International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy

Transcription

1 International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy FUEL CELL COST ANALYSIS SUMMARY Based on a study conducted during 2007 and 2008 among contributing members of the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy Prepared by IPHE Representatives from China, Korea, and the United States Page 1 of 15

2 Contents 1. Introduction Analysis Summary Transportation Fuel Cell Costs for Light Duty Vehicles Targets and Current Status Cost Analysis Summary Analyses Details United States of America Basis for Analysis Results People's Republic of China Basis for Analysis Results Republic of South Korea Basis for Analysis Results Conclusion Page 2 of 15

3 1. INTRODUCTION Members of the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE) Implementation - Liaison Committee (ILC) have developed a number of research priorities to accelerate the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, aligned with the mission of the IPHE. 1 Fuel cell cost reduction, without compromises in durability or performance, is one of the key priorities to enable the successful widespread commercialization and mass market penetration of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as well as fuel cells for stationary and portable power. Although specific targets for fuel cell costs vary to some extent among IPHE countries that have established targets, the ILC members have agreed that fuel cell systems must be cost competitive with other commercially viable technologies. The members have also reached consensus that fuel cell cost must be significantly reduced and should remain a key priority for global research and development (R&D). To measure the progress in cost reduction and understand the key contributors to cost, the ILC has undertaken a collaborative assessment of the status of fuel cell cost among several IPHE member countries. As an international partnership dedicated to accelerating the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, the IPHE has established the following overarching priorities: 1. Accelerating the market penetration and early adoption of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies and its supporting infrastructure. 2. Policy and regulatory actions to support widespread deployment. 3. Raising the profile with policy-makers and the public. 4. Monitoring hydrogen, fuel cell and complementary technology developments. A comparative analysis of the status of fuel cell cost among relevant IPHE countries is consistent with these priorities, primarily priorities one, three, and four. The cost status and identification of primary cost drivers will help determine key areas for continued R&D funding. Certain components may require less research investment as they approach cost targets while other areas may have major challenges and require increased investment, beyond original plans. As such, it is critical that the government representatives of IPHE member countries be apprised of up-to date progress and periodically recalibrate their country plans if required for funding R&D in critical areas. At the 8 th ILC Meeting, held in Seoul, Korea on June, 2007, the committee recommended that the members publish a short paper summarizing the results of the presentations at the ILC meeting relating to fuel cell cost, including fuel cell cost data provided by other members after the meeting. The objective of this paper is to identify the key challenges associated with reducing the cost of fuel cell systems, summarize the current status of fuel cell cost across IPHE member countries, and inform the Steering Committee (SC) as well as other stakeholders such as government funding agency representatives and fuel cell researchers. This report is based on data compiled in 2007 and 2008 and reflects cost estimates during that timeframe. Results will need to be updated periodically, given the pace of progress in the field. Page 3 of 15

4 2. ANALYSIS SUMMARY 2.1 Transportation Fuel Cell Costs for Light Duty Vehicles Targets and Current Status The cost of automotive fuel cells must be reduced to be competitive with other technologies for vehicle propulsion, primarily gasoline internal combustion and hybrid electric engines. As such, government agencies and industry stakeholders have defined targets to help guide the R&D community towards specific goals and help accelerate focused activities in fuel cell development. Table 1 shows fuel cell cost targets compiled from various IPHE member countries. Although the cost targets vary widely, from $30/kW to roughly $150/kW, they are significantly lower than the current low volume cost of automotive proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. While some countries have very specific targets at the component level, others only provided high level targets for the overall fuel cell system. United Japan EU 1 States Thousands of units per year NA Fuel Cell System Cost (cost $30 $ per kw) Membrane Electrode Assembly $5 NA NA (MEA) Cost Membrane Cost ($/m 2 ) $20 NA NA Catalyst Cost (including $3 NA NA application) Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) NA NA NA Bipolar Plate Cost $3 NA NA Balance of Stack NA NA NA Total Stack Cost $15 NA NA Air Management Cost NA NA NA Water Management Cost NA NA NA Thermal Management Cost NA NA NA Fuel Management Cost NA NA NA Balance of Plant Total Cost $15 NA NA Table 1. Fuel cell cost targets from various IPHE partners for Value in Euros As a comparison to the 2015 targets, Table 2 shows current fuel cell costs compiled from various IPHE member countries during 2007 and Page 4 of 15

5 United States China Table 2. Current fuel cell cost status from various IPHE member countries. 3 Includes balance of system, system assembly and testing ($13/kW) South Korea Thousands of units per year Fuel Cell System Cost (cost $73 3 $130 $66 per kw) Membrane Electrode Assembly $23 $44 $19 (MEA) Total Cost Membrane Cost ($/kw) $3 $10 NA Catalyst Cost (including $16 $28 NA application) Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) $4 $6 NA Bipolar Plate Cost $5 $14 $10 Balance of Stack $2 $15 $12 Total Stack Cost $34 $73 $41 Air Management Cost $12 $24 $9 Water + Thermal Management $8 $13 $9 Cost Fuel Management Cost $6 $20 $7 Total Balance of Plant Cost $26 $57 $ Cost Analysis Summary This analysis of the current status of fuel cell costs, projected for different volumes, shows a range of values based on a number of assumptions as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Assuming high volume production of 500,000 units, the fuel cell system costs, based on data compiled to date, range from approximately $66 to $130/kW. About half of this system cost is due to the fuel cell stack and the remainder is due to the balance of plant components. At lower volumes (1,000 units), there is a wide range of costs encompassing feedback from at least two different IPHE member representatives. Costs may be as low as $245/kW or as high as $1,800/kW. Total Stack Balance of Plant Total System $0 $20 $40 $60 $80 $100 $120 $140 Figure 1. Cost range for 500,000 1M units/year: system status Page 5 of 15

6 Total Stack Balance of Plant Total System $0 $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 Figure 2. Cost range for 1,000 units/year: system status A significant amount of government funded fuel cell R&D conducted within IPHE countries is focused on fuel cell stack components to address the key issues of cost and durability. Figure 3 shows a break out of the fuel cell stack in terms of component cost. In the modeled systems used in the cost analyses, the catalyst is clearly a significant cost driver while the membrane is relatively minor in its cost contribution. Such periodic analysis helps to identify potential major contributors to cost and reassess where R&D investments can have the most impact. Based on this study, platinum reduction or non-precious metal catalysts is considered a key area of R&D to enable cost reductions. It is also important to emphasize the volatility of platinum prices and sensitivity to supply and demand. Ultimately, even though the amount of platinum used for fuel cell vehicles is projected to be roughly the same as that used in today s automobile catalytic converters, the projection of more than 1 billion vehicles worldwide and corresponding dependence on platinum will clearly impact fuel cell cost. In spite of plans for platinum recycling, it is critical to support R&D in developing low and even zero platinum based fuel cells for the long term. Balance of Stack Bipolar Plate Catalyst GDL Membrane $0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $25 $30 Figure 3. Cost range for 500,000 units/year: stack status Page 6 of 15

7 3. ANALYSES DETAILS 3.1 United States of America Basis for Analysis The U.S. Department of Energy s (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Program (FCT) in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Efficiency has been funding cost analyses of 80-kW direct hydrogen polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) automotive fuel cell systems for a number of years. The analysis is for costs projected to manufacturing volumes of 500,000 units per year. 2,3,4,5,6,7 The assumptions used for the 2007 and 2008 cost analyses are summarized in Tables 3 and 4. Table 3 includes the key assumptions regarding the performance of the fuel cell system as well as the key assumption regarding the cost of platinum, which is a significant fraction of the overall cost of the system. Table 4 shows assumptions regarding the key materials and processes used in the theoretical manufacture of fuel cell systems in the cost analysis for Characteristic Units Stack power kw gross System power kw net Cell power density mw gross /cm PGM loading mg/cm PGM total content g/kw gross PGM total content g/kw net Pt cost $/troz. a Stack cost $/kw a net Balance-of-plant cost $/kw a net System Assembly and Testing $/kw a net 2 2 System cost $/kw a net Table 3. Key system and price assumptions for fuel cell systems in 2007 and 2008 cost analyses Component Membrane Nafion on eptfe Electrodes Cathode and Platinum Anode Double-sided vertical dieslot coating of membrane Vulcan XC-72 carbon Electrode Supports powder Non-woven carbon Gas Diffusion Layer substrate with layer of PTFE Carbon Powder in Bipolar Plate Polypropylene Table 4. Component assumptions for 2008 cost analysis Page 7 of 15

8 3.1.2 Results The conclusion of this cost analysis was that projected to high volume (500,000 units per year), the cost of a fuel cell system based on 2008 state-of-the-art technology would be $73/kW. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, the cost of the fuel cell system is split nearly evenly between the stack and the balance-of-plant. The cost of the stack is dominated by the cost of materials, primarily (as mentioned above), the cost of platinum used as an electrocatalyst. For the balanceof-plant, the cost is most strongly impacted by the air management sub-system. While the cost of platinum and the air management system dominate the total cost, the analysis also showed that further cost improvements are necessary for the majority of the system components, including the membrane and MEA, the water management subsystem, and system testing and conditioning. Furthermore, the cost analysis did not consider the technical targets for a fuel cell system, such as durability and start-up time or energy from -20 C. Therefore, while further research is required to bring the cost of fuel cell systems down, additional research is also needed to meet all other fuel cell performance requirements. The U.S. DOE conducted a study by independent technical experts that validated the cost analysis methodology and concluded that a cost of $60 to $80/kW is a valid estimate of automotive fuel cell cost when extrapolated to high volumes. 8 Remaining Balance of System Cost 19% Membrane Cost 4% GDL Cost 5% Fuel Management Cost 8% Catalyst Cost (includes application) 21% Thermal Management Cost 8% Water Management Cost 5% Air Management Cost 14% Balance of MEA 6% Bipolar Plate Cost 7% Balance of Stack 3% Figure 4. U.S. cost breakdown by fuel cell subsystem. The fuel cell stack (membrane, catalyst, GDL, balance of MEA, bipolar plate and balance of stack) constitutes just under 50% of the cost of a fuel cell system using today s technology projected to high volume. 9 Page 8 of 15

9 3.2 People s Republic of China Basis for Analysis The development of the direct hydrogen PEMFC power systems for the automotive application in China is primarily funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China through the project development of fuel cell engines for automotive applications. The cost analysis presented here is based on the cost information from this project. When discussing the cost of the automotive PEMFC power system using the latest technology status, at a manufacturing volume of 500,000 units per year, the IPHE representatives from China provided assumptions of the key performance metrics and the key materials and components of the power systems, as listed in Tables 5 and 6. Pt loading (mg/cm 2, both MEA sides) 0.8 Power density (mw/cm 2 ) 340 Number of stacks per 60 kw system 4 Cell voltage (V) 0.68 Gross power (kw e ) 60 Net power (kw e ) 55 Pressure (atm) 1.3 Table 5: Key system performancemetrics of the PEMFC power systems Material & Component Membrane Nafion Catalysts Cathode and Anode Pt/C Electrode Supports Vulcan XC-72 carbon powder Gas Diffusion Layer Graphite carbon paper Bipolar Plate Graphite plate or modified metal plate Air compressor Blower Table 6: Key material and component assumptions of the PEMFC power systems Results With a volume of 500,000 units per year, the cost of a 55kW PEMFC power system would be $130/kW, as listed in Table 7. The detailed information is shown in Figure 5. The fuel cell stack (membrane, catalyst, GDL, balance of MEA, bipolar plate and balance of stack) constitutes 57% of the cost of a fuel cell system using 2007 technology projected to high volume while the balance-of plant (air, water, thermal, fuel management) contributes the other 43%. The cost of the stack is dominated by the cost of materials, primarily the platinum accounting for 21% of the total cost. For the balance-of-plant, the cost is most strongly impacted by the air and fuel management sub-systems. Page 9 of 15

10 Further research on the cost reduction of PEMFC automotive power systems should be focused on the application of cheaper key materials or reducing the consumption of the materials without performance loss. In addition, to solve the durability and cold-start challenges of PEMFC power systems, more resources may be needed. China - Status Assumptions (number of units) 500K/ year Fuel Cell System Cost $130/kW Stack Cost $73 Balance of Plant (BOP) cost $57 MEA $44 Membrane Cost ($/kw) $10 Catalyst Cost (includes application) $28 Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) $6 Bipolar Plate $14 Balance of Stack $15 Total Stack Cost $73 Air Management $24 Water Management $11 Thermal Management $2 Fuel Management $20 Balance of Plant Total Cost $57 Table 7: The cost of PEMFC power system in China 15% 8% Membrane Cost Catalyst Cost 2% 8% 21% Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) Bipolar Plate Balance of Stack Air Management 18% 12% 11% 5% Water Management Thermal Management Fuel Management Figure 5: China cost breakdown by fuel cell sub-system Page 10 of 15

11 3.3 Republic of South Korea Basis for Analysis The analysis from South Korea included estimates for current fuel cell systems assuming tens of units per year at a cost of more than $2,800/kW, and hundreds of units per year at a cost of $1,660/kW. Longer term, the cost was estimated to be $568/kW for a thousand units produced per year and $179/kW for ten thousand units per year using advanced technologies. Ultimately, for volumes of 100,000 units per year and assuming advanced technologies and manufacturing methods, the costs were projected to be $66/kW. The analysis separated stack components into repeating parts that included bipolar plates, MEAs, GDLs, gaskets and seals, and non-repeating parts that included modular components (end plate, current collector, pressurizing equipment and electric insulator) and other non-repeating stack components (working fluid distribution unit, thermal insulator, enclosure, hydrogen ventilation unit, stack voltage monitoring unit, hydrogen sensor, and electric connectors). The BOP components considered in the analysis included three key systems: (1) the thermal/water management system (reservoir assembly, pump assembly, radiator assembly, heater assembly, and plumbing, sensors, etc.), (2) the air processing system (air cleaner assembly, silencer assembly, blower assembly, humidifier assembly, and plumbing, sensors, etc.), and (3) the fuel processing system (pressure control unit, hydrogen recycle unit assembly, diffuser unit, condensed water control, and enclosure) Results Figure 6 shows the system cost distribution projected for volumes ranging from 100 units per year production to 100,000 units per year. The stack cost, even in the case of 100,000 units per year, accounts for 63% of the total system cost. At 100,000 units per year, the thermal and water management system and the air processing system each account for 14% of the total system cost while the fuel processing system accounts for only 10%. Page 11 of 15

12 Figure 6: System cost estimates for volumes of 100, 1,000 s, 10,000 and 100,000 units per year production. Page 12 of 15

13 Figure 7 shows the break down of stack cost at various production volumes. At 100,000 units per year, the MEA and GDL cost is estimated to be 46% of the total stack cost and the bipolar plate is another 24% of the total stack cost. Approximately 20% of the stack cost comes from other components in the stack (see basis for analysis section 3.3.1). Figure 7: Stack cost for volumes of 100, 1,000 s, 10,000 and 100,000 units per year production. Page 13 of 15

14 The analysis from South Korea also compared their high volume cost estimates with the results from the U.S. DOE-funded analysis by DTI. For volumes ranging from 10,000 units per year to nearly 1,000,000 units per year, the cost estimates from the two analyses were comparable. However, for volumes of 1,000 units per year and less, the estimates from South Korea were higher than those from DTI. South Korea - Status Assumptions (number of units) 500K/ year Fuel Cell System Cost $66/kW Stack Cost $41 Balance of Plant (BOP) cost $25 MEA $19 Membrane Cost ($/kw) NA Catalyst Cost (includes application) NA Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) NA Bipolar Plate $10 Balance of Stack $12 Total Stack Cost $41 Air Management $9 Water + Thermal Management $9 Fuel Management $7 Balance of Plant Total Cost $25 Table 8: The cost of PEMFC power system in Korea 4. Conclusion This study compares high volume cost analyses among contributing IPHE member countries to provide insight into the key cost drivers for automotive PEMFCs and potential areas for further government R&D funding. Although costs vary widely at low volumes, which is to be expected due to the wide range of production techniques and costs for low volume manufacturing, the costs are comparable at high volumes (e.g. 100,000 units/year or 500,000 units/year). In all cases, it is clear that the cell stack is a major contributor to overall system cost and a major focus area for cost reduction is the catalyst. It is also clear that the BOP cost is comparable to the cell stack cost and that more effort to better understand and reduce BOP costs is required in the long term. Based on the results of this analysis, further R&D, particularly for the MEA and BOP components are recommended. Page 14 of 15

15 Contact Information: United States Dr. Sunita Satyapal, Chief Engineer and Deputy Program Manager, U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program Mr. Mike Mills, International Lead, U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program Ms. Stephanie Byham, Energy Analyst, U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program China Dr. Zhongjun Hou, General Engineer, National Engineering Research Center of Fuel Cells South Korea Dr. Kee Suk Nahm, President, Honam Leading Industry Office, Ministry of Knowledge Economy Jayanti Sinha, et al., Direct Hydrogen PEMFC Manufacturing Cost Estimation for Automotive Applications, Status Presentation to the Fuel Cell Tech Team, September 24, 2008, 3 Brian James, et al., Mass Production Cost Estimation for Direct H 2 PEM Fuel Cell Systems for Automotive Applications, Status Presentation to the Fuel Cell Tech Team, September 24, 2008, 4 Mark Debe, Advanced Cathode Catalysts and Supports for PEM Fuel Cells, 2008 U.S. DOE Hydrogen Program Annual Merit Review Proceedings, 5 U.S. Department of Energy (Hydrogen Program), "Record 8002: Fuel Cell System Cost , 6 Brian James, et al., Mass Production Cost Estimation for Direct H2 PEM Fuel Cell System for Automotive Applications. U.S. DOE Hydrogen Program Annual Progress Report (2007) at 7 Stephen Lasher, et al., Cost Analyses of Fuel Cell Stack/Systems. U.S. DOE Hydrogen Program Annual Progress Report (2007) at 8 Fuel Cell System Cost for Transportation 2008 Cost Estimate 9 Remaining balance of plant includes mounting frames, system controllers/sensors, ducting, etc., and system assembly and testing. Balance of MEA includes hot pressing, cutting and slitting, and frame gaskets. Balance of stack includes gaskets, endplates, current collectors, compression bands, and stack conditioning and testing. Page 15 of 15