NEWS

July 2013 Fuel Cells Bulletin9

Air Products launches retail hydrogen fuel dispenser, CA stations

Air Products has recently introduced an advanced, consumer-friendly

retail hydrogen fuel dispenser. The new model will be installed at 10 new hydrogen fueling stations in California.

The company says that the new offering is the market’s first fully integrated retail hydrogen dispenser, for use in the same way as traditional consumer gasoline fueling and payment practices. The unit will meet consumer expectations of refilling hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles in a safe, fast, reliable, and familiar manner [see the Air Products feature in FCB, February 2013].

‘There is a direct benefit in consumer acceptance of new technology, in making the hydrogen fueling experience similar to the traditional vehicle fueling experience,’ explains Brian Bonner, Air Products’ global product manager for hydrogen energy systems. ‘Our extensive experience in hydrogen supply and our exclusive relationship with an industry leader of fuel dispensing equipment, has led to both unique innovations involving hydrogen dispensing technology and a superior level of safety that is built into the advanced hydrogen dispenser.’

Air Products worked closely with Michigan-based Bennett Pump Company, a leading manufacturer of fuel dispensing equipment, in developing the advanced hydrogen fuel dispenser. The collaboration benefits from the combination of Air Products’ vast hydrogen market experience and Bennett’s extensive background in engineering and manufacturing of consumer and retail fuel dispensing products.

This advanced technology will be immediately incorporated into 10 new fueling stations to be built by Air Products in California starting this year [FCB, June 2013, p1]. The dispenser’s design and user interface provide the same look, feel, and payment options as a traditional gasoline dispenser, and may be integrated into any existing retail point-of-sale system.

The hydrogen fuel dispensing equipment, based partially on Bennett’s Pacific Series product, includes Society of Automotive Engineers-certified dispensing components, proprietary hydrogen fueling protocols, as well as the ability to meet the SAE J2601 fueling requirements. The dispenser is equipped with a consumer-friendly training interface, the latest Hydrogen Vehicle Authorization System to provide identification of the type of vehicle

being fueled at the dispenser, and in many areas exceeds applicable safety code requirements.

Air Products has vast experience in hydrogen fueling, and an extensive patent portfolio in hydrogen dispensing technology. Several of its sites for hydrogen fueling applications are providing more than 75 000 refills per annum. The company has been involved in over 150 hydrogen fueling projects in the US and 20 countries worldwide, refueling cars, trucks, vans, buses, scooters, forklifts, locomotives, aircraft, cell towers, and even submarines and ferries [see page 4].

Air Products, Hydrogen Energy: www.airproducts.com/h2energy

Bennett Pump Company: www.bennettpump.com

Largest Power-to-Gas facility now operating with Hydrogenics tech

A Power-to-Gas (P2G) unit installed by energy giant E.ON in

Falkenhagen in eastern Germany has injected hydrogen into the natural gas system as part of a function test. This is the first time that E.ON has successfully implemented all stages of the process, from receiving electricity to injecting hydrogen. The facility utilises electrolyser and hydrogen production technology supplied by Canadian-based Hydrogenics.

This P2G facility converts excess renewable generation from a nearby wind farm into renewable power, fuel or heat where and when it is needed. The region has a high output of wind power, with its wind farms already frequently producing more electricity than the local grid can handle. In addition, the necessary power and gas infrastructure is already on hand, and E.ON has a control centre there.

With this facility now in full operation, E.ON Gas Storage is feeding up to 360 Nm3/h into the local natural gas grid, which is operated by ONTRAS (a subsidiary of VNG – Verbundnetz Gas). The hydrogen becomes part of the natural gas mix, and can be used to generate power or heat.

Hydrogenics received the order from E.ON for this Power-to-Gas project last summer [FCB, July 2012, p7]. The 2 MW energy storage facility uses surplus renewable energy sources to produce hydrogen for storage in the existing natural gas pipeline network in Germany. The facility – delivered at the end of 2012 [FCB, January 2013, p7] and

commissioned over the first quarter of 2013 – has passed all tests, and all required permits and certifications have now been granted for its operation.

For Hydrogenics this has been a turnkey P2G project which included supply, installation, connection, and commissioning of the hydrogen production facility, including gas compression, master controls, as well as a five-year service and maintenance agreement.

Germany is a key energy storage player in Europe, building on its leading position in terms of installed capacity of renewables. The country has the ambitious goal of getting one-third of its electricity from renewable energy by 2020, at least 50% by 2030, and 80% by 2050. Thus it must find a way to store huge quantities of electricity to make up for the intermittency of renewable energy – so utility-scale energy storage will be a key part of the future German energy plan.

Hydrogenics Corporation, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 905 361 3660, www.hydrogenics.com

Hydrogenics Europe – Electrolysers, Oevel, Belgium. Tel: +32 14 462110.

E.ON, energy storage project: www.eon.com/en/about-us/innovation.html

ITM joins alliances in California, Germany, sets up Danish unit

UK-based ITM Power has joined the California Hydrogen Business

Council (CHBC), and is participating as a founding member in the CHBC Hydrogen Energy Storage Program. ITM has also joined the Power-to-Gas (P2G) Strategy Platform managed by the German Energy Agency, and has set up a Danish subsidiary company to bid with a partner for some significant energy storage opportunities there.

The California Hydrogen Business Council’s new Hydrogen Energy Storage (HES) Program will assist the market adoption of hydrogen energy storage in California, by providing a greater understanding of the role of Power-to-Gas energy storage and the energy storage role played by hydrogen used as a transportation fuel. The other founding members of the HES Program are Southern California Gas and Canadian-based Hydrogenics.

Hydrogen energy storage has the potential to become an immense business opportunity in California as the state targets 33% of its

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10Fuel Cells Bulletin July 2013

electricity from renewables by 2020. In early June the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) released a proposal that calls for the state’s three main utilities to procure 1.3 GW of energy storage by 2020.

ITM Power has also joined the Power-to-Gas (P2G) Strategy Platform managed by the German Energy Agency (dena). The Platform includes 31 key players in the electricity and gas markets, equipment suppliers, and leading German research institutes [see also the North Sea Power to Gas Platform item in FCB, May 2013, p8]. It aims to expedite the necessary interaction between the established and emerging industrial segments that will ultimately merge to bring to fruition the long-term transformation of Germany’s energy markets (known as the Energiewende).

ITM Power has identified Germany as a key part of the company’s expansion plans, as evidenced by the establishment of ITM Power GmbH in 2011, and its first P2G project with Thüga Group in Frankfurt am Main, currently under construction [FCB, April 2013, p9].

In other news, ITM Power has been invited by an international partner – already established in Denmark, but currently remaining anonymous – to jointly bid for significant energy storage opportunities there. To this end, ITM Power has established a wholly owned Danish subsidiary, ITM Power ApS, to join the partner to tender for existing opportunities and opportunities under development [see the ITM Power feature in FCB, January 2012].

The Danish government’s Energy Plan 2020 includes establishing initiatives for hydrogen infrastructure and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), as well as hydrogen energy storage, with the overall aim to reach 100% fossil fuel independence by 2050 [see the News Feature in FCB, April 2012, p12].

ITM Power, Sheffield, UK. Tel: +44 114 244 5111, www.itm-power.com

California Hydrogen Business Council: www.californiahydrogen.org

Power-to-Gas Strategy Platform: www.powertogas.info (in German)

German Energy Agency: www.dena.de/en

Energy transition in Germany: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energiewende

SFC adds EFOY Pro Energy Solutions for industrial applications

German-based SFC Energy has expanded its fully integrated

EFOY Pro Energy Solutions series for

professional industrial applications. The series of complete direct methanol fuel cell power supply systems is designed for demanding outdoor application scenarios such as the oil & gas and wind power industries, traffic management, security and surveillance, and for off-grid operation of sensing and measuring, communication, and radio equipment.

SFC Energy already offers the EFOY ProCube for powering mobile and vehicle-based off-grid applications, and the vandal-proof EFOY ProCabinet for powering stationary off-grid applications. The new EFOY ProEnergyBox further expands the versatility of EFOY Pro Energy Solutions with a power solution engineered to withstand even the most extreme weather conditions for long periods.

The EFOY ProEnergyBox is specified for temperatures from +50°C to –40°C. It is available in two standard sizes, to hold either one or two EFOY Pro generators, and up to four 28 litre EFOY fuel cartridges. Both models come in ruggedised, insulated and weatherproof Peli cases, and offer enough space to integrate battery and individual application-specific equipment.

EFOY Pro Energy Solutions offer significantly extended autonomy for off-grid equipment that is powered by them. They all contain SFC Energy’s EFOY Pro fuel cell generator, EFOY fuel cartridges, battery and power management. They can easily be hybridised with solar modules or other alternative power sources like wind or water generators [see the SFC Energy feature in January 2013].

‘We have created the EFOY ProEnergyBox to meet the extreme off-grid power requirements of our customers in the oil & gas industry, especially in the severe Russian and Canadian winters [see page 8],’ says Dr Peter Podesser, CEO of SFC Energy. ‘In the past, providing reliable power to critical equipment during the long arctic winters used to be a logistic nightmare. With the EFOY ProEnergyBox, equipment is powered for months and months on end without requiring any user intervention.’

SFC Energy, Brunnthal/Munich, Germany. Tel: +49 89 673 5920, www.sfc.com

EFOY Pro fuel cell generators: www.efoy-pro.com

PowerDisc eFlow for uniform current, improved durability

Canadian-based PowerDisc Development Corporation says that

its novel eFlow™ PEM fuel cell design solves one of the most challenging issues in the fuel cell industry: unequal

current distribution. By improving the flow of oxygen, fuel and water, fuel cells using eFlow can avoid the degradation seen in fuel cell membranes and other stack materials. This results in increased durability, higher peak power, and reduced cost due to improved membrane resiliency and lifetime.

‘The fuel cell industry has spent a significant amount of time and money solving issues that stem from non-uniform current, including accelerated aging and lower power output,’ explains PowerDisc’s chief scientist Dr Sean MacKinnon, formerly with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), Ballard Power Systems, and General Motors’ Fuel Cell Division.

MacKinnon described the eFlow technology at the recent Hydrogen + Fuel Cells 2013 conference in Vancouver. The design improves the flow of oxygen, fuel and water within a fuel cell, and avoids degradation of the fuel cell membrane and stack materials. The net result is that overall fuel cell durability is increased, higher peak powers are enabled, and cost is significantly reduced due to greater membrane resiliency, the elimination of costly system components, and improved lifetime.

Dag Hinrichs, VP of business development at PowerDisc, says that when these benefits are added up, the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) will reveal new areas where fuel cells can compete with incumbent technologies. ‘Fuel cells using eFlow will gain performance and ‘cost out’ benefits that open more markets where fuel cells can compete with traditional power solutions,’ says Hinrichs. ‘The cost per kWh comparisons look good, it’s exciting.’

PowerDisc is providing design and engineering services support to assist with the integration of eFlow in stationary and automotive applications. The company’s R&D operations are based in Vancouver, at the NRC Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation on the University of British Columbia campus.

PowerDisc Development Corporation, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 604 227 4349, www.powerdisc.ca

NPL diagnostic tool for in situ, real-time metrology of PEMFCs

The National Physical Laboratory in the UK has devised new ways of

making in situ measurements on PEM fuel cells using voltage mapping and in-stack catalyst area measurements, as well as new ways of interpreting the

RESEARCH