Just around the corner?

Just around the corner?

e n e w a le hydr en .Just around the corner? In theory, hydrogen produced using renewables would be an idea Making the switch fuel of choice for th...

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e n e w a le hydr en .Just around the corner? In theory, hydrogen produced using renewables would be an idea

Making the switch

fuel of choice for the global economy. But how practical will this be?

Currently, most hydrogen production relies on reforming fossil fuels using steam as the source of hydrogen or on using fossil fuels as thc enerD, sourcc for clcctrici D' to power clcctrolyscrs that can be used to split out hydrogen molecules from water. Renewables, it is argued, could play a valuable role generating the electricity needed to run electrolysers. And promoting the use of" renewables to run clectrolysers to produce hydrogen, which can be used as an enerD, store, would also help to solve the intermittency problem associated with renewables, as well as enhancing the economics for renewable electricity producers who cannot oftcn guarantce thc sccurity of supply required under current electricity trading arrangements. "Our take," says Ben Madden, director of. the UK-bascd consultancy, Elcment Electricit> a recently formed spin out of Whitby Bird & Partners, a multi-disciplinary UK engineering consultancy, "is that initially you need hydrogen generation both from fossil fuels and renewables. There is nothing wrong with natural gas in the short term, but it's a qucstion of how long is that short term. It's important not to losc sight of the vision that in the long term the solution that we are looking for -- and the one that everyone has really signed up to -- is a solution based on hydrogen from renewables. It's just a question of how long it takes to get there." Lack of infrastmcture is often cited as a barrier to the development of a hydrogen economy. But notes Dave Wardle, the Guildfc)rd, UK-based Europcan Manager Hydrogen EncrD, at the global industrial gases company, BOC, "many global industrial gases companics are already involved in the supply of hydrogen as a commercial industrial gas and chemical fcedstock. ItrS widely used and has a very good satbtv record." As hc sees it, a major barrier to

And how long might we have to wait before a hydrogen infrastructure based on renewables becomes a reality. Nina Morgan surveys opinions and looks at some of the European projects to test the practicality of using hydrogen as a renewable energy carrier. In an articlc in the August 2002 issue of. Frontiers, BP's magazine of technology and innovation, Carol Battershell, BlVs director for alternative fuels, highlights the fact that growing concerns about climate change and other environmental issues; concerns about sccurity of energy supply and decreasing dependence on oil imports; and the dcvelopment of technology innowttions are all combining to help drive the world rewards "an end state where hydrogen fuel is produced from renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind powcr, meaning thcrc are no emissions from the production of hydrogen energy." But, she cautions, a hydrogcn

I'is currently uneconomic and a long way off-- there is likely to be a long transition phase before this, based oil extracting hydrogen from hydrocarbons, such as natural gas." "There certainly will be a transition period," agrees Dr David Hart, a director at the London, UK-based techno-strategic energy environment consultancy, E4tech and a research fellow at the Centre i-br Energy Policy and Technology at Imperial Collegc, London. "There is absolutely no doubt that the cheapest way of getting hydrogen in most cases at the moment is by using natural gas or other ~Ossil sources." economy

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FEATURE

switching to hydrogen is that most of the developed world economies are not, as yet, geared to the use of hydrogen. But he's optimistic that this may change. "Because the advantages of a hydrogen economy in terms of local air quality, the reduction of greenhouse gases and enabling renewable energy sources to be used are truly compelling," he notes, "many governments now expect that hydrogen will play a significant part in future energy infrastructures." In Europe and the UK there are plenty of projects dedicated to demonstrating the possibilities. "What's interesting about these demonstration projects is that they are showing that a hydrogen economy based on renewables is technically feasible," says Madden. "So the future for a hydrogen economy becomes more a question of economics. Although in the longer term it might not necessarily be the case, at the moment it is usually more expensive to go down the renewables route." Political will, along with regional variations in areas such as local access to energy and the nature of the existing infrastructure, all play a part in influencing the chosen energy path in different parts of the world. For example, says Madden, "the key driver for the US is security of energy supply. But although in Europe security of energy supply is important, the key driver, I think, is trying to reduce carbon emissions. As a result, in Europe you have a slightly different approach to the problem."

Trial runs Currently the most promising use for hydrogen energy is as a CO 2 emission-free and non-polluting transport fuel. There are a number of major projects around the world designed to develop the use of hydrogen produced using fossil fuels to power fuel cell vehicles. For example, the EU funded European collaborative Clean Urban Transport in Europe (CUTE) project, which includes BP among its partners, is aiming to provide three hydrogen powered buses to each of ten European cities, including London, by the third or fourth quarter of 2003. Major projects to explore fuel

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cell technology are also underway in Japan, Canada and the United States. (see, for example, www.fuelcelhoday.com) In Europe there are also a number of pilot projects designed to explore the use of hydrogen produced from renewables in transport. These range from small scale regionallyfunded demonstration projects such as hydrogen transport for the Gala Energy Centre at Delabole in Cornwall, UK, which is currently under discussion; to larger scale transport projects such as USHER (Urban Integrated Solar to Hydrogen Realisation) and ECTOS (Ecological City TranspOrt System); and projects that form part of the Campaign for Take-Off, an ambitious plan to rely on renewables to make the Swedish Island of Gotland completely sustainable in energy by 2025.

Gaia The Gala Energy Centre is an environmentally focussed tourist attraction that has already contributed significantly to the regeneration of the local community in east Cornwall. The aim of the Gala project is to take advantage of electricity generated from the nearby Delabole Wind farm -- the UK's first commercial wind farm, which was opened in 1991 - - to electrolyse water to produce hydrogen and oxygen gas. The hydrogen will be used to fuel two hydrogen buses to provide public transport links in the surrounding rural area. The buses will be powered by combustion engines designed to run on hydrogen. As well as providing pollution-free transportation and a sustainable transport fuel, the project will also demonstrate one solution to the problem of intermittancy associated with wind turbine electricity. The project partners also hope it will generate further interest in the region and ensure that future growth in tourism is more sustainable.

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USHER A major aim of USHER is to demonstrate the feasibility of using electricity generated from photovoltaic (PV) systems to power electrolysers to produce hydrogen to May/June 2003

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power fuel cell buses. Project members include BP Solar, the UK bus operating company, Stagecoach; electrolyser manufacturer, Hydrogen Systems; the industrial gases company, Linde AGA; the engineering consultancy, Whitby Bird and Partners; Cambridge University Estates, Cambridge University Engineering; the Municipality of Gotland; the Gotland Energy Agency and ISLENET, a broad grouping of island communities for renewables dissemination. Funding for this 5 million Euro project comes from The European Commission, national governments and the partners themselves. The USHER project is based in two sites: Cambridge in the UK, and Gotlands Kommun in Sweden. In Gotland, 2500 m 2 of PV cells will be used to run electroysers to produce the hydrogen to run fuel cell buses in the world heritage city of Visby. In Cambridge, 3500 m 2 of PV cells -- the largest single array in the UK -- producing around 300 kWp (kiloWatt peak, a measurement of the output from a PV array under standard conditions) will be installed on the roof of a colonnade in a new science

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park being built at the University, but located outside of the city centre. Transport to the science park will be provided by a fuel cell bus fuelled by hydrogen obtained by electrolysis using electricity from the photovoltaic cells. The Cambridge system will produce 30 m 3 of hydrogen per hour from a 144 kW electroyser. The hydrogen on the bus will be stored at high pressure, to ensure the bus has a useful range and hydrogen for refuelling will be stored in a container at the science park site. The Cambridge buses were due to begin operation in the third quarter of 2003, however funding problems mean that completion may be delayed for a year. Nevertheless, when completed, the USHER demonstration project will enable an assessment to be made of the benefit of PV hydrogen generation as opposed to grid connection, in terms of cost, energy savings, emissions avoided, architecture, safety, technical feasibility, public acceptance and practicality. It will also help to demonstrate the use of hydrogen as a means of overcoming the intermittancy problems associated with PV electricity generation. (www.europeanislands.net)

ECTOS At the end of the 20th century Iceland, a country which -- despite its abundant geothermal and hydro power resources -produces more greenhouse gas emissions per capita than any other, set itself the goal of creating the world's first hydrogen economy based on renewables. The ECTOS project, launched in March 2001, is billed as the first step in Iceland's transition to a hydrogen-based economy. Project members include both local Icelandic as well as foreign and international companies, such as DaimlerChrysler; Shell Hydrogen and Norsk Hydro. The project objective is to demonstrate how a hydrogen economy based on renewables might work by using 3 fuel cell buses -- or 4% of Reykjavik's total bus fleet - as part of the public transportation system in Reykjavik. The hydrogen will be produced from water by electroysis, in a process powered by Iceland's abundant geothermal and hydro-power resources, then compressed and stored at a purpose-built fuelling station, where the fuel cell buses will refuel. A conference on the theme of Making Hydrogen Available to the Public, was held in Iceland at the end of April to celebrate the opening of the filling station. (www.newenergy.is/ectos)

Gotland

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The island of Gotland has considerable potential for the development of wind, solar and biomass sources, and in 1996 published an Eco-Programme that identified the municipality's goal "to become an ecologically sustainable society within the course of a generation." The solar powered production of hydrogen in the USHER project is just one part of an ambitious scheme to use renewables to make the island of Gotland completely self sufficient in terms of energy. The island's energy plan also includes development of energy resources from biomass, wind power and solar energy, as well as introducing energy efficiency measures to reduce overall energy consumption. Gotland has already made considerable progress towards achieving its goals. Wind power already accounts for 15% of the island's electricity supply and this is expected to double within the next 5 years. The use of biomass-fuelled district heating is also well developed. As well as producing electricity to run the electroyser to produce hydrogen for the USHER project, solar panels are being installed on some of the municipal buildings and the plan is to use solar energy to help to provide all the energy

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needed for a new public library and university buildings in Visby entirely from renewables. It's all very impressive. But could it happen elsewhere? Well, maybe, says Hart. But it will take time. "Gotland's aim to be completely sustainable in renewables-based energy is certainly feasible, particularly in light of the fact that, like many small islands, Gotland has a large renewable capacity, but thanks to its fairly small population, the energy demands are relatively small. However as islands get bigger and more populous, like the UK, a completely sustainable energy economy based on renewables does get rather more difficult. However, in most places, provided there is intelligent management of demand size and energy efficiency along with aggressive development of technology and policies to at least level the playing fields to give renewables an opportunity, I don't think a renewables-based sustainable energy economy is unrealistic in the longer term. But there are a lot of incumbent technologies out there, a lot of system inertia -- and a lot of things that will take time to change."

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About the author Nina Morgan is a freelance science writer based in Oxfordshire, UK.

;chematic diagram illustrating the USHER project (Cambridge). The Cambridge system will produce 30 m3 of hydrogen per hour from a 144 k W electroyser.Picture: Element Energy, a subsidiary of Whitby Bird & Partners

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