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Loughborough, UK
Prof. Rob Thring holds the Chair in Fuel Cell Engineering in the Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering Department of Loughborough University, UK. He formerly worked with Ricardo Consulting Engineers in the field of engine efficiency and while he was with the Southwest Research Institute in the USA he set up the Ultra- Low Emissions Engine Program to develop the technology needed for car manufacturers to meet California exhaust emissions standards. At Loughborough University, his Department is concerned with the efficiency of engines and fuel cells for automotive applications.
Prof Thring told Fuel Cell Power what is required to replace our present fossil fuel powered transport. “The change to zero carbon vehicles will take place” he says “it is not if, but when. The other important question is whether they will be British made or we have to import them.” Prof Thring explained that it is difficult for engine manufacturers to change from piston engines to more efficient fuel cells, because they have invested £billions in setting up production lines. If hydrogen piston engines were designed ‘from the ground up’ they could be more efficient than they are at present, but it is unlikely that they could be as efficient as fuel cells. The PEM fuel cells his department are evaluating have 50% electrical efficiency and this is even higher at part load, which makes them eminently suitable for transport, especially passenger cars. For comparison, in urban driving an internal combustion engine is only about 15% efficient. At present Loughborough University are using hydrogen from a commercial supplier, but they plan to install an electrolyser so that part of their hydrogen will come from renewable sources. They would really like to get their own 2.0MW wind turbine to produce all their hydrogen requirements on site using green electricity.
STORED ENERGY USED FOR TRANSPORT
Prof Thring is proposing a project which would cover issues vital to the future of energy in the UK. It is essential that we develop large scale hydrogen storage systems for wind farms and nuclear power. Prof Thring has calculated that to provide fuel for 26.5 million vehicles in the UK just 20,000 wind turbines would be required, operating at the average load factor of 30%. He made a conservative estimate of 65% efficiency for the electrolyser. If the turbines were built at the rate of 2,000 per year and a cost of £4billion per year, at the end of a decade the UK would no longer be dependent on oil to power its transport. Many people are opposed to wind turbines, but they accept about 20,000 electricity pylons.
As a prelude to the proposed project, Prof Thring’s Department has carried out a study of the local buses which connect the University campus with the centre of Loughborough and the railway station. The results show that the route is ideal for hydrogen powered buses which could be refuelled by the onsite hydrogen station.
The recent report by the Government sponsored New Automotive Innovation Growth Team (NAIGT) stated that research and development (R & D) in the UK automotive sector has declined, largely because it has been taken over by overseas companies which keep their R & D base in their own countries. Prof Thring is on the Council of the Low CVP (Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership) which has recently carried out a survey of diverse experts who expressed the consensus that Government must do more to lead the transition to low carbon transport.
The NAIGT report recommends that ‘Test Bed UK’ should be set up to provide regional facilities for developers of innovative transport technologies. Prof Thring said, “Many of the larger companies are doing great work developing hydrogen and fuel cells, but some are too inflexible. We need more innovative companies to get new technologies off the ground. Einstein said that we can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. University engineering departments should not only be undertaking R & D, but we could take a leading role with the implementation of new technologies.” www.lboro.ac.uk |