Renewable Electrolysis Integrated System Development And .

Renewable Electrolysis IntegratedSystem Development and TestingProject ID: PDP 4Kevin W. HarrisonNational Renewable Energy Laboratory2008 DOE Hydrogen Program Annual Merit ReviewJune 11, 2008This presentation does not contain any proprietary, confidential, or otherwiserestricted information

OverviewTimelineProject Start Date: 9/2003Project End Date: 9/2009BudgetTotal Project Funding:FY06 - 625K DOE- 1.3M Industry costshareFY07 - 1M DOEFY08 - 1M DOE- 500K DOEProduction BarriersG. CostH. System efficiencyJ. Renewable integrationPartners Xcel Energy Distributed Energy Systems Teledyne Energy Systems NASA, JPL Univ. of North Dakota/EERC Univ. of Minnesota DOE Wind/Hydro Program

Status & Technical Targets

Research Barriers AddressedCapital Costs: R&D is needed to lower capital while improvingthe efficiency and durability of the system.System Efficiency: Even slight increases in efficiency enablesignificant reductions in hydrogen cost. Efficiency gains canbe realized using compression in the cell stack.Renewable Electricity Generation Integration: More efficientintegration with renewable electricity generation is needed toreduce costs and improve performance. Development ofintegrated renewable electrolysis systems is needed,including optimization of power conversion and other systemcomponents from renewable electricity to provide highefficiency, low-cost integrated renewable hydrogenproduction.

Status of Today’s CommercialElectrolyzer Systems Capital Cost ( 15,000/kW to 800/kW) High Pressure Output (200 – 2000 psig) Energy Requirements– 50-75% efficient today (HHV)– 1000 kg/day system requires 2.3 MW, not includingcompression RE Integration– One manufacturer with RE interface (2 powerconverters: AC/DC and DC/DC (Discontinued) Water requirements– Feedstock 1 L/Nm3 of Hydrogen standard (11 L/kg)– Cooling water required for most systems Water purity requirements– Resistivity of 1-5 MΩ-cm (PEM), 200 kΩ-cm (Alk)

Project Objectives Characterize electrolyzer performance with variable input power Design, build and test shared power electronics Identify opportunities for system cost reduction and optimization Test, evaluate and model the renewable electrolysis system

Technical ApproachTest, evaluate, model and optimize the renewableelectrolysis system performance for both dedicatedhydrogen production and electricity/hydrogen cogenerationSystems Engineering, Modeling, and AnalysisDevelop concept platforms, develop and validate componentand system models, system assessment, and optimization toolsSystem Integration and Component DevelopmentWork with industry to develop new advanced hardware andcontrol strategies to couple renewable and electrolyzersystems.Characterization Testing and Protocol DevelopmentEquipment installation, performance characterization, andstandard test procedure development

FY08 Technical AccomplishmentsCharacterization Testing and Protocol DevelopmentSystem Efficiency: Department of Energy’s Joule Milestone EE GG1.1.01.1 which states, “Complete lab-scale electrolyzer, test to determinewhether it achieves 64% energy efficiency and evaluate systemscapability to meet 5.50/gge hydrogen cost target, untaxed at the station,and with large equipment production volumes [e.g., 500 units/year].”Accomplishment: Provided testing required to meet DOE 2007 JouleMilestone, Giner Electrochemical Systems (EP-1), 1000 psig H2, stackvoltage efficiency 67% (HHV).55Cooling request offAverage stack voltage 52.8 V at 250.7 AStack Voltage (V)545352Cooling request on51060120180240300360Time (seconds)420480540

FY08 Technical AccomplishmentsSystem Integration and Component DevelopmentCapital Costs: Onboard power electronics (AC/DC) are relativelyexpensive accounting for 15 to 30% of the system cost. This problemis exacerbated when renewable power sources are used, adding asecond onboard power electronics module.Accomplishment: Combining functionality and reducing oreliminating redundant components (i.e., switches, controllers andfilter elements such as inductors/capacitors) decreases costs.GridFilterElementsPVWindSingle PowerElectronics ModuleStack

FY08 Gen2 PE Test ResultsSystem Integration and Component DevelopmentRenewable Electricity Generation Integration: Improving theenergy capture from renewable energy sources through controllingrenewable source, direct-coupling to stack and unique algorithms.Accomplishment: Second generation power electronics improvedenergy capture while directly coupled to electrolyzer stack.Gen II - DC PowerGen I - DC PowerAvailable Wind Power Curve Fit14000Available Wind PowerHydrogen Flow rate (scfh)4535Power 5Calculated Wind Speed (mph)303540Hydrogen Flow Rate (scfh)4012000Planned Gen2to Gen3Increased energy capturefrom Gen1 to Gen2Gen1 Energy Capture

FY08 Technical AccomplishmentsCharacterization Testing and Protocol DevelopmentDevelopedStandardized TestProtocolNV4 Stack & SystemEfficiency Industry feedbackthrough WEWG, HUGand IEAPHydrogenGeneratorRESourceGridVDCPowerACLoadsV, I, pf,HarmonicsNV3FH2ProductNV1BPRVAICDPAdjustment: 25% to 100% fullscale stack current Intends to quantifyperformance undervarying stack powerNV2AFPhaseSeparation& H2WasteO2/H2OvH2O Input

FY08 Technical AccomplishmentsCharacterization Testing and Protocol Development Providingfeedback toindustry to improveintegration ofrenewable energysources6050SystemEfficiency (Testing & analysisof systemefficiency atvarious stackcurrent levels4030201000%25%50%75%% of Full Stack Current100%

Electrolyzer Manufacturer FeedbackSystems Engineering, Modeling, and Analysis Questions focused onCapital Costs (%) and REintegration. Small ‘test’ group in Juneand the rest in July

Companies InvolvedJulyJuneIHT, (alk)PES, (pem)Giner, (pem)Teledyne, (pem)Hydrogenics, (bth)Avalence, (alk)GE, (alk)Previous work has surveyedonly a few companiesElectric Hydrogen (Eh!)Hamilton SundstrandNorsk Hydro (Statoil)ITMAccaGenShinko PantecMitsubishiELT Elektrolyse TechnikH2-InterpowerHydrogen SolarLynntechInfinity FuelTreadwellSiam Water FlameLindePeak ScientificSchmidlin-DBSPIEL (ILT Tech.)Gesellschaft für HochleistungseleKline

Xcel-NREL Wind2H2 CollaborationWind Turbine100kWCompressorAlkaline andPEMElectrolyzersUtility GridGensetAC-DC andDC-DCConvertersStorageFueling Station (Future)Benefits of the Collaboration: Examine benefit to utility by shifting wind production in time Research optimal wind/hydrogen through systems engineering Characterize and control wind turbine and H2-producing stack Evaluate synergies from co-production of electricity and hydrogen Compare alkaline and PEM electrolyzer technologies Realize efficiency gains though a unique integrated PE

Wind2H2 Primary DeliverablesSystem-wide efficiency of devices (Electrolyzers,Compression, Storage and H2-fueled ICE genset)Comparing the following: PV to gridWind Turbine to gridGrid to electrolyzer stackWind/PV to electrolyzer stackShow the wind/solar resource correlationPEM/alkaline electrolyzer efficiencyCompressor efficiencyH2-fueled genset efficiencyRunning the electrolyzer’s in parallel (sequencing)the stacks to optimize overall system efficiency.

Xcel-NREL Wind2H2 CollaborationComponent IntegrationComparing electrolyzersof both PEM and alkalinetechnologiesAbility to accommodate thevarying energy input fromwind and PV

Xcel-NREL Wind2H2 CollaborationDirect CouplingVariable speed wind turbines directlycoupled to the hydrogen-producingstacks of commercially availableelectrolyzers.DC varyingwith windspeedPEM CellStack

Grid ConnectedBaseline Testing

Power Converter IntegrationBergey 10 kWWind Turbine10 kW PVarrayAC-DCConverterDC-DCConverter

Isolated DC/DCDesign & Testing

Wind to Hydrogen DemonstrationProject Accomplishments Obtained approval for daily operation:– Improved safety systems– Removed non-compliant devices– Instrumented equipment– Performed device warranty and maintenance Operating system in grid-connected mode Hydrogen production from wind and PV– New controllers design, built and tested

NREL Path ForwardFY 2008June – July 2008 Complete Giner retrofit, testing and final report Complete design of hydrogen refueling station Wind 3rd generation power electronics startup & testing Component-level modeling (Manufacturer Feedback) Instrument and test hydrogen-fueled genset NW100 power converter buildAugust – September 2008 Installation of hydrogen refueling station Test NW100 power converter Complete baseline Wind2H2 testing, analysis & report Complete small wind, PV and Grid integrated powerelectronics build and programming

NREL Path ForwardFY 2009 Complete small wind, PV and Grid integrated powerelectronics testing and analysis Renewable electrolysis test protocol update Verify automated operation of wind to hydrogen project Complete wind to hydrogen testing and analysis Ion chromatography of hydrogen product testing andanalysis Model/simulation of renewable-electrolyzer performance Test and validation support for DOE electrolysis-basedhydrogen production awarded projects Shutdown and relocate facilities

Project CollaborationBolded: Projects involved with informal wind to hydrogendata-sharingNational NREL Test & Validation (Boulder, CO)Xcel-NREL Wind2H2 Project (Boulder, CO)Basin Electric (Minot, ND)Univ. of Minnesota (Morris, MN)Ft. Collins Utility (Ft. Collins, CO)e-Vermont (Burlington, VT)International Center for Renewable Energy Sources (Greece) International Energy Agency, Annex 24 “Wind Energyand Hydrogen Integration” Prince Edward Island (Canada)

Project SummaryRelevance: Addressing capital cost, efficiency and renewable energy sourceintegration to reduce the cost per kg of H2Approach: Demonstrating advanced controls, system-level improvements andintegration of renewable energy sources to electrolyzer stackTechnical Accomplishments:– Increased energy capture of 2nd generation wind to stack power electronics.(Renewable Energy Integration)– Verified stack voltage efficiency to help meet DOE Joule milestone. (SystemEfficiency)– Integrating grid, wind and PV functionality into single power electronics module toreduce capital cost. (Capital Cost)Technology Transfer & Collaborations: Gathering feedback from andtransferring results to industry to enable improved renewable and electrolyzerintegration and performance. Active and informal partnerships with industry,academia and domestic/international researchers.Future Research: Complete high-pressure electrolyzer testing, continue baselineand renewable energy source testing for the wind to hydrogen demonstrationproject, accelerate cost and performance modeling/simulation of renewableelectrolysis systems.

Additional information can be found athttp://www.nrel.gov/hydrogen/renew electrolysis.htmlAdditional slides including publicationsand comments from 2007 AMR followThank you!

FY06 - 625K DOE - 1.3M Industry cost-share FY07 - 1M DOE FY08 - 1M DOE - 500K DOE Production Barriers G. Cost H. System efficiency J. Renewable integration Partners Xcel Energy Distributed Energy Systems Teledyne Energy Systems NASA, JPL Univ. of North