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DOE’s technical targets for micro-CHP fuel cell power systems (1-10 kW) operating on natural gas.

I know many of this blog’s readers directly and indirectly are involved in work on fuel cells, so presumably everyone will be glad to see that the DOE just posted a solicitation for applications for up to $74 million in fuel cell (high temp systems like SOFCs and also PEM) grants, including $65 million for R&D on such things as catalysts, membranes and balance-of-plant components (blowers, humidifiers, sensors, etc.). $9 million is also set aside for more economic-oriented proposals to dig deeper into the cost structures and effective progress of DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies research initiatives.

I should mention that I have to assume that this funding is not from Recovery Act funds (since the ARRA is not directly mentioned in the DOE’s announcement and the agency warns that the $74 million is subject to the appropriations whims of Congress).

In regard to high temperature stack components, the DOE says:

“DOE is seeking research to improve performance and reduce cost of high temperature fuel cells, including molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC), phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC), small scale (≤ 10kW) solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), polybenzimidazole (PBI) -phosphoric acid, other polymer-phosphoric acid, and similar temperature range fuel cells through development of better stack components.”

The agency warns, however, that “SOFC activities that are similar to work being performed under DOE’s Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) Program” would not be entertained.

The DOE specifically mentions its interest in “light duty vehicles, forklifts, buses and stationary power plants, as well as hydrogen storage systems” and “life cycle cost analyses for different manufacturing volumes.”

The DOE has recently been in putting out feelers regarding support for molten carbonate and phosphoric acid fuel cells.

The solicitation also includes funding for “Innovative Concepts”:

“Areas of research interest include but are not limited to: low-cost, durable materials, components, or subsystems suitable for longer-term use in the fuel cell system environment. Stationary, automotive, and portable applications are acceptable. Possible areas of interest include alkaline fuel cells, liquid-fueled (non-hydrogen) fuel cells, and regenerative or reversible fuel cells.“

The deadline for the R&D funding is March 3, 2011. The deadline for the cost analyses is earlier: Feb. 18, 2011. DOE has posted instructions and requirements online.

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Credit: IRAP

According to a newly released report from Innovative Research and Products Fuel Cells, Hydrogen Energy and Related Nanotechnology - A Global Industry and Market Analysis, the fuel cell and hydrogen energy industry is highly fragmented.

According to IRAP, nearly 4,000 organizations worldwide are involved in fuel cells, hydrogen energy and related nanotechnology and spent an estimated $8.4 billion in 2008. IRAP estimates this market will be $8.8 billion in 2009 and expects it to increase to $14 billion by 2014, with a compound average growth rate of 9.6%.

IRAP also says that nearly 2200 organizations are involved in nanotechnology related to fuel cells and hydrogen energy. The firm says this is a $4.7 billion market, with about $2 billion of that representing the value of nanotechnology for fuel cells and hydrogen energy separate from all other expenditures.

The organizations are made up of well established corporations, start-up companies, universities, governments at the federal, state and municipal level, cooperative public–private demonstrations, and nonprofit organizations and laboratories. Those organizations involved in nanotechnology are developing electrodes, catalysts, membranes as well as nanocoating, thermal and filtration products for fuel cells and materials for hydrogen production, purification and storage.

IRAP reports that over half the organizations involved in fuel cells, hydrogen energy and related nanotechnology have overlapping interests and are developing more than one kind of fuel cell or technology for more than one type of fuel cell. They may also offer balance of plant products that can be applied to more than one type of fuel cell such as fuel reformers, pumps and compressors and power electronics. Manufacturing equipment is also similar for some fuel cell types.

Looking back from some point in the future, IRAP says that we will see that true mass manufacturing of stationary fuel cells began in 2009, when fuel cell products proved to have the durability to compete against other sources of power.

Limited mass production of fuel cell vehicles is not expected to begin before 2015, although many manufacturers will produce about 100 fuel cell vehicles a year for fleet demonstrations. IRAP reports that hydrogen fueling stations for these vehicles continues at a rate of about two to four a month worldwide. More than $500 billion worth of hydrogen fueling stations will eventually be needed to compete with the world-wide gasoline infrastructure.

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Grad student Martin Duran and Azad, right, working on the processing of nanoscale ceramic catalysts.

(the following is a guest post from Abdul-Majeed Azad, associate professor, chemical engineering, University of Toledo)

As we know, the ultimate chemical fate of the conventional fossil fuel combustion is always CO₂ and H₂O, two well-known greenhouse gases responsible for contributing considerably to the global warming. In 2007 the global level of CO₂ was 30 billion metric ton and is projected to be 43 billion metric ton by 2030. The United States contributes the largest amount - 22.2% - of global CO₂ emissions.

What if we could convert CO₂ into carbon monoxide (CO), water into H₂ and a mixture of CO₂+H₂O (the ultimate product of complete combustion of hydrocarbon-based fossil fuels, including biofuels) into syngas (CO+H₂), respectively? Syngas is a valuable precursor for the well-known Fischer-Tropsch process perfected by Germans during WW II to make synthetic fuels since Germany had coal but no oil reserves. All these streams (CO, H₂ and CO+H₂) are also ideal fuels for solid oxide fuel cells. Hence, essentially the waste products of combustion could become a fuel source and can be recycled. Alternatively, if desired, CO could be converted into H₂ via catalytic water-gas-shift reaction that then could become feed for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.

We have developed an inexpensive heterogeneous ceramic catalyst that we experimentally found capable of converting CO₂ and H₂O into CO and H₂, respectively, on a 1:1 molar basis, under mild temperature and atmospheric pressure. These streams when fed into an intermediate temperature SOFC at 650°C create an open circuit voltage, quite comparable to that of the same SOFC run with pure H₂.

The technology is also of relevance to NASA’s in-situ resource utilization program for MARS exploration since Martian atmosphere is ~ 96% CO₂. NASA might be interested in looking at our technology for creating CO from Martian CO₂ and, use it either as such or after water-gas-shift reaction to generate hydrogen as fuel for a SOFC stack. In the Martian context, to make the process truly self-sustained one could use solar concentrators to generate enough heat to raise the temperature to cause the desired conversion (CO₂ to CO to H₂). Thus, the fuel can be generated (and used) during daytime and stored and utilized to run fuel cells in the night hours.

It is predicted that global clean energy markets are going to quadruple in the next decade from $55.4 billion in revenue in 2006 to more than $226.5 billion by 2016. The approximate market size of this greenhouse gas mitigation is over $1 billion. The technology and the product are potentially of interest to energy producers and suppliers, utility chains, SOFC manufacturers and users, organic synthesis companies and Mars human exploration missions. The United States Department of Defense uses logistic fuels for its operations and could employ the greenhouse gas-fueled SOFC technology for many military field operations, including mobile forward base units, auxiliary field hospitals, field command posts, operational forays, and unmanned aerial vehicles. NASA is also currently looking at non-petroleum-based jet fuels in the pursuit of alternative fuels that can power commercial jets and address rising oil costs. A greenhouse gas-derived F-T fuel could respond to that quest.

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Ya gotta hand it to Honda for positioning itself at the front of the this game-changing technology. On the heels of the release of its FCX Clarity sedan, Honda displayed a three-seater fuel cell sports car, the FC Sport Wednesday at the LA car show. It has a low profile and centers the driver in the front and adds two passenger seats in the rear. Basically, it uses the same V Flow fuel stack as the Clarity. The V Flow is a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. I haven’t seen a demonstration of exactly how this works, but Honda says, “The enclosed canopy opens upward from the rear to allow for entry and exit. Honda is also trying to leverage the max out of the clean-tech theme. From its press release:

The glacier white body colour is intended to convey the FC Sport’s clean environmental aspirations while the dark wheels and deeply tinted glass provide a symbolic contrast befitting of the vehicle’s unique combination of clean power and high performance. Green construction techniques further contribute to a reduced carbon footprint. An organic, bio-structure theme is carried through to the body construction where exterior panels are intended to use plant-derived bio-plastics.

Update: Here’s a video of the FC Sport, but the host spoils the news by revealing that . . . well, just watch and see:

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