Assessing commercialization strategy. Fuel cell case study, final report

The Florida Hydrogen Initiative (FHI) was a research, development and demonstration hydrogen and fuel cell program. The FHI program objectives were to develop Florida?s hydrogen and fuel cell infrastructure and to assist DOE in its hydrogen and fuel cell activities The FHI program funded 12 RD&D projects as follows: Hydrogen Refueling Infrastructure and Rental Car Strategies -- L. Lines, Rollins College This project analyzes strategies for Florida's early stage adaptation of hydrogen-powered public transportation. In particular, the report investigates urban and statewide network of refueling stations and the feasibility of establishing a hydrogen rental-car fleet based in Orlando. Methanol Fuel Cell Vehicle Charging Station at Florida Atlantic University ? M. Fuchs, EnerFuel, Inc. The project objectives were to design, and demonstrate a 10 kWnet proton exchange membrane fuel cell stationary power plant operating on methanol, to achieve an electrical energy efficiency of 32% and to demonstrate transient response time of less than 3 milliseconds. Assessment of Public Understanding of the Hydrogen Economy Through Science Center Exhibits, J. Newman, Orlando Science Center The project objective was to design and build an interactive Science Center exhibit called: ?H2Now: the Great Hydrogen Xchange?. On-site Reformation of Diesel Fuel for Hydrogen Fueling Station Applications ? A. Raissi, Florida Solar Energy Center This project developed an on-demand forecourt hydrogen production technology by catalytically converting high-sulfur hydrocarbon fuels to an essentially sulfur-free gas. The removal of sulfur from reformate is critical since most catalysts used for the steam reformation have limited sulfur tolerance. Chemochromic Hydrogen Leak Detectors for Safety Monitoring ? N. Mohajeri and N. Muradov, Florida Solar Energy Center This project developed and demonstrated a cost-effective and highly selective chemochromic (visual) hydrogen leak detector for safety monitoring at any facility engaged in transport, handling and use of hydrogen. Development of High Efficiency Low Cost Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Production and PEM Fuel Cell Applications ? M. Rodgers, Florida Solar Energy Center The objective of this project was to decrease platinum usage in fuel cells by conducting experiments to improve catalyst activity while lowering platinum loading through pulse electrodeposition. Optimum values of several variables during electrodeposition were selected to achieve the highest electrode performance, which was related to catalyst morphology. Understanding Mechanical and Chemical Durability of Fuel Cell Membrane Electrode Assemblies ? D. Slattery, Florida Solar Energy Center The objective of this project was to increase the knowledge base of the degradation mechanisms for membranes used in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The results show the addition of ceria (cerium oxide) has given durability improvements by reducing fluoride emissions by an order of magnitude during an accelerated durability test. Production of Low-Cost Hydrogen from Biowaste (HyBrTec?) ? R. Parker, SRT Group, Inc., Miami, FL This project developed a hydrogen bromide (HyBrTec?) process which produces hydrogen bromide from wet-cellulosic waste and co-produces carbon dioxide. Eelectrolysis dissociates hydrogen bromide producing recyclable bromine and hydrogen. A demonstration reactor and electrolysis vessel was designed, built and operated. Development of a Low-Cost and High-Efficiency 500 W Portable PEMFC System ? J. Zheng, Florida State University, H. Chen, Bing Energy, Inc. The objectives of this project were to develop a new catalyst structures comprised of highly conductive buckypaper and Pt catalyst nanoparticles coated on its surface and to demonstrate fuel cell efficiency improvement and durability and cell cost reductions in the buckypaper based electrodes. Development of an Interdisciplinary Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Academic Program ? J. Politano, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL This project developed a hydrogen and fuel cell technology academic program at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida. Design and Development of an Advanced Hydrogen Storage System using Novel Materials ? E. Stefanakos, University of South Florida The goal of this project was to design and develop novel conducting polymeric nanomaterials for on-board hydrogen storage. The project approach was to examine synthesis of polyaniline solid state hydrogen storage materials. Advanced HiFoil ? Bipolar Plates ? J. Braun, M. Fuchs, EnerFuel, Inc. The goal of this project was to provide a durable, low cost bipolar plate for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The project results produced a durable, low cost bipolar plate with very high in-plane thermal conductivity.

Rod Borup is a Team Leader in the fuel cell program at Los Alamos National Lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He received his B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Iowa in 1988 and his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1993. He has worked on fuel cell technology since 1994, working in the areas of hydrogen production and PEM fuel cell stack components. He has been awarded 12 U.S. patents, authored over 40 papers related to fuel cell technology, and presented over 50 oral papers at national meetings. His current main research area is related to water transport in PEM fuel cells and PEM fuel cell durability. Recently, he was awarded the 2005 DOE Hydrogen Program R&D Award for the most significant R&D contribution of the year for his team's work in fuel cell durability and was the Principal Investigator for the 2004 Fuel Cell Seminar (San Antonio, TX, USA) Best Poster Award. Jeremy Meyers is an Assistant Professor of materials science and engineering and mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, where his research focuses on the development of electrochemical energy systems and materials. Prior to joining the faculty at Texas, Jeremy workedmore » as manager of the advanced transportation technology group at UTC Power, where he was responsible for developing new system designs and components for automotive PEM fuel cell power plants. While at UTC Power, Jeremy led several customer development projects and a DOE-sponsored investigation into novel catalysts and membranes for PEM fuel cells. Jeremy has coauthored several papers on key mechanisms of fuel cell degradation and is a co-inventor of several patents. In 2006, Jeremy and several colleagues received the George Mead Medal, UTC's highest award for engineering achievement, and he served as the co-chair of the Gordon Research Conference on fuel cells. Jeremy received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University. Bryan Pivovar received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1994. He completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota in 2000 under the direction of Profs. Ed Cussler and Bill Smyrl, studying transport properties in fuel cell electrolytes. He continued working in the area of polymer electrolyte fuel cells at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a post-doc (2000-2001), as a technical staff member (2001-2005), and in his current position as a team leader (2005-present). In this time, Bryan's research has expanded to include further aspects of fuel cell operation, including electrodes, subfreezing effects, alternative polymers, hydroxide conductors, fuel cell interfaces, impurities, water transport, and high-temperature membranes. Bryan has served at various levels in national and international conferences and workshops, including organizing a DOE sponsored workshop on freezing effects in fuel cells and an ARO sponsored workshop on alkaline membrane fuel cells, and he was co-chair of the 2007 Gordon Research Conference on Fuel Cells. Minoru Inaba is a Professor at the Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Doshisha University, Japan. He received his B.Sc. from the Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University, in 1984 and his M.Sc. in 1986 and his Dr. Eng. in 1995 from the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University. He has worked on electrochemical energy conversion systems including fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries at Kyoto University (1992-2002) and at Doshisha University (2002-present). His primary research interest is the durability of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), in particular, membrane degradation, and he has been involved in NEDO R&D research projects on PEFC durability since 2001. He has authored over 140 technical papers and 30 review articles. Kenichiro Ota is a Professor of the Chemical Energy Laboratory at the Graduate School of Engineering, Yokohama National University, Japan. He received his B.S.E. in Applied Chemistry from the University of Tokyo in 1968 and his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo in 1973. He has worked on hydrogen energy and fuel cells since 1974, working on materials science for fuel cells and water electrolysis. He has published more than 150 original papers, 70 review papers, and 50 scientific books. He is now the president of the Hydrogen Energy Systems Society of Japan, the chairman of the Fuel Cell Research Group of the Electrochemical Society of Japan, and the chairman of the National Committee for the Standardization of the Stationary Fuel Cells. ABSTRACT TRUNCATED« less

The 2015 Annual Progress Report summarizes fiscal year 2015 activities and accomplishments by projects funded by the DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program. It covers the program areas of hydrogen production; hydrogen delivery; hydrogen storage; fuel cells; manufacturing R&D; technology validation; safety, codes and standards; systems analysis; and market transformation.

The Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Plan outlines the strategy, activities, and plans of the DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program, which includes hydrogen and fuel cell activities within the EERE Fuel Cell Technologies Program and the DOE offices of Nuclear Energy, Fossil Energy, and Science.

Goal of the fuel cell program is to increase energy efficiency and economic effectiveness through development and commercialization of fuel cell systems which operate on fossil fuels in multiple end use sectors. DOE is participating with the private sector in sponsoring development of molten carbonate fuel cells and solid oxide fuel cells for application in the utility, commercial, and industrial sectors. Commercialization of phosphoric acid fuel cells is well underway. Besides the introduction, this document is divided into: goal/objectives, program strategy, technology description, technical status, program description/implementation, coordinated fuel cell activities, and international activities.

The Texas Hydrogen Highway project has showcased a hydrogen fuel cell transit bus and hydrogen fueling infrastructure that was designed and built through previous support from various public and private sector entities. The aim of this project has been to increase awareness among transit agencies and other public entities on these transportation technologies, and to place such technologies into commercial applications, such as a public transit agency. The initial project concept developed in 2004 was to show that a skid-mounted, fully-integrated, factory-built and tested hydrogen fueling station could be used to simplify the design, and lower the cost of fueling infrastructure for fuel cell vehicles. The approach was to design, engineer, build, and test the integrated fueling station at the factory then install it at a site that offered educational and technical resources and provide an opportunity to showcase both the fueling station and advanced hydrogen vehicles. The two primary technology components include: Hydrogen Fueling Station: The hydrogen fueling infrastructure was designed and built by Gas Technology Institute primarily through a funding grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. It includes hydrogen production, clean-up, compression, storage, and dispensing. The station consists of a steam methane reformer, gas clean-up system, gas compressor and 48 kilograms of hydrogen storage capacity for dispensing at 5000 psig. The station is skid-mounted for easy installation and can be relocated if needed. It includes a dispenser that is designed to provide temperaturecompensated fills using a control algorithm. The total station daily capacity is approximately 50 kilograms. Fuel Cell Bus: The transit passenger bus built by Ebus, a company located in Downey, CA, was commissioned and acquired by GTI prior to this project. It is a fuel cell plug-in hybrid electric vehicle which is ADA compliant, has air conditioning sufficient for Texas operations, and regenerative braking for battery charging. It uses a 19.3 kW Ballard PEM fuel cell, will store 12.6 kg of hydrogen at 350 Bar, and includes a 60 kWh battery storage system. The objectives of the project included the following: (a) To advance commercialization of hydrogen-powered transit buses and supporting infrastructure; (b) To provide public outreach and education by showcasing the operation of a 22-foot fuel cell hybrid shuttle bus and Texas first hydrogen fueling infrastructure; and (c) To showcase operation of zero-emissions vehicle for potential transit applications. As mentioned above, the project successfully demonstrated an early vehicle technology, the Ebus plug-in hybrid fuel cell bus, and that success has led to the acquisition of a more advanced vehicle that can take advantage of the same fueling infrastructure. Needed hydrogen station improvements have been identified that will enhance the capabilities of the fueling infrastructure to serve the new bus and to meet the transit agency needs. Over the course of this project, public officials, local government staff, and transit operators were engaged in outreach and education activities that acquainted them with the real world operation of a fuel cell bus and fueling infrastructure. Transit staff members in the Dallas/Ft. Worth region were invited to a workshop in Arlington, Texas at the North Central Texas Council of Governments to participate in a workshop on hydrogen and fuel cells, and to see the fuel cell bus in operation. The bus was trucked to the meeting for this purpose so that participants could see and ride the bus. Austin area transit staff members visited the fueling site in Austin to be briefed on the bus and to participate in a fueling demonstration. This led to further meetings to determine how a fuel cell bus and fueling station could be deployed at Capital Metro Transit. Target urban regions that expressed additional interest during the project in response to the outreach meetings and showcase events include San Antonio and Austin, Texas. In summary, the project objectives were achieved in the following ways: Through presentations and papers provided to a variety of audiences in multiple venues, the project team fulfilled its goal of providing education and outreach on hydrogen technology to statewide audiences. The project team generated interest that exists well beyond the completion of the project, and indeed, helped to generate financial support for a subsequent hydrogen vehicle project in Austin. The University of Texas, Center for ElectroMechanics operated the fuel cell-electric Ebus vehicle for over 13,000 miles in Austin, Texas in a variety of routes and loading configurations. The project took advantage of prior efforts that created a hydrogen fueling station and fuel cell electric-hybrid bus and continued to verify their technical foundation, while informing and educating potential future users of how these technologies work.

This paper presents the results of a study to evaluate the feasibility of deploying fuel cells in hydrocarbon producing facilities. For the majority of hydrocarbon production facilities, electric power is generated on-site, most often, by the combustion of some of the produced hydrocarbons. To optimize its performance, Shell is continuously looking at applying new technologies, which can increase the availability of her production facilities and/or reduced lifecycle costs and/or improve safety and environmental performance. Shell has identified fuel cell technology as being capable of delivering some of these benefits because of its potential to achieve high availability, reliability and fuel efficiency when compared to conventional technologies. An inventory has been made of the specific design specifications and the state-of-the-art of commercially available fuel cell systems. Most of the required capacities fall in the range of 1kW to 1 MW, which is compatible with state of the art fuel cell developments or it can be achieved in the near future. A software-screening tool has been constructed to evaluate the various options with respect to conventional technologies. The specific design specifications can vary from production site to site, but in general availability and low maintenance are two of the main criteria to be considered and most favorable for fuel cells. Depending on the specific requirements for a particular hydrocarbon production facility a polymer fuel cell, MCFC or SOFC system are considered suitable alternatives to conventional technology. The screening tool has been applied and evaluated in a case study of one of the unmanned production facilities of Shell. A 20 kW SOFC system was found to score higher than a commercially available gas engine of 25 kW on eight of the most important of several criteria. However, SOFC system lifecycle costs are still 15 to 20% higher due to the development costs needed for this ‘prototype’ SOFC system to make it suitable for use in hydrocarbon producing facility. When applied in more surface production facilities the SOFC system also becomes costs competitive with conventional technologies.

The mission of the fuel cell systems program of the Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, in partnership with its customers and stakeholders, is to foster the creation of a new domestic fuel cell industry. This industry should be capable of commercialization of new, improved fuel cell power generation systems and thereby provide significant economic and environmental benefits. This program is aligned with the Department of Energy`s core mission (business line) of energy resources. The Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Fossil Energy, is participating with the private sector in sponsoring the development of molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technologies for application in the utility, commercial and industrial sectors. Phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) development was sponsored by the Office of Fossil Energy in previous years and is now being commercialized by the private sector. This document describes the fuel cell activities of the DOE Office of Fossil Energy.

Hydrogen fuelled Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) are being developed as next generation energy delivery devices to replace conventional combustion technology and enable the development of a hydrogen economy. The attraction of the technology is its ability to operate at higher efficiencies than traditional combustion technology, reducing overall harmful gas and particulate emissions. When hydrogen derived from renewable resources is used as the energy vector, an environmentally benign system is created. Despite the promise held by PEMFC technology, important materials design and system engineering challenges still exist, preventing commercialisation. From a materials perspective, proton exchange membranes capable of operating at or above 140oC need to be developed. This minimum operating temperature is necessary for specific applications in transportation, to reduce catalyst poisoning by carbon monoxide and to increase the system’s ability to dissipate heat. System engineering challenges are due to poor understanding of the water balance in the fuel cell, the lack of design metrics for fuel cell systems and a poor understanding of dynamic operation. This thesis explores each of the aforementioned challenges as follows: • A review of the latest developments in solid acid membranes for PEMFCs operating at 140oC is presented. The most promising areas for future advancements are identified, analysed and discussed and the concept of a thin film, inorganic membrane fuel cell is introduced. • Sol-gel synthesised zirconium phosphate membranes are investigated as an alternative to layered zirconium phosphate proton conductors. The materials show conductivity values similar to α-zirconium phosphate. The advantage of the solgel synthesis route is that the materials can be manufactured as thin film proton conducting membranes. • Sol-gel titanium phosphate membranes are synthesised and their proton conduction mechanism and chemical stability are investigated. The materials show stable conductivity values up to 0.0044 S.cm−1 at 100oC and 100% relative humidity. 31P MAS NMR was used to elucidate the functional groups and develop a model for the Grotthuss proton conduction mechanism. • The STR fuel cell, which can fully self humidify when operating with dry feeds, is characterised and demonstrated and design equations are developed. The STR design cedes only a small performance penalty to fully humidified designs and eases the requirement to develop PEMs capable of operating independent of water in conditions below 130oC. • Dynamic operation of the STR autohumidified fuel cell is investigated. Current ignition and extinction phenomena and multiple steady states are characterised. It is shown that through careful choice of the operating parameters the dynamic response of the autohumidified fuel cell can replicate that of hydrated feed systems. • A spatially resolved current density distribution and impedance analysis of a 20 cm2 autohumidified STR fuel cell system is undertaken. The analysis demonstrates that the STR fuel cell design reduces current density gradients in the fuel cell under reduced relative humidity operation and that the performance of the system is superior to a single channel serpentine system. Through its multi-scale approach, this thesis demonstrates the importance of considering the fuel cell as a system. New thermally and chemically stable fuel cell membranes which are capable of operating at temperatures above the glass transition temperature of current state of the art polymers are needed. Additionally, there is a requirement to operate fuel cells with atmospheric condition feed streams while maintaining the hydration of the membranes. Together, the sol-gel titanium phosphate membranes and autohumidified STR fuel cell developed fill this knowledge gap, leading to a closer realisation of a commercial fuel cell system.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy (FE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Program is committed to developing efficient, low-cost electricity from natural gas or coal with intrinsic carbon capture capabilities for distributed generation and central power generation applications; maintaining cell development and core technology research to increase the reliability, robustness, and durability of cell, stack, and system technology; and providing the technology base to permit cost-competitive distributed generation applications. Recent program efforts focused on addressing cell and system reliability (finding chromium contamination of the cathode a major contributor to performance degradation and reduced system reliability) and an Innovative Concepts initiative (developing novel cell and stack architectures and/or material sets). The status of these strategically oriented research programs, along with the status of the program’s integrated systems tests and the roadmap to deploy a MWe-class natural gas-fueled distributed generation system, will be presented.

The presentation will provide an overview of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Hydrogen, Fuel Cell, and Infrastructure Technologies program with a focus on DOE's work to develop a unified domestic program and agenda for hydrogen codes and standards. This program involves the DOE, key standards development and model code development organizations, industry and industry associations, other federal agencies, and national laboratories. The paper will describe the objectives, approach, and major elements of this collaborative effort. Recent accomplishments and on-going activities will also be discussed.

The primary focus is on the development of commercial Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC) powerplant systems because the PAFC, which has undergone extensive development, is currently the closest fuel cell system to commercialization. Shorter discussions are included on the high temperature fuel cell systems which are not as mature in their development, such as the Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) and the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC). The alkaline and the Solid Polymer Electrolyte (SPE) fuel cell systems, are also included, but their discussions are limited to their prospects for commercial development. Currently, although the alkaline fuel cell continues to be used for important space applications there are no commercial development programs of significant size in the USA and only small efforts outside. The market place for fuel cells and the status of fuel cell programs in the USA receive extensive treatment. The fuel cell efforts outside the USA, especially the large Japanese programs, are also discussed.

The need of high level prepared students into the private sector is continuously increasing because of the raised innovation level requested by market. In this case study, experts were involved from the private sector in collaboration with the academic sector for a career management project initiated for students; the monitored KPIs had a positive trend. The purpose of the paper is to analyze and show the results of a project with big impact on the education of students from Romania and on the collaboration between the private and public sector. A model of career management is proposed, in which the knowledge is mobilized into a spiral of education levels with influence from the public sector, the private sector and the government. The positive influence of private sector it is highlighted and it is advised to introduce the management of career into student’s education.

The DOE fuel cell program supports high-risk, high-payoff technology development. The principal DOE fuel cell program goal is to develop cost effective, efficient, and environmentally benign fuel cell systems which will operate on coal-based fuels (and dual fuels: coal and gas) in multiple end use sectors. The specific near- to mid-term (mid-1990s) objectives are to develop the key fuel cell technology for phosphoric acid, molten carbonate, and solid oxide fuel cell systems, and to evaluate and conduct research on more advanced fuel cell concepts that would further improve technical and economic performance. Key elements of the fuel cell systems program are discussed and include: develop phosphoric acid fuel cell technology for electric utility applications and on-site power generation with co-product heat; develop molten carbonate fuel technology for electric utility and industrial applications; develop solid oxide fuel cell technology for electric utility and industrial applications; evaluate other additional advanced fuel concept for electric utility, industrial, residential and transportation applications; and support advanced research needed to develop fuel cell technologies. 6 figs.

A grant was awarded to PPL EnergyPlus, LLC for two (2) 250kW Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells at Pepperidge Farm, Inc. on 9/30/03. Pepperidge Farm subsequently signed a contract for one 250kW fuel cell. A request was made and granted to apply the award for the second fuel cell to the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers (see attached email). This report discusses the first year of operation of a fuel cell power plant located at Pepperidge Farm, Inc., Bloomfield, Connecticut and a fuel cell power plant located at Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, New York, New York. PPL EnergyPlus, LLC installed the plants under a contract with Pepperidge Farm and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Two DFC 300 fuel cells, manufactured by FuelCell Energy, Inc. of Danbury, CT were selected for the project. The fuel cell located at Pepperidge Farm successfully operated from January 16, 2006 to January 15, 2007. The fuel cell located at Sheraton New York Hotel & Tower successfully operated from May 19, 2005 to May 18, 2006.This report discusses the performance of these plants during these periods.