Fuel Cell and Hydrogen energy industry progress and needs

Transcription

1 Fuel Cell and Hydrogen energy industry progress and needs Prof David Hart EMPIR Energy networking meeting NPL, 30 th November 2015 Strategic thinking in sustainable energy

2 Today s talk Introduction The fuel cell and hydrogen energy industries Obstacles to uptake Relevance for metrology? 2

3 Introduction Strategic thinking in sustainable energy

4 E4tech work guides strategic decisions in sustainable energy International consulting firm, offices in UK and Switzerland Focus on sustainable energy Established 1997, always independent Deep expertise in technology, business and strategy, market assessment, techno-economic modelling, policy support A spectrum of clients from start-ups to global corporations 4

5 A fuel cell electrochemically oxidises a fuel, producing a flow of electrons Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell Schematic Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Air (O 2 ) This is one type of fuel cell. Several exist, with different characteristics Hydrogen ( H 2 ) Air + Water hydrogen (from fuel) H 2 2e oxygen (air) Cooling/Bipolar Element with Gas/Water Channels Catalyst Electrode 2e - Electrolyte 2e H + 2H + 2H O 2 PEM Cell Components Single Cell Stack with End Plates and Connections Anode Cathode H 2 O heat + water Courtesy World Fuel Cell Council 5

6 The FC and H2 energy industries Strategic thinking in sustainable energy

7 2015 some of the headlines Unit sales are up slightly; MW up dramatically Competition enters for fuel cell cars and forklifts More big stationary units were sold Hydrogen infrastructure is small but growing fast Government support still underpins the industry Numbers are very small c.f. incumbents Sources: Toyota Motor Company, Mitochondria Energy Company (Pty) Ltd, ezelleron GmbH 7

8 Asia remains the main market, N America is close behind; Europe s pace is slow Unit shipments are up slightly, MW nearly double, with growth in all regions Japan s Ene-Farm and small portable systems still drive unit numbers Large stationary power in Korea is still big in MW but the US is closing Europe, even with far more shipments, still lags behind Units shipped by region (x 1,000) MW shipped by region * * *uncorrected figures from Fuel Cell Today. We don t have access to the data, but we believe the corrected final figures should be lower for

9 Stationary shipments are just ahead, but transport MW are up thanks to some cars A lot of 2015 s uptick is cars though not all Stationary units are still mainly Japanese micro-chp (40,000+ units) Stationary MW: Bloom (SOFC), FuelCell Energy (MCFC), Doosan (PAFC) Portable (chargers) have dropped back Units shipped by application (x 1,000) MW shipped by application * * *uncorrected figures from Fuel Cell Today 9

10 PEMFC still has by far the most units shipped, and PEM MW have nearly doubled PEMFC shipments are up proportionally more than others MCFC MW are stable, SOFC up, but more than double the PEM SOFC is building a base: Bloom Energy continues; micro-chp; some others PAFC is back; even AFC figures Units shipped by FC type (x 1,000) MW shipped by FC type * * *uncorrected figures from Fuel Cell Today 10

11 Hydrogen energy as an industry is less evolved Electrolysers for fuelling stations and power-to-gas are important Hydrogen storage technologies are in development or use Other production methods, including biomassbased ones, are under scrutiny As a supply-side industry, demand is an important part of the equation System interconnection and power-to-gas Surplus renewable electricity Chemicals H 2 storage Electrolyser Fuel cell Gas plants CHP Transport fuel Heating H 2 injected into gas grid Conventional route (No market crossover) Novel route (e.g. electricity transport) Hydrogenics Falkenhagen power to gas plant (Eon) Siemens Silyzer 200 schematic (1.25MW/unit) ITM Power fuelling station, UK Quantum 700 bar Type IV hydrogen tank 11

12 Obstacles to uptake Strategic thinking in sustainable energy

13 While emissions and energy security are drivers, uptake is constrained by immaturity Most HFC technologies cost too much to compete: Few development cycles Limited supply chain engagement Manufacturing immaturity Incumbent technologies have better support: Wide customer acceptance Strong service networks Broad availability Coupled with this is some technology immaturity: Deep understanding and suitable analysis techniques are not yet ubiquitous 13

14 Relevance for metrology Strategic thinking in sustainable energy

15 Other hurdles are gradually being overcome: better measurement and diagnostics are essential in end use Hydrogen refuelling is complex and expensive. Requirements include: Small, smart, cheap H 2 sensors Cheap and reliable dispensing measurement techniques Odorants and or hydrogen detectors that don t foul fuel cells Cost-effective in-line contaminant measurement Fuel cells break in interesting and unexpected ways. They need: In-situ and ex-situ failure monitoring and prediction Sophisticated analysis of degradation modes, their causes and effects Catalyst structure and performance evaluation Measurements in difficult conditions: high pressure, temperature, humidity 15

16 and in production, distribution and storage Hydrogen can be produced from a very wide range of sources, and shipped in many ways: Gauging exact hydrogen quantity, quality and biogenic source may become important Production technologies, e.g. electrolysis, also suffer from degradation Pipelines or joints may leak and embrittlement can be an issue Hydrogen even has a secondary Global Warming Potential Hydrogen storage is equally diverse, and complex to understand: Chemisorption and physisorption take time to stabilise Cryogenic and cryo-compressed methods require robust low-temperature methods Real storage amounts, recoverable amounts and purity are hard to determine 16

17 Thank you now please download and read our Review! David Hart