Recent Advances in PEM Electrolysis and their Implications for Hydrogen Energy Markets

Transcription

1 Recent Advances in PEM Electrolysis and their Implications for Hydrogen Energy Markets By Everett Anderson Symposium on Water Electrolysis and Hydrogen as Part of the Future Renewable Energy System May 2012 Copenhagen, Denmark Proton, Proton OnSite, Proton Energy Systems, the Proton design, StableFlow, StableFlow Hydrogen Control System and design, HOGEN, and FuelGen are trademarks or registered trademarks of Proton Energy Systems, Inc. Any other brands and/or names used herein are the property of their respective owners.

2 Outline Introduction Markets Industrial & Energy Renewable Energy Storage Improvements Cost & Efficiency Development Scale-up & Higher Pressure Summary 2

3 Proton OnSite Overview Manufacturer of onsite gas generation products Core competencies in PEM technology Founded in 1996 changed name from Proton Energy Systems in April 2011 ISO 9001:2008 registered Over 1,800 systems operating in 67 different countries Headquarters in Wallingford, Connecticut 3

4 Proton s Markets, Products & Capabilities Power Plants Heat Treating Semiconductors Laboratories Government Complete product development, manufacturing & testing Turnkey product installation World-wide sales and service Containerization and hydrogen storage solutions Integration of electrolysis into RFC systems 2000: S-Series 1-2 kg/day 13 bar 2006: HPEM 0.5 kg/day 138 bar 2009: Outdoor HPEM 2 kg/day 165 bar 2011: C-Series 65 kg/day, 30 bar Steady History of Product Introduction 1999: GC ml/min 13 bar 2003: H-Series 4-12 kg/day 30 bar 2006: StableFlow Hydrogen Control System 2010: Lab Line 4

5 Industrial Hydrogen Markets Hydrogen is a fast growing industrial gas Major industrial gas consuming industries: - Power Plants/Electric Power Generator Cooling Over 18,000 hydrogen-cooled generators world-wide Addressable market estimated at over $2 billion Improved plant efficiency and output/reduced greenhouse gas emissions Payback typically less than one year - Semiconductor manufacturing - Flat panel computer and TV screens - Heat treating - Analytical chemistry (carrier gases for GC, etc.) 5

6 Hydrogen Energy Markets Fueling Backup Power Telecom Remote sites Renewable Energy Capture Regenerative Fuel Cell System 6

7 Realities of PEM Electrolysis There are a variety of ways to bridge the energy storage & infrastructure gaps Hydrogen has been proven in many successful fueling demos at 350 and 700 bar PEM electrolysis is commercially available Can be scaled to relevant size range Catalyst is currently not a major cost component, even at high loadings PEM electrolysis competes in today s industrial hydrogen markets vs. alkaline and delivered 7

8 Energy Storage Segmentation Map Courtesy of Siemens AG,

9 Energy Storage Critical Needs Renewable energy is growing rapidly world-wide in both wind and solar. The inherent intermittency of these renewable technologies has more of an impact as they become a larger portion of the grid capacity. Many generation technologies are chasing solutions for storing excess renewable capacity and balancing these loads on the grid. Need a continuum of options and hybrid solutions 9

10 Hydrogen Value Proposition Stored H 2 can drive multiple revenue streams Transportation fuel High value chemical streams Green production of fertilizer Regeneration of electricity through fuel cell use Supplement to natural gas for higher efficiency Easily scalable; can independently scale charge, discharge, and storage capability Centralized and distributed options to capture energy currently not being utilized Only option for multi-gwh energy storage 10

11 Efficiency (Projected, kwh/nm 3 H 2 ) Hydrogen as a Storage Medium Electrolysis is well suited to load following Stable performance (> 60,000 hours of operation) Rapid response time to current signal Efficiency insensitive to production rate over broad range HOGEN C Series Generation Efficiency As a Function of H 2 Output Total System Stack + Dryer Losses Cell Stack 50 ms response time demonstrated 3.0 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% Percent of Full Output 11

12 Average Cell Potential (Volts, 50 o C) Established PEM Stack Durability Proton Energy Systems In-House Cell Stack Endurance Testing 4 µv/cell hr Decay Rate ~60,000 hours of operation demonstrated in commercial stack cell stack 200 psig (13 barg) 1200 ASF (1.3 A/cm 2 ) ,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 Operating Time (Hours) 20,000 hours of operation demonstrated at 2400 psi 12

13 Hawaii An Ideal Case Study High percentage of renewables and good mix of resources High electricity costs & transmission issues Large difference between peak and base loads Unique opportunity for deployment of validation of new technologies for energy storage 13

14 Grid Management Project Approach HNEI 14

15 Hawaii Hydrogen Power Park Vision 15

16 NREL Testing Ground for Technology 16

17 AC Current (A rms) Trigger Level (V) Frequency (Hz) Frequency (Hz) Grid Support Using PEM Electrolysis* PEM Grid-Tied: Stack Step 25% to 100% AC mini-grid PEM Electrolyzer ~150 ms response 3 Current 2 Trigger Time (sec) *Courtesy of K Harrison, NREL, Approach Add or remove load to de-stabilize diesel generatorbased AC mini-grid Trigger electrolyzer when frequency deviation reaches 59.5 Hz or 60.5 Hz Electrolyzer commanded to either shed or add load to stabilize AC grid by regulating frequency Results PEM electrolyzer triggered at 60.5 Hz to add 10 kw load during an over-frequency event PEM electrolyzer triggered at 59.5 Hz to subtract 10 kw load in an under-frequency event Re-stabilization of grid achieved in less than 1 sec Large loads & varied trigger points can be use to optimize response LB 10-0kW PEM 30kW LB 10-0kW PEM 30-40kW Time (sec) 61 LB 0-10kW PEM 40kW LB 0-10kW PEM 40-30kW Time (sec) Red line Without PEM Load Gold line With PEM load 17

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19 Hydrogen Fueling: >20 stations worldwide 19

20 Proton SunHydro Station Construction Grand Opening September 2010 Toyota, GM and Daimler validated H70 simple to use Credit card charging More than 1000 H 2 fills / 3,000 kg / 150,000 miles to date 20

21 HOGEN NF Small-Scale 700 bar psi Fueler Electrochemical compression to 165 bar, 2.2 kg/day production 700 bar psi slow-fill fueling capability Qualified for GM vehicle fueling Electrolyzer and Electronics Compression CONCEPT 3 hp single-stage 700 bar boost compressor Storage FABRICATION High pressure electrolyzer Outdoor-rated 2.2 kg/day Medium Pressure Storage 165 bar psi 9 kg Simple dispensing interface Packaged system boundary Vehicle Fill 4 kg at up to 700 bar Slow fill INSTALLATION 21

22 % Overpotential Current Stack Limitations Efficiency driven by: Membrane resistance Oxygen overpotential Cost driven by: Membrane electrode assembly Flow fields/separators 32% 15% System 53% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 48% 25% 3% 5% 13% 24% 12% 23% Stack Activation and Ohmic Overpotentials Cathode Activation Anode Activation Ionic Electronic 0% MEA flow fields and separators balance of cell balance of stack Current Density, ma/cm2 Power supplies Balance of plant MEA flow fields and separators balance of cell balance of stack Page 22

23 % Baseline cost Technology Roadmaps Detailed product development pathways laid out internally Balance of plant scale up Cell stack cost and efficiency Product improvements and introductions Balanced portfolio of near and long term implementation Executing on funded programs to address each area 100% 80% MEA Balance of cell Balance of stack 60% 40% 20% 0% Current <1 year 1-3 years >3 years Implementation Timeline Page 23

24 Cell Stack Needs Reduction in membrane thickness Order-of-magnitude reduction in catalyst loading Automation of MEA fabrication for electrolysisspecific MEAs Online quality control measurements Reduction in bipolar assembly cost Lower metal content in bipolar assembly Lower bipolar assembly process time Increased part yield from suppliers Page 24

25 Collaboration Strategy Leverage key competencies of component suppliers, integrators, universities, and national labs 25

26 Progress: PEM Cost 3M NSTF electrode, 5% current catalyst loading Noble Metal Reduction Flow Field Cost New design with ~50% less metal 26

27 Potential (Volts) Efficiency Improvements Technology Progression Baseline, 50C Advanced Oxygen Catalyst, 50C Advanced membrane, 80C Advanced cell design, 80C Current Stack (~70% Eff (HHV) Advanced Stack (>86% Eff (HHV) Current Density (A/cm2) 27

28 Electrolysis System Development From Single to Multi-Stack Systems Up to three stacks per system HOGEN GC HOGEN S Series HOGEN H Series HOGEN C Series 28

29 Multi-MW Conceptual Design 29

30 Increased System Output Led By Larger Stack Development 28 cm Nm 3 /hr 0.01 kg/day Commercial 86 cm 2 2 Nm 3 /hr Commercial 210 cm 2 10 Nm 3 /hr Commercial 550 cm 2 30 Nm 3 /hr Pre Production 1100 cm 2 90 Nm 3 /hr Concept 30

31 Cell Potential (V) 550 cm 2 Stack Development Improvement in bipolar plate design Current 86 cm 2 design tested to over 1 million cell hours CFD modeling shows more uniform flow Demonstrated operation up to 30 bar >15,000 hours validated on 3-cell > 1,000 hours on 10-cell stack Full-scale +50 kg/day stack scale-up in process SQFT- 3 Cells (1032 amps, 425 psi, 50 C) Cell 1 Cell 2 Cell Run Time (hours) 31

32 Development Successes, Typical timeline of months 5000 psi cell stack 10,000 psi fueler 65 kg/day system 0.23 ft 2 cell stack DOE bipolar plate 0.6 ft 2 cell stack CERL RFC 2400 psi System 32

33 Highest Sealing Pressure Higher Pressure Development: 350 bar Proton s Current Development 350 bar Cell Stack Up to 1050 NL/hr Prototype Design Completed Successful Sealing to >525 bar * * * * Design Concept 1 *unacceptable MEA damage Normalized Load * * * * Design Concept bar Test System Design Completed Fabrication Underway Operational Test by Year-End 350 Bar Home Fueler Concept 33

34 Summary Proton s capabilities continue to grow at a rapid pace Increased hydrogen capacity Increased operating pressure Increased efficiency Efficiency targets enabled by further cost reduction for operation at lower current density Continuing advancements rely on scale up and processing, not new science invention Leveraging today s commercial markets in preparation for tomorrow s energy applications 34

35 Thank you! Everett Anderson