Home hydrogen to spark energy revolution?

[HysteryDiagnosis]

Now the naysayers can stand in the corner.


http://www.off-grid.net/2010/01/08/home-hydrogen-to-spark-energy-revolution/
by Alexbenady on January 8, 2010 · 7 comments

in EVENTS
George Gu - CEO

George Gu - CEO

An off-grid energy revolution was launched this week with the unveiling of the world’s first domestic hydrogen generator at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Although domestic hydrogen fuel cells are already on the market, their use has been limited by the availability of hydrogen. They have depended on the supply of bottled industrially produced hydrogen, or metal hydride canisters to make them work.

The ‘Hydrofill’ which can fit on a desk top is a hydrogen refuelling and storage device that plugs into any available power source –mains electricity, solar panels or wind turbine.

Manufactured by Singapore based Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, it automatically extracts hydrogen from its water tank by means of electrolysis and stores it in a solid form in small refillable cartridges. The cartridges contain metallic alloys that absorb hydrogen into their crystalline structure. The cartridges then release the hydrogen at low pressures, which claims Horizon, addresses many of the worries about storing hydrogen at high pressure.

They can be used to recharge fuel cells in hydrogen cars or to run domestic electrical devices.

Horizon claims that the new product could kick start an energy revolution. Fuel cell technology, it points out, can greatly improve the usability of many battery or engine-powered devices, and create the possibility of lower cost electric cars that drive longer distances and recharge instantly.

It may even eliminate completely the need for large-scale fuelling infrastructure investments. “We no longer need to rely on nationwide networks of hydrogen fuelling stations to enable large-scale fuel cell commercialization,” said founding partner Taras Wankewycz. “Horizon is initiating a transition that places consumers in the driving seat. Thanks to our innovation each household can gradually become a major part of tomorrow’s hydrogen fuel supply infrastructure.”

The manufacturer says this system is the most efficient storage method for hydrogen there is. It claims that it has a higher “volumetric energy density” than even liquid hydrogen. The cartridges are effectively batteries but unlike conventional batteries, they store more energy, are cheaper, and do not contain any environmentally-harmful heavy metals.

[immoderate]

1. Yeah, and I can't wait for my Air Car either!

:bounce:

--imm

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. Why wait???

http://img.en.china.cn/0/0,0,420,19366,600,421,030929fb.jpg

[RC]

3. It it were that simple, we'd have this technology since the mid '70's at least.

P.T. Barnum, is that you?

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. You had efficient storage of h at atmospheric pressure in the

seventies?? No you didn't. You had micro fuel cells in the seventies? No you didn't.

https://inlportal.inl.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=436&PageID=4282&cached=true&mode=2&userID=2210
Low Pressure Hydrogen Storage Technology

The typical commercially available means for storing hydrogen fuel is storage in special tanks at very high pressure (up to 6000 psi). Another feasible method is storage of cryogenic liquid hydrogen in vacuum-insulated tanks. A disadvantage of storage at high pressure is the weight of the tanks and the inability to store a large mass of fuel in a small space. Cryogenic storage has several disadvantages, including the need for special handling because of the very cold temperature. Current research at various laboratories is investigating the use of graphite nano-fibers (“carbon whiskers”) and other similar concepts.

The fibers are typically 5 to 100 microns long, with a diameter of 5 to 100 nanometers, and are made up of stacks of platelets. The graphite substrate serves as an adsorbent, a “sponge” to store a large mass of hydrogen in a tank at low to moderate pressure. Pressurizing the tank during filling causes the substrate to adsorb the hydrogen molecules, and depressurization during use causes the hydrogen to be released. So far, results of tests using such substrates have been inconclusive, and the mass of hydrogen projected to be stored by these methods (mass of fuel per weight and volume of storage container) is not especially impressive.

We are working in a collaborative effort with a private-sector industrial partner in research and development of a technology that promises to greatly improve the effectiveness of graphite fibers for storing hydrogen at low to moderate pressure. The technology uses metal ions to intercalate graphite fibers to increase the adsorption area. Additional details about this promising technology are proprietary at this time.

If the technology proves to meet our expectations, it will help overcome one of the obstacles to widespread commercial use of hydrogen as a vehicle fuel: the difficulty of storing a large measure of hydrogen energy in a small, light-weight package.




http://www.horizonfuelcell.com/portable_power.htm
Portable Power

Introducing hydropak : a new fuel cell power generator designed by Horizon

The HYDROPAK is a revolutionary portable "off-grid" power device that combines next generation PEM fuel cell technology with water-activated energy storage cartridges. The result: clean power where and when you need it - just add water!

Horizon's HYDROPAK provides significantly more energy stored at a lower cost, reduced weight, and smaller size then today's existing battery-based portable emergency power devices. Its recyclable dry fuel cartridge overcomes the logistics and supply infrastructure for hydrogen, since the HydroPAK system is able to generate its own hydrogen when needed, once users add water to the cartridge. No hydrogen is ever stored in the HYDROPAK or its cartridges since the HYDROPAK produces hydrogen on request. When the system is turned off, there is no hydrogen in the system.

[pscot]

5. When we refer to "home generated"

Are we talking about a wheel my hamster can drive, or a $35,000 rooftop installation that only produces maximum power for one hour and thirty minutes at the summer solstice?

[HysteryDiagnosis]

6. We're talking about toys with little or nothing to offer the

average man.


http://www.hydrogencarsnow.com/home-hydrogen-fueling-stations.htm


>>In 2008, British firm ITM Power announced that they were building a home hydrogen fueling station that would be available by the end of the year. This H2 refueling station uses an inexpensive plastic membrane and electrolyzes water to produce the hydrogen. Through economies of scale the price of this unit could drop as low as $4,000.<<


>>Three friends in Washington State have also built a solar-hydrogen house on their little weekend island getaway just off the coast. Stephen Friend, Jason Lerner and Charles Delahunt were tired of hauling batteries back and forth to the home so that put up solar panels, electrolyzer, PEM fuel cell and hydrogen storage tank to supply all their electrical needs.

The Chewonki Renewable Hydrogen Project is a demonstration project in Maine. The Chewonki Project has a house that 60 participants have adapted to run on hydrogen using a Avalence Hydrofiller electrolyzer and ReliOn fuel cells.

The hydrogen generators and home hydrogen fueling stations of the future will most likely come in three varieties including electrolysis units, reformers and chemical reaction units. The electrolysis units work by simply splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, then compressing and storing the H2 for future use. The reformers use natural gas, methane or another hydrogen-rich gas and separate out the hydrogen for use as fuel. The chemical reaction units use boron, aluminum or other chemical substances and water to create a reaction generating hydrogen for use for fuel.

There are many companies right now claiming to have commercial hydrogen generation units available for sale. Unfortunately, leading-edge technology tends to bring out the scam artists as well. So, a word of caution to the wise is before spending any money - ask the company for references from satisfied customers so that you know they are legitimate vendors. Check the company out with the Better Business Bureau and ask the company to see a working demo of their products. A little caution will go a long way in making sure you're on the leading edge of technology and not on the bleeding edge of technology.<<

[pscot]

7. Stories that refernce people doing things

on islands off the Washington coast are suspect, since there are none. None of this sounds very practical.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

8. Well I guess the Japanese will leave us in the dust once again

they don't seem to be as stuck in the mud as we are. Granted these units are being run on natural gas but that will change soon enough.

http://www.nextenergynews.com/news1/next-energy-news3.5b.html


Masanori Naruse jogs every day, collects miniature cars and feeds birds in his backyard, but he's proudest of the way his home and 2,200 others in Japan get electricity and heat water — with power generated by a hydrogen fuel cell.

The technology — which draws energy from the chemical reaction when hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water — is more commonly seen in futuristic cars with tanks of hydrogen instead of gasoline, whose combustion is a key culprit in pollution and global warming.

Developers say fuel cells for homes produce one-third less of the pollution that causes global warming than conventional electricity generation does.

[glitch]

9. There are many islands in the Puget Sound, which has a large WA coastline. nt

[pscot]

12. I live on an island in Puget Sound

The washington coast is a ferry ride and a 3 hour drive to the west.

[glitch]

13. So you only get to call yourself a coast if you are directly on the Pacific? What about

Bellingham, Blaine, the islands in the Straits of Georgia?

When they talk about the West Coast are they only talking about beach towns?

[NNadir]

10. Well so much for the laws of thermodynamics.

We don't need no stinking thermodynamics.

[kristopher]

11. What is the storage capacity and what is the energy cost of round trip storage?

Until you know those numbers (which are conspicuously absent) then you have no way to evaluate their claims against other storage technologies.

*IF* they are superior, why not give the numbers that prove it?

Also, the claim that "domestic hydrogen fuel cells... use has been limited by the availability of hydrogen" is pure horseshit.

Their use is limited by their sky-high price and the durability of the PEM - H is the least of their problems except for the high energy cost associated with the entire system.