- Email: [email protected]
Tiger Optics wins California order to test hydrogen for FCEVs
NEWS ‘Proving that reformed hydrogen can be successfully obtained from landfill gas is transformational for the hydrogen industry.’ The Landfill Gas-to-Hydrogen Project team was led by SCRA, with technical support from the Gas Technology Institute and Ameresco Inc. DOE provided technical support, and half of the funding for the $1.3 million project. Additional funding was provided by BMW, SCRA, the Blue Moon Foundation, Urban Renewable Hydrogen, and the Columbia Fuel Cell Collaborative. The fuel cell powered forklifts are vital to the day-to-day operations of the plant, which manufactures 300 000 cars per annum. BMW recently announced a $1 billion expansion plan that will boost production to 450 000 cars by 2016, making it the largest BMW plant in the world. SCRA: www.scra.org
venture with Tokuyama Corporation. The new station will use this offsite supply of liquefied hydrogen, utilising cryogenic hydrogen tanks and hydrogen compressors supplied by German-based Linde [see the Linde feature in FCB, September 2014]. The new station has been built on the site of a local wholesale market, and will supply hydrogen to the fuel cell powered forklifts that will be tested inside the market. Because these forklifts are refueled at a pressure of 350 bar, which is half that of most road-going fuel cell electric vehicles, the station will be equipped with both 350 and 700 bar dispensers, making it the first in Japan capable of refueling both automobiles and forklifts. In addition, Shunan City will build pipelines from the hydrogen station to the 0.7 kW hydrogen fuel cell that will be installed in the market, to generate a portion of its power needs.
BMW Manufacturing Co: www.bmwusfactory.com
Iwatani Corporation: www.iwatani.co.jp/eng
Columbia Fuel Cell Collaborative: www.fuelcellcollaborative.com
Iwatani readies first commercial hydrogen station in Chugoku
I
n Japan, Iwatani Corporation has completed a commercial hydrogen refueling station in Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture – the first in the Chugoku region, at the southwestern end of the main island Honshu. This is the first hydrogen station outside of the four main metropolitan areas in Japan. This station is the sixth hydrogen refueling station to be opened by Iwatani, joining stations in Amagasaki City in Hyogo Prefecture [FCB, July 2014, p1], Kitakyushu City in Fukuoka Prefecture, Minato Ward in Tokyo [FCB, September 2002, p2], Toda City in Saitama Prefecture [FCB, October 2014, p7], and Toyota City in Aichi Prefecture. Yamaguchi Prefecture has recognised the high potential capacity for supplying hydrogen from the many chemical manufacturers located in its coastal region. To this end, it has initiated various efforts – such as R&D subsidies – that support the development of hydrogen fuel cells, to make use of this locally produced hydrogen as a form of energy for local consumption. As a part of these efforts, Yamaguchi Prefecture also consulted Iwatani about constructing a hydrogen refueling station in Shunan City. Iwatani already has a liquefied hydrogen production plant there, as part of a joint
September 2015
a state laboratory for compliance. To that end, California DMS purchased a Tiger hydrogen fuel analyser system for its Sacramento lab several years ago. With the new order, California is expanding its FCEV support capability in southern California to include a similar lab in Anaheim. The systems – designed and built by Lotus Consulting in Long Beach – integrate separate analysers to look for a dozen or more destructive contaminants and diluents in hydrogen. The Lotus system incorporates Tiger Optics analysers to screen for three of the damaging contaminants: water, ammonia, and formaldehyde, with CO analysers pending. Tiger Optics, Warrington, Pennsylvania, USA. Tel: +1 215 343 6600, www.tigeroptics.com SAE Standard J2719, Hydrogen Fuel Quality for Fuel Cell Vehicles: http://standards.sae.org/j2719_201109 H2FIRST Hydrogen Contaminant Detector Task report (PDF): www.nrel.gov/docs/fy15osti/64063.pdf
Tiger Optics wins California order to test First methanol filling station opens to serve hydrogen for FCEVs range-extender cars
P
ennsylvania-based Tiger Optics, a leader in laser-based detection of trace contaminants, has won an order from the State of California to qualify the hydrogen required to operate fuel cell electric vehicles. Tiger analysers provide the sensitivity, selectivity, and accuracy needed to measure certain contaminants that can damage or destroy a vehicle’s fuel cell. Because such quality control is crucial for FCEVs to achieve mass-market success [FCB, May 2015, p8], the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International has set stringent standards for hydrogen fuel purity, such as SAE J2719, Hydrogen fuel quality for fuel cell vehicles. California only has nine hydrogen fueling stations currently open to the public, although more are on the way [FCB, May 2014, p7 and June 2014, p6, and see page 6]. The California Fuel Cell Partnership expects more than 50 stations to be operational in the state by the end of 2016 [FCB, July 2015, p8], since California legislated in 2013 to allocate $20 million per annum to build at least 100 hydrogen stations [FCB, October 2013, p6]. California state law requires the Division of Measurement Standards to establish and enforce the quality standards for alternative engine fuels sold in the state. Samples are collected at individual stations, then tested in
T
he Green Methanol Infrastructure consortium recently opened the first methanol refueling station in Europe, in the northern Danish city of Aalborg. The consortium comprises Danish filling station operator OK, fueling equipment manufacturer Hamag, and SerEnergy, which manufactures high-temperature PEM fuel cell stacks and power modules that can operate on reformate from a methanol fuel processor. The refueling station is part of a Danish Energy Agency project to develop a refueling infrastructure for methanol, which will use the current infrastructure for distribution and refueling of sustainable liquid fuels for transportation. ‘We believe that initially it is sensible to consider reusing the extensive infrastructure and experience we already have, instead of constructing a brand new infrastructure,’ says OK managing director Jørgen Wisborg. Denmark aims to be 100% independent of fossil fuels by 2050 [see the News Feature in FCB, April 2012]. Methanol is one of many possibilities to replace fossil fuels, and because it is a liquid, it is easy to handle within the existing infrastructure. It can be transported in the same tanker trucks, and pumped in the same way as gasoline and diesel. Liquid methanol is therefore much easier to distribute
Fuel Cells Bulletin
7
venture with Tokuyama Corporation. The new station will use this offsite supply of liquefied hydrogen, utilising cryogenic hydrogen tanks and hydrogen compressors supplied by German-based Linde [see the Linde feature in FCB, September 2014]. The new station has been built on the site of a local wholesale market, and will supply hydrogen to the fuel cell powered forklifts that will be tested inside the market. Because these forklifts are refueled at a pressure of 350 bar, which is half that of most road-going fuel cell electric vehicles, the station will be equipped with both 350 and 700 bar dispensers, making it the first in Japan capable of refueling both automobiles and forklifts. In addition, Shunan City will build pipelines from the hydrogen station to the 0.7 kW hydrogen fuel cell that will be installed in the market, to generate a portion of its power needs.
BMW Manufacturing Co: www.bmwusfactory.com
Iwatani Corporation: www.iwatani.co.jp/eng
Columbia Fuel Cell Collaborative: www.fuelcellcollaborative.com
Iwatani readies first commercial hydrogen station in Chugoku
I
n Japan, Iwatani Corporation has completed a commercial hydrogen refueling station in Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture – the first in the Chugoku region, at the southwestern end of the main island Honshu. This is the first hydrogen station outside of the four main metropolitan areas in Japan. This station is the sixth hydrogen refueling station to be opened by Iwatani, joining stations in Amagasaki City in Hyogo Prefecture [FCB, July 2014, p1], Kitakyushu City in Fukuoka Prefecture, Minato Ward in Tokyo [FCB, September 2002, p2], Toda City in Saitama Prefecture [FCB, October 2014, p7], and Toyota City in Aichi Prefecture. Yamaguchi Prefecture has recognised the high potential capacity for supplying hydrogen from the many chemical manufacturers located in its coastal region. To this end, it has initiated various efforts – such as R&D subsidies – that support the development of hydrogen fuel cells, to make use of this locally produced hydrogen as a form of energy for local consumption. As a part of these efforts, Yamaguchi Prefecture also consulted Iwatani about constructing a hydrogen refueling station in Shunan City. Iwatani already has a liquefied hydrogen production plant there, as part of a joint
September 2015
a state laboratory for compliance. To that end, California DMS purchased a Tiger hydrogen fuel analyser system for its Sacramento lab several years ago. With the new order, California is expanding its FCEV support capability in southern California to include a similar lab in Anaheim. The systems – designed and built by Lotus Consulting in Long Beach – integrate separate analysers to look for a dozen or more destructive contaminants and diluents in hydrogen. The Lotus system incorporates Tiger Optics analysers to screen for three of the damaging contaminants: water, ammonia, and formaldehyde, with CO analysers pending. Tiger Optics, Warrington, Pennsylvania, USA. Tel: +1 215 343 6600, www.tigeroptics.com SAE Standard J2719, Hydrogen Fuel Quality for Fuel Cell Vehicles: http://standards.sae.org/j2719_201109 H2FIRST Hydrogen Contaminant Detector Task report (PDF): www.nrel.gov/docs/fy15osti/64063.pdf
Tiger Optics wins California order to test First methanol filling station opens to serve hydrogen for FCEVs range-extender cars
P
ennsylvania-based Tiger Optics, a leader in laser-based detection of trace contaminants, has won an order from the State of California to qualify the hydrogen required to operate fuel cell electric vehicles. Tiger analysers provide the sensitivity, selectivity, and accuracy needed to measure certain contaminants that can damage or destroy a vehicle’s fuel cell. Because such quality control is crucial for FCEVs to achieve mass-market success [FCB, May 2015, p8], the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International has set stringent standards for hydrogen fuel purity, such as SAE J2719, Hydrogen fuel quality for fuel cell vehicles. California only has nine hydrogen fueling stations currently open to the public, although more are on the way [FCB, May 2014, p7 and June 2014, p6, and see page 6]. The California Fuel Cell Partnership expects more than 50 stations to be operational in the state by the end of 2016 [FCB, July 2015, p8], since California legislated in 2013 to allocate $20 million per annum to build at least 100 hydrogen stations [FCB, October 2013, p6]. California state law requires the Division of Measurement Standards to establish and enforce the quality standards for alternative engine fuels sold in the state. Samples are collected at individual stations, then tested in
T
he Green Methanol Infrastructure consortium recently opened the first methanol refueling station in Europe, in the northern Danish city of Aalborg. The consortium comprises Danish filling station operator OK, fueling equipment manufacturer Hamag, and SerEnergy, which manufactures high-temperature PEM fuel cell stacks and power modules that can operate on reformate from a methanol fuel processor. The refueling station is part of a Danish Energy Agency project to develop a refueling infrastructure for methanol, which will use the current infrastructure for distribution and refueling of sustainable liquid fuels for transportation. ‘We believe that initially it is sensible to consider reusing the extensive infrastructure and experience we already have, instead of constructing a brand new infrastructure,’ says OK managing director Jørgen Wisborg. Denmark aims to be 100% independent of fossil fuels by 2050 [see the News Feature in FCB, April 2012]. Methanol is one of many possibilities to replace fossil fuels, and because it is a liquid, it is easy to handle within the existing infrastructure. It can be transported in the same tanker trucks, and pumped in the same way as gasoline and diesel. Liquid methanol is therefore much easier to distribute
Fuel Cells Bulletin
7