Hydrogen Hebrides An integrated low carbon transport vision
Dr Ruairi MacIver
Research Fellow, Lews Castle College UHI ex Project Manager (Renewable Energy), Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is an energy carrier, not an energy source … just like electricity.
Compared to other common fuels hydrogen’s energy content is the highest by weight, but the lowest by volume.
Production requires the separation of hydrogen molecules from its compounds with other elements
Majority is currently produced from hydro-carbons …
steam reformation of methane (CH4)
by-product of petro-chemical processes
… and involve greenhouse gas production
But …
hydrogen obtained by water electrolysis is clean if renewable electricity is used.
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
The Outer Hebrides (Population c.27,000)
Energy Landscape
Almost total reliance on imported energy (electricity, oil, LPG, DERV & petrol).
High energy consumption & costs.
Community land-ownership & community-led energy generation projects (on-shore wind & hydro).
Commercial energy generation projects (on-shore wind & marine).
Constraints & limitations
Weak grid & interconnection issues.
Hydrogen opportunities
Energy capture avoiding grid (potentially).
Indigenous fuel for heat, power & transportation.
Community benefits.
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
The Outer Hebrides Energy consumption
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
• Renewable electricity is fine but …
• How to decarbonise the heat and transport sectors?
151.06
14.19 312.39
35.58
Total energy consumption by fuel source Total 513.2GWh (2008)
[Source: DECC]
Electricity
Manufactured Fuels
Petroleum Products
Coal
127.52
226.18
159.51
Total energy consumption by consuming sector Total 513.2GWh (2008)
[Source: DECC]
Industry & Commercial
Domestic
Road Transport
Domestic Energy End Use Proportion
Space heating 57.7%
Hot water 23.6%
Cooking 2.9%
Lighting & appliances 15.9%
End use categories and proportions for 2008 (Source DECC, March 2011)
H2seed Facility A renewable hydrogen production, storage and distribution facility
Compressed air supply for
compression system Electrolyser
High pressure storage
Low pressure storage
Refueller
AD of organic waste (biogas)
Renewable electricity generation
Electricity distribution
network
On-site demand
Alkaline Electrolysis
Low pressure buffer storage
Compression High pressure
storage
H2 vehicle refuelling
Water
Control system
H2 vehicles
H2seed Facility Installation completed May 2010 Budget: £720k Funding: CnES & Scottish Government
Electrolysis system
Alkaline electrolyser & gas purifier
rated @ 31kW, 5.3 Nm3/h (~0.45kg/h), 12 bar
H2 purity 99.99%, dew point <-45°C
O2 vented to atmosphere
H2O 4.6 litres per hour
Low pressure buffer storage
96 ‘k’-type cylinders (rated @ 200 bar)
Nominal volume: 4512 litres
Stored mass (@ 15°C): 4.5 kg at 12 bar
3.4 kg at 9 bar
High pressure storage
15 composite cylinders (rated @ 480 bar) steel lined, carbon fibre wrapped
Nominal volume: 1230 litres
Stored mass (@ 15°C): 34.1kg at 420 bar
29.5kg at 350 bar
Compression
Pneumatically driven booster pump
15kW air compressor delivering 1.85 m3/min at 10 bar
Estimated hydrogen transfer rate: 2 Nm3/h
H2seed Facility Royal Mail Hydrogen Vehicle Trial 6 June 2010 to 27 August 2010
Revolve Technologies’ 1st generation Ford Transit bi-fuel conversion (petrol/H2)
2.3 litre, four cylinder, internal combustion engine, independent hydrogen injection system
187 litre hydrogen storage (3 cylinders), 4.5 kg @ 350 bar and 15°C
Rated engine power 104 kW (petrol), 75 kW (hydrogen)
Range (claimed) 80 miles (urban), 135 miles (motorway)
H2seed Facility Royal Mail Hydrogen Vehicle Trial 6 June 2010 to 27 August 2010
Stornoway - Shawbost duty route (~110km) 1157km operation on hydrogen 30 successful refuelling operations supplying 71kg of hydrogen with an average refuelling time of 3.5 minutes
Driver observations generally positive, but … Reduced power required altered driving style Additional procedures cumbersome Range not sufficient for duty route
max 106km/h, mean 47km/h max 58km/h, mean 23km/h
H2seed Facility Vehicle Refuelling – Thermal Effects
Air Products S100 refuelling unit protocol
‘Cascade’ fill – relies on pressure difference between facility storage and on-board storage
Non-communicative fill (no feedback from vehicle storage to refuelling unit)
Transfer rate controlled to preset values
Refuelling Revolve Ford Transit
Standard S100 procedure
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Tank volume: 187 litres
Transfer: 3.7kg in 228s
Pressure rise: 10 – 350 bar
Temperature rise: 20 – 70°C
Initial pressure decay: ~12 bar/min
Stabilised pressure ~300 bar @ 20°C
H2seed Facility Operational Economics
Electrolysis
• Electricity: 6 kWh/Nm3 or 71.4 kWh/kg
• Water: 10 litres/Nm3 or 119 litres/kg (est.)
• Stage efficiency: 55%
• Cost: £2.60 / kg
Compression
• Transfer rate ~2 Nm3/h (for 12/420bar input/output pressures)
• Electricity: 16.5kWh / h or 97kWh / kg
• Stage efficiency: 41%
• Cost: £3.40 / kg
Refuelling
• Energy cost: 1kg @ 420bar requires ~170 kWh
• System energy efficiency: 23%
• Economic cost: £6 per kg (or 18p per kWh) compare to petrol at £1.46/litre (16p per kWh)
Large scale electrolysers have stack efficiencies of 75%-84% (UKHFCA, 2011).
Compression efficiency particularly poor as compressor was specified on the basis of a
30bar electrolyser.
H2 energy density 39.4 kWh/kg (HHV) Utility costs
Electricity: £0.035/kW Water: £0.75/m3
UKHFCA (2011) Did you know …, UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association. http://www.ukhfca.co.uk/did-you-know/ (accessed 9 September 2011)
H2seed Facility Capital cost
Item Budget Project Cost
Capital Equipment £497,110 £478,596
Electrolyser (30kW) £256,000 £245,224
Storage & Fuelling Station £156,110 £217,924
Compressed Air Supply - £11,033
Vehicles £85,000 £0
Misc - £4,415
Land Acquisition £21,000 £21,000
Civil Works £13,600 £76,240
Consultancy Fees £80,680 £80,631
Maintenance (5 years) £81,000 £77,801
Project Management Fees £27,610 £96,613
Contingency - -
Total £721,000 £830,881
Funding
CnES £450,000 £559,881
Stornoway Trust £21,000 £21,000
Renewable Hydrogen & Fuel Cell
Support Scheme £250,000 £250,000
£721,000 £830,881
Initial budget poorly prepared with no contingency provision.
Underestimated items Site preparation Storage and fuelling station Project management fees
Level of intervention (internal and external) required was excessive.
Budget overspend prevented procurement of vehicles!
H2seed Facility Lessons
Facility design Lack of definitive design guidelines & specific regulations.
Procurement Inadequate understanding of EU public procurement procedures.
Sequential procurement process.
Public body issues Inflexible committee approval procedure – additional funding opportunities lost.
Highly risk-averse attitude – doesn’t fit well with innovative demonstration/pilot projects.
Staff turnover @ CnES & NTDA Energia Loss of project champion at senior level.
Knowledge / experience / enthusiasm residing in individuals.
Equipment supply Damage sustained during shipment.
Grant funding Rigid expenditure requirements.
Hydrogen Hebrides H2growth
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar &
Lews Castle College UHI project supported by
European Regional Development Fund
Capital Investment (£700k)
Deploy two hydrogen vehicles.
Establish low-carbon vehicle workshop-garage facility for local maintenance training & support.
Enhance the H2seed Facility capability.
Portable hydrogen energy system.
Revenue (£176.5k)
Personnel to retain local expertise.
Develop and deliver relevant training.
Dissemination and project development support.
Hydrogen Hebrides H2growth economics
CEP wind turbine – 300kW Enercon E33 Straight-to-grid connection under the Outer Hebrides Connect & Manage derogation. Export capacity contacted at 225kW.
Business case robust in this configuration with an estimated net annual production of 914,780kWh
Releasing constrained capacity (roughly 17% increase) provides additional income @ FiT rate (£0.175/kWh) with marginal increase in operational cost.
Peak-lopping mode realises £22,312pa & subsidises hydrogen production (electricity consumption no longer a cost).
Hydrogen Hebrides H2growth Storage requirements
CEP wind turbine – 300kW Enercon E33 Straight-to-grid connection under the Outer Hebrides ‘connect & manage’ derogation. Export capacity contacted at 225kW.
Peak Lopping Mode Rated Power (kW) 300 kW
Export Capacity (kW) 225 kW
Mean Wind Speed – hub height (m/s) 8.12 m/s
Annualised Production (gross) 1,145 MWh
Annualised Load factor 39.0%
Mean Power (kW) 131 kW
Non-exportable production 171 MWh
Electrolyser rated power (kW) 75 kW
Operation load factor 29.6% (based on time)
Production load factor 26.0% (based on kWh)
Production 2,607 kg
Supportable daily use 7.1 kg (365 day pa demand)
Storage required 688 kg
Storage pressure 420 bar
Pressurised storage volume 19.5 m3 19,500 litres
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Hydrogen Hebrides H2growth – H2 vehicles
Purchase two hydrogen vehicles for use in CnES fleet Project budget £240k
Market appraisal - limited availability One OEM – Hyundai ix35 FCEV Two 3rd party adaptions – PEC/SymbioFC HyKangoo & Revolve Technologies Ford Transit One niche manufacturer – Microcab
Performance specification procurement process (above-threshold open tender published in OJEU Sept-Oct 2012)
Evaluation criteria: Quality (70%) / Price (30%)
Tender A Tender B Tender C Tender D
Base vehicles £61,728 £90,000 £42,500 £49,152
Hydrogen fuel systems £106,000 £90,000 £130,000 £210,372
Certification & delivery Included £2,800 £20,000 included
Training & support £36,200 £26,410 £5,000 £3,582
Additional costs £9,000 1 £ - £14,904 2 £ -
Evaluated tender amount
£212,928 £209,210 £212,404 £263,106
1 Specific training required for maintenance provided by third party [Swagelok]. 2 Two year fuel cell warranty, documentation and estimated battery lease costs.
Renewable Energy Storage
Energy (Electricity) Storage Benefits of Energy Storage
• Commercial scale – Reduce fixed operational costs.
– Improve dispatch characteristics.
– Reduce infrastructure reinforcement.
• Domestic/Community scale – Increase network independence.
– Balance local supply vs demand.
• End-use diversification – Transport
– Heat … also heat.
Source: Energy Storage and Management Study, AEA Technology (2010)
HYDROGEN HEBRIDES An Island Hydrogen Network
THE OUTER HEBRIDES VISION A regional network of community operated energy centres using
hydrogen to link local renewable electricity generation with
transport, heat and power requirements.
The flexibility of hydrogen can increase the value to a community
of their renewable energy resources.
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Electricity Generation Conventional Fuels
Fuel Commodity
Price Energy Price
(Net CV)
Grid Electricity - 12.0p/kWh
Petrol £1.46/litre 16.0p/kWh
DERV £1.54/litre 15.5p/kWh
Heating oil £0.70/litre 6.3p/kWh
LPG (bulk) £0.57/litre 8.8p/kWh
Incentive Payments (Generation)
Feed-in-Tariff Technology dependent. 9.4p/kWh to 34.5p/kWh (Community & domestic wind)
Renewable Obligation
Typically 9.0p/kWh (small-scale generation)
Export Payments
Deemed 3.1p/kWh (Feed-in-Tariff)
Power Purchase Agreement
Variable, 4.0p/kWh representative
Storing energy to displace conventional transport fuels can provide greater social & economic benefit than simply exporting electricity.
HYDROGEN HEBRIDES Adding Value Locally
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
HYDROGEN HEBRIDES An Island Hydrogen Network
STEPPING STONE PROJECTS
H2Lab: Skills Development .
Training & Research centre at Lews Castle College, UHI.
H2seed: The Hebrides’ first renewable hydrogen fuelling station.
Commissioned May 2010.
Fuelled Royal Mail Group’s hydrogen delivery vehicle trial.
H2growth: Deploy hydrogen vehicles in the Local Authority fleet.
Invitation to Tender to be issued end of May 2012.
Hydrogen Skills Development. Hydrogen Lab, Lews Castle College, UHI
Renewable Energy Resource Hydrogen Fuelling Infrastructure. H2seed Facility, Stornoway, CnES
Hybrid Inter-island Ferry Services
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
HYDROGEN HEBRIDES An Island Hydrogen Network
NEXT STEPS
HIGH2WAY: Establish hydrogen production at key locations supporting renewable electricity generation projects.
Provide the nodes of a road & marine transport network.
Optimising connection capacity.
Diversify into heat through stand-alone gas networks.
Hydrogen Skills Development. Hydrogen Lab, Lews Castle College, UHI
Renewable Energy Resource Hydrogen Fuelling Infrastructure. H2seed Facility, Stornoway, CnES
Hybrid Inter-island Ferry Services
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
HYDROGEN HEBRIDES An Island Hydrogen Network
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
150 passengers, 23 cars or 2 HGVs. Diesel generator sets supply power to electric propulsion motors/units. Lithium-ion battery banks (700kWh)
Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd’s hybrid ferry design is basis for (hydrogen) fuel cell design.
Marine transport
Lews Castle College UHI, Alasdair Macleod & Arne Vogler.
Co-combustion of hydrogen/diesel in marine diesel engines. Engine performance study using a static Perkins engine. Funded by European Fisheries Fund.
Bristol Hydrogen Boats - Hydrogenesis
Commissioned in 2010, 12kW fuel cell, 12 passengers (www.bristolhydrogenboats.co.uk/index.html)
Get in touch…
Dr Ruairi MacIver
01851 770326
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Some technologies are here now …
Hydrogen Hebrides The next steps …
and could be replicated in the Outer Hebrides,
making more effective use of imported hydro-carbon fuels
Palestra,
Transport for London:
200kWe / 263kWth FC
fuelled by natural gas
System efficiency 36%
Financial savings £90k pa
CO2 emission reduction 40%
Hebridean Hydrogen Park Phase 1: Capacity Building (2006)
• Lews Castle College, UHI Hydrogen Laboratory (H2lab)
An R&D Lab & Teaching Facility
– Engineering skills training • HNC/HND Engineering courses
• BSc Engineering courses
• Renewable Energy PDA
– Research capability • MSc & PhD level studies
• Collaboration opportunities
– Support for later phases • Training material
• Schools Hydrogen Teaching Packs