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Home , Hydrogen economy

International Seminar on the Economy for Sustainable Development – Reykjavik Sept. 2006

TheThe HydrogenHydrogen Economy:Economy: AnAn introductionintroduction

ThorsteinnThorsteinn I.I. SigfussonSigfusson Professor of Physics University of CoChair of The International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy ILC Planet Earth – Habitat of Humans. Main source: The Sun. Secondary Energy source: geothermal and fission elements Main in 2006: fossil Main energy problem in 2006: Non sustainability. EnergyEnergy andand fuelsfuels

 HumankindHumankind hashas beenbeen burningburning biomassbiomass sincesince antiquity.antiquity.

 TheThe industrialindustrial revolutionrevolution coincidedcoincided withwith thethe harnessingharnessing ofof .coal.

 TheThe firstfirst automobileautomobile centurycentury coincidedcoincided withwith thethe utilizationutilization ofof oiloil andand petrol.petrol. HumankindHumankind isis facedfaced withwith aa numbernumber ofof energyenergy relatedrelated problems:problems:

 ClimateClimate changechange duedue toto thethe COCO 2 contentcontent ofof thethe emissionemission ofof burningburning fossilfossil fuelsfuels

 InsecurityInsecurity concerningconcerning thethe safesafe deliverydelivery ofof thethe hydrocarbonshydrocarbons whichwhich sourcessources areare mostlymostly ownedowned byby governmentsgovernments inin aa relativelyrelatively smallsmall numbernumber ofof countries.countries.

 LimitedLimited resourcesresources onon planetplanet EarthEarth PossiblePossible energyenergy resourcesresources onon EarthEarth II  CoalCoal 60006000 gigatonsgigatons  OilOil 400400 gigatonsgigatons  (Of which 6 gigatons oil used annually)  NaturalNatural gasgas 350350 gigatonsgigatons  FissionFission feedstockfeedstock 0.0040.004 gigatonsgigatons

 AA HydroCarbonHydroCarbon economyeconomy onon EarthEarth isis totallytotally unsustainable.unsustainable.  AreAre wewe thethe generationgeneration destineddestined toto changechange thethe viciousvicious pattern?pattern? LimitsLimits toto ourour presentpresent utilizationutilization –– limitslimits toto thethe growthgrowth ofof ourour civilizationcivilization

 HydrocarbonsHydrocarbons areare limitedlimited byby thethe COCO 2 emissions.emissions. CarbonCarbon sequestrationsequestration isis aa possiblepossible wayway toto reducereduce thethe emissionsemissions butbut aa biologicalbiological cyclecycle toto renewrenew thethe carboncarbon sourcesource wouldwould bebe ratherrather slowslow  FissionFission productsproducts areare limitedlimited andand leadlead toto bigbig environmentalenvironmental problemsproblems  TheThe optionsoptions leftleft includeinclude renewablesrenewables andand :water: AnthropogenicAnthropogenic carboncarbon cyclecycle isis suffocatingsuffocating thethe EarthEarth  Fossil burning releases roughly 5.5 gigatons of carbon (GtC [giga=1 billion]) per year into the atmosphere and that land-use changes such as deforestation contribute roughly 1.6 GtC per year. Measurements of atmospheric levels (going on since 1957) suggest that of the approximate total amount of 7.1 GtC released per year by human activities, approximately 3.2 GtC remain in the atmosphere, resulting in an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. In addition, approximately 2 GtC diffuses into the world’s oceans, thus leaving 1.9 GtC unaccounted for. ThreeThree interestinginteresting resourcesresources ofof choicechoice  WaterWater 14001400 millionmillion gigatonsgigatons

 SolarSolar radiationradiation andand renewablesrenewables thatthat areare solarsolar derivativesderivatives –– thethe irradiationirradiation ofof EarthEarth isis enormousenormous

 BiomassBiomass TwoTwo hundredhundred yearsyears ofof thethe developmentdevelopment ofof hydrogenhydrogen energyenergy economyeconomy  WaterWater splittingsplitting byby NicholsonNicholson inin 18001800  HH energyenergy ProphesisedProphesised byby JulesJules VerneVerne inin 18741874  FuelFuel cellcell developmentdevelopment fromfrom GroveGrove toto BaconBacon inin aa hundredhundred yearsyears fromfrom 18401840  ““HydrogenHydrogen EconomyEconomy ”” CoinedCoined 19701970

 HH2 aa focusfocus ofof IEAIEA forfor decadesdecades  InternationalInternational PartnershipPartnership forfor thethe HydrogenHydrogen EconomyEconomy foundedfounded inin WashingtonWashington 20032003 HydrogenHydrogen byby differentdifferent pathwayspathways Primary Process Primary feedstock Other feedstock Energ y Quantity of Resource Carbon footprint Method Gigaton level or emissions

Steam Reforming Water Heat 10 * 2 T Oil " 10 * 2 needed H E Gasification Coal Water, Steam at high T and P 10 *3 Carbon seque stration R needed M Biomass Moderately high temp. Essentially A steam renewable L Thermochemical Water Nuclear 10 * 7-10 * 9 Nuclear waste disposal problems E C L H Water Renewables incl. Solar 10 * 7-10 * 9 Emissions mostly E E wind, hydroelectric related to Life Cycle C M T I Photoelectro- Water Direct sunlight 10 * 7-10 * 9 Minor emissions R C chemical O A L

B Photobiological Water Algaie strains Direct sunlight 10 * 7-10 * 9 No emissi ons I O L Anaerobic Biomass High temperature steam LCA related minor O digestion G I Fermentative Biomass High temperature steam LCA related minor C Microorganisms A L HydrogenHydrogen fromfrom RenewablesRenewables andand waterwater  ElectricityElectricity producedproduced fromfrom renewablesrenewables  HydrogenHydrogen producedproduced byby solarsolar waterwater splitting,splitting, electrolysiselectrolysis ofof waterwater ……....  TransportTransport systemsystem basedbased onon electricelectric motors,motors, regenerativeregenerative breakingbreaking andand backback -- upup energyenergy fromfrom hydrogenhydrogen andand fuelfuel cellscells IPHEIPHE PartnersPartners

Russian USA Canada Iceland Federation

IPHE Partners’ Economy:

United Japan • Over $35 Trillion in GDP, 85% Kingdom of world GDP Republic of Korea • Nearly 3.5 billion people • Over 75% of electricity used worldwide; • > 2/3 of CO 2 emissions and energy consumption

European New Commission Zealand IPHEIPHE GoalGoal

Efficiently organize and coordinate multinational research, development and deployment programs that advance the transition to a global hydrogen economy .  SoSo whatwhat isis thethe modernmodern hydrogenhydrogen economyeconomy about?about? TheThe challengeschallenges ofof aa hydrogenhydrogen economyeconomy

 Production  Price of renewable based hydrogen higher than hydrogen from hydrocarbons. IPHE wants to aim for a carbon neutral pathway.

 Storage  The lightest and smallest of elements requires lot of space. Sto rage is a great challenge.

 Distribution  The element provides challenges to pipelines and infrastru cture with related diffusivity etc.

 Utilization  The most efficient utilization in fuel cells actually transforms our former Carnot efficiency limited energy economy with the advent of Gibbs Free Energy Economy ScenariosScenarios forfor hydrogenhydrogen

e Photochemical l

b

a w Biomass Gasification (w/o or with CO 2 Sequestration)

e

n

e

R Electrolysis from Renewable Electricity

Nuclear (Thermocycles)

e

l

b

a Electrolysis from Nuclear Electricity

n

i

a

t s Electrolysis from derived Electricity with CO 2 Seq

u

S

Reforming of Fossil (NG, Oil, Coal) with CO 2 Seq

Electrolysis from Fossil Fuel derived Electricity

Hydrogen from Coal fuel

l

i

s

s production EU 2020:

o Hydrogen from Oil

F 2.3 - 20.6 billion Nm³/a Decentralised Small Natural Gas Reforming [Source: HyNet scenarios] Centralised Natural Gas Reforming

SHORT TERM (2010) MEDIUM TERM (2015) LONG TERM (> 2025) LetLet usus taketake aa looklook atat aa numbernumber ofof scenariosscenarios wherewhere aa hydrogenhydrogen economyeconomy componentscomponents areare beingbeing testedtested inin projectsprojects aroundaround thethe worldworld withwith veryvery highhigh carboncarbon neutrality:neutrality: HydrogenHydrogen scenario:scenario: HydrogenHydrogen forfor anan islandisland oror isolatedisolated territoryterritory  AssumingAssuming accessaccess toto renewablesrenewables :: solar,solar, wind,wind, geothermalgeothermal andand possiblypossibly laterlater oceanocean currentscurrents oror waves.waves. PhotovoltaicPhotovoltaic solarsolar hydrogenhydrogen HydrogenHydrogen fromfrom lightlight

 An exciting relatively new development is taking place in the area of photochemical which was first introduced by Fujishima and Honda in 1972. In a photoelectrochemical system (PEC) a semiconductor material which is photoactive is arranged to form a junction in contact with a liquid (or sometimes solid) electrolyte. When such a junction is lit by sunlight, electron -hole pairs are formed at the junction. These light - induced electron -hole pairs in turn drive a chemical reduction and an oxidation in the electrolyte of the PEC system. UtsiraUtsira –– HydrogenHydrogen islandisland inin NorwayNorway

 On the island of Utsira in the Atlantic Ocean just outside the fjords of Norway Norsk Hydro and its partners have been running a wind generator based hydrogen system since 2004. Two wind generators of 600 kW each deliver electric energy to a small electrolyser which stores its hydrogen under pressure. The hydrogen is used for powering a number of houses on this small island. There is a 12kW from a Danish producer, IRD, delivering the power in addition to some 50kW of electric energy stemming from an internal combustion -based generation unit. The combustion generator has an appreciably longer start up time than the fuel cell and the interplay of the two has proven a development challenge. The system also uses a flywheel for stabilisation We will be informed about this project today!

Wind-H2 Pilot/demo project d Farm Sahara Win ATLANTIC OCEAN

SEBKHA-TAH Trough 50 meters below sea level

10 Km Distance

UNIDO/ICHET - Sahara Wind-H2 Demo Project UNDP/GEF - Sahara Wind Phase 1: 400-500 MW UtilizationUtilization ofof geothermalgeothermal heatheat forfor hydrogenhydrogen production,production, storagestorage andand distributiondistribution GeothermallyGeothermally OperatedOperated HydrogenHydrogen CompressorCompressor

- This metal -based compressor was designed and constructed as a joint effort between the University of Iceland and Varmaraf ehf . A tandem arrangement of these devices is capable of pressurizing hydrogen gas up to hundreds of bars and is intended to represent a component of a proposed hydrogen fueling station. Hallmar Halldorsson and Thorsteinn I Sigfusson The Mid -Atlantic Ridge divides Iceland; the country drifts apart by an inch a year. Magma fills the void. There are boreholes in Iceland bleeding up to 50 tonnes of molecular hydrogen annually . Geothermal Vents Along the Terrestrial Section of the MidMid----AtlanticAtlantic Ridge at the Bjarnarflag Geothermal Field, Near the Krafla Volcano, Northern IcelandIceland………… UniqueUnique INEINE inin IcelandIceland structurestructure // objectiveobjective

VistOrka

Shell Hydrogen

Design for the

future H 2 infrastructure UniqueUnique INEINE structurestructure // objectiveobjective

VistOrka

Turn key solutions for the Shell Hydrogen future H2 infrastructure Norsk Hydro

Design for the

future H 2 infrastructure UniqueUnique INEINE structurestructure // objectiveobjective

VistOrka

DaimlerChrysler Shell Hydrogen Norsk Hydro

H2 and development TheThe ECTOSECTOS --projectproject onon transporttransport InfrastructureInfrastructure inin IcelandIceland 22 m

Electrolyser

H2 H2 H2

m

compression

3

1

H2

Dispenser H2O HydrogenHydrogen StationStation Opened April 24, 2003 Only station in the world operating at a conventional gasoline station (has full commercial license) InfrastructureInfrastructure –– FuelFuel stationsstations Infrastructure studies in the Euro-Hyport Project I would like to see as one of the results of this Reykjavik meeting – that demonstration projects be started in areas of the developing world outside the present main hubs of hydrogen!  WithWith bestbest wisheswishes ofof successsuccess forfor ourour conference/workshopconference/workshop

 ThankThank you!you!