, there are 30 developers of fuel cell mCHP and once fuel cells come to market they could be the best option as volume production brings down costs and lifetime is increased.
Phil Doran of CoreTec Ventures considered the corporate structure of the European hydrogen and fuel cell industry and the failure to finance independent developers. We are having to build up a new energy infrastructure, which changes the way society produces and consumes goods, and these changes have to be made by previously non-existing companies. Established companies are not good at making great changes, so development is dominated by poorly resourced startups and universities. Public funding is not generally available to innovative non-trading companies and there is very little private finance for them either, although they are often the most successful at developing new products.
At the pre-production stage it is possible to go to the stock markets although they mainly cater for larger companies. There is a small number of stock market listed micro firms, but they are making losses and have no retained profits for tax breaks. More and more fuel cells are being demonstrated but capital costs are higher and investors are limited by short time periods, particularly in Europe. They need to make high returns to cover the risk of new technology. Government grants for micro firms contribute 35%, but how can innovators put the rest on the table? Despite the fact that fuel cells are disruptive and offer the prospect of simultaneously meeting a number of government policies, the vast majority of government financial support within Europe is wholly unsuited to the development of an industry with these characteristics. Member States should build on and expand the UK Carbon Trust and NESTA models of providing equity directly. The EU could establish a European Trust Fund for future generations, which would have the advantages of promoting the best in Europe.
Tom Delay, Chief Executive of the UK Carbon Trust, said that they aim to address the multiple market failures in the low carbon energy sector, with a more focussed strategy for public funding. John Loughhead of the UK Energy Research Council (UKERC) likened fuel cells to electric light technology, which took decades to reach the market due to the strong lobbies for existing gas lighting. Waves of electric light manufacturers were bankrupted until the gas light companies could no longer compete and people became accustomed to electricity. The aim of mass production of fuel cell vehicles by 2015 is too far ahead for politicians, who want instant solutions. Catherine Dunwoody of the California Fuel Cell Partnership said that early market infrastructure is needed to support volume production by 2015, thereby enabling more immediate action to deal with climate change.
David Carter of Conduit Ventures Fund said that investors need a return within 5 to 7 years, but there are opportunities for fuel cells in the next two years as they could reduce C02 emissions and their costs are dropping steadily. Electricity suppliers have growing concerns about demand management and solar energy must be stored. People do not know about fuel cells. It is easier to communicate the role of solar and wind energy and the advantages of using a smart grid, so it would be better for manufacturers to sell ‘power solutions’ rather than fuel cells. Whitney Collella of the Sandia National Laboratories said that finance companies should be aware that investment in fuel cells may be needed for more like 15 to 20 years.
CONCERTED UK HYDROGEN AND FUEL CELL PROGRAMME
Dr Tim Mays of the University of Bath is the Principal Investigator for the UK Sustainable Hydrogen Energy Consortium (UK-SHEC). This forms part of the EPSRC's SUPERGEN research programme, which also includes consortia on fuel cells, energy storage, delivery of sustainable hydrogen and biological fuel cells. The UK needs to have a concerted hydrogen programme, like the USA or Japan said Dr Mays. His view is that hydrogen development in the UK is fragmented, disconnected and that we need to inform the policy makers of the potential for hydrogen. The SUPERGEN programme is contributing to Government targets to reduce C02 emissions and he believes that 11 days could change the world at Copenhagen! Dr Gary Acres, Honorary President of the Grove Steering Committee, agreed with Dr Mays. He explained that when there is sufficient renewable energy in place, we will have to use hydrogen whether we like it or not. The UK has an innovation gap and needs a hydrogen and fuel cell programme like those in the EU, the USA and Japan.
PROCEEDINGS FROM ELSEVIER
Selected papers from the oral presentations at the 11th Grove Fuel Cell Symposium will be available from the Journal of Power Sources published by Elsevier. The topics covered in the technical presentations include nanostructured materials, fuel processors, solid state hydrogen storage and systems engineering. Fuel cell applications include micro CHP, larger scale power generation, portable fuel cells, commuter rail vehicles, local shipping and APUs for yachts and merchants ships and comparisons with vehicles powered by batteries complemented by fuel cells in hybrid designs. www.elsevier.com/locate/jpowsour |