Transformative Renewable Energy Storage Devices Based on Neutral Water Input
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Transformative Renewable Energy Storage Devices Based on Neutral Water Input EStStUdtEnergy Storage Systems Update ARPA-E GRIDS Kick-Off 4 November 2010 Team • Proton Energy Systems – DKthADr. Kathy Ayers, PI – Luke Dalton, System Lead – Chris Capuano, Stack Lead – Project Lead; Electrolysis Stack and System; Fuel Cell System • Penn State University – Prof. Mike Hickner – Prof. Chao-Yang Wang – Electrolysis and Fuel Cell Membrane Material; Fuel Cell Stack 2 Proton Energy Systems • Manufacturer of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) hydrogen generation products using electrolysis • Founded in 1996 • Headquarters in Wallingford, Connecticut. • ISO 9001:2008 registered • Over 1,200 systems operating in 60 different countries 3 Proton Capabilities and Applications PEM Cell Stacks Complete Systems Storage Solutions • Complete product development, manufacturing & testing • Containerization and hydrogen storage solutions • Integration of electrolysis into RFC systems • Turnkeyyp product installation • World-wide sales and service Power Plants HtTtiHeat Treating SiSemicon dtductors LbLabora tor ies Government 4 HOGEN® C Series 3 • Maximum Capacity: 30 Nm /h H2 (65 kg/day) (~200 kW input) • Commercial availability: Q1 2011 • 5X h y drogen ou tpu t with onl15Xthfly 1.5X the foo t pritint 5 Next Steps in Scale Up • 70 Nm3/h • 150 kg/day • 400 kW input 0.6 SQFT 3 Cell (1032 amps, 425 psi, 50oC) 2.30 2.25 2.20 2.15 2.10 2.05 2.00 1.95 Potential (V) ll 1.90 Cel 1.85 Cell 1 Cell 2 Cell 3 1.80 1.75 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 Run Time (hours) 6 Hydrogen Cost Progression $10 $8 odel $6 m $4 H2A 2, HH $2 $/kg $‐ FlG65FuelGen65, 150 k/dkg/day 150 k/dkg/day current stack , system, next system, product generation stack advanced stack* introduction *Assumes volumes of 500 units/year 7 Two Main Types of Low Temp Electrolysis Alkaline Liquid Electrolyte Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) ̶ Low bubble point requires + Membrane enables balanced pressure differential pressure ̶ Controlled shutdown required + Load following ̶ High pressure oxygen + Ambient pressure oxygen ̶ Corrosive solvent + Pure water ̶ Complex balance of plant, + Simple balance of plant, high pressure lines plastic on O2 fluids loop ̶ Low current densities + High current densities + Less expensive materials ̶ High cost catalysts and flow of construction fields Alkaline membrane technology could p rovide best of both s ystems 8 PEM / AEM Cell Comparison Solid polymer electrolyte Solid polymer electrolyte Hydrogen electrode (anode) Oxygen electrode (cathode) Hydrogen electr ode (cathode) Oxygen electrode (anode) Hydrogen Oxygen Hydrogen Air (O2) + vapor + vapor Protonic Process Water Water, heat 4H+ 4H+ + + + + 2H 2 4H +4e 4H + 4e +O2 2 H2 O 2H O 4H +4e 2H2 H2 O 2H2O 4H + 4e+O2 Product (-) (+) Water Process + Depleted Air (-) (+) + Heat Water 4e 4e DC Load PEM DC Power Solid Alkaline Membrane AEM Solid Alkaline Membrane Hydrogen electrode (anode) Oxygen electrode (cathode) Hydrogen electrode (cathode) Oxygen electrode (anode) Hydrogen Oxygen Hydrogen Oxygen Water 4OH- 4OH- 2H + 4OH- 4H O 4e- - - - - - + + - 2 2 + H2O O2+ 2H2O + 4e 4OH 4H2O + 4e 2H2+4OH H2O 4OH O2 2H2O 4e (-) (+) Water (-) (+) Process Water 4e 4e DC Power DC Load 9 Rationale • Alkaline advantage over PEM: lower cost materials of construction • Disadvantages of alkaline liquid system: – Corrosive electrolyte – High pressure oxygen – Complex balance of plant – LithdLower purity hydrogen – Lower efficiency • Alkaline membranes showing feasibility – Enables PEM advantages at low cost – Enables lower current density for high efficiency 10 Cost Justification line 100% base 80% of • 3-pronged approach 60% rcentage ee 40% p as 20% cost $100,000 0% $/kW bb $10,000 40 kW 220 kW 500 kW $/l System Capacity $1,000 $100 Material aw RR $10 $1 Platinum Iridium Nickel Titanium Stainless Catalyst Flow fields Labor minimization and Material hig h spee d manu fac tur ing at high production volume 11 Proposed Approach • Design Trade Study – Select RFC configuration • Membrane and Ionomer Development – Maximize durability and minimize ionic resistance and crossover • Catalyypst Development – Reduce activation overpotential • MEA Fabrication – Optimize catalyst -membrane interaction • Cell Stack Design – Leverage Proton experience and substitute materials • System Design – Leverage Proton balance of plant designs • Cost Ana lys is 12 Trade Study: DRFC – Discrete RFC – Separate fuel cell and CfitiOtiConfiguration Options eltllectrolyzer s tktacks Regenerative Fuel Cell URFC – Unitized RFC Electrolyzer Fuel Cell oxygen – A single cell stack that DC electricity DC electricity operates as both fuel cell and electrolyzer hydrogen Unitized Regenerative Fuel Cell wa ter oxygen DC electricity Regenerative Fuel Cell Electrolyzer Fuel Cell air oxygen hydrogen DC electricity DC electricity hdhydrogen water water 13 Trade Study – Electrolysis Example Polarization Comparison Flow URFC Flow EC 252.5 2 } ~300 mV loss for URFC 1.5 olts VV 1 0.5 0 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 Current Density (mA/cm2) 14 Trade Study: O2 vs. air feed • High pressure oxygen • Membrane is sensitive to adds balance of plant CO2 complexity • Carbonate can replace • Requires special OH- sites and reduce cleaning >150 psi conductivity • O2 feed requires drying • Removal of carbon from of both gases air reduces efficiency and increases cost Need to look at trade of cost, efficiency, and simplicity in context of safety considerations 15 Trade Study: Anode vs. Cathode Feed Alkaline electrolysis PEMltliPEM electrolysis • Water consumed on hydrogen • Water consumed on oxygen side of cell side of cell • Hydrogen primary interest • Hydrogen is typically gas of interest, oxygen vented 4e‐ 4e‐ ‐ + 2H2 O2 + 2H2O 2H2 + 4OH O2 + 4H ‐ + Cathode Anode OH 2e‐ Cathode Anode H + 2H O 4H 4OH‐ 2H2O 2 Alkaline Acid 16 Trade Study: PEM Comparison ltage oo v Cathode feed elative Anode feed RR 0 500 1000 1500 2000 CtCurrent ditdensity (A/2)(mA/cm2) 17 Membrane and Ionomer Development • Penn State-led effort to develop an anion exchange membrane (AEM) and ionomer binder – Reduced cost through use of commercially available monomers – “Tune” ion exchange capacity and cross-linking to blbalance con duc tiittivity an d mec han ica l proper ti/ties/gas cross-over. • Proton to assist with characterization – Conduct diffusion and performance evaluation to provide feedback on how to iterate on configuration – Hav e Tokuy ama membranes and ionomers to test as a baseline for AEMs. 18 Catalyst Development • Apply processes from PEM experience to AEM catalyst 19 MEA Fabrication • Vary temperature and dwell time – Find combination most conducive to electrode attachment • Sub-scale membrane samples to be used for pressing half-MEAs – Two fabrication approaches to be considered • Trials rated on uniformity, adhesion to membrane, and degree of flow for ink samples. • MbMembrane assesse dfd for mec hilddtihanical degradation resulting from process 20 Electrolysis Stack Design • Will incorporate outputs from t he tra de stu dy to dictate configuration – Bipolar plate design (high-efficiency, low-pressure) – Round design (lower-efficiency, high pressure) • Primary effort will be material substitution – Alkaline allows replacement of titanium components with stainless steel. Solid Plate Inserts Round architecture Bipolar plate design 21 Electrolysis Cell Modeling temperature distribution current density distribution JO2 oxygen transport 22 Fuel Cell Modeling current density distribution Liquid water distribution 23 Electrolysis and Fuel Cell Stack Test Plan • Design phase and concept review • Prototype flow field fabricated using production tooling and techniques • Anode flow field verification • Cathode flow field verification • Short stack testing and operation for prototype review • Deliverable stack assembly and operation 24 Cell Stack Operational Verification • Multi-cell operational testing • Allows for fine control over operating parameters – Temperature – Generation Pressure – Current Control – WtWater Flow RtRates 25 Energy Storage System Design • PEM system should be largely transferrable to proposed AEM-based system – Common fluids of interest (H2, H2OOO, O2) • Trade study work will impact type of system • Leverage prior experience in closed loop REFCs • Output: – Design Intent Document – P&ID – Component selection (comprehensive BOM) – Haz-op anddd des ign rev iew 26 Alkaline REFC Approach • Well-suited to load-following • Easily scalable Figure 1. Closed-loop, pure oxygen, discrete regenerative fuel cell system P&ID. 27 Examples of Demonstrated Energy Storage Systems “Regenerative Fuel Cell” integrated into CERL’s Silent Camp system concept Missile Defense Agency: Close d loop RFC 28 Near-Term Milestones • Kickoff meeting – October 6, 2010 • Tra de s tu dy resu lts on discre te vs. un itize d s tac k • Initial survey of commercial catalysts • MEA formulation studies with baseline membrane and catalyst • Survey o f s tack part avail a bility in a lterna te materials 29 Majjjor Project Milestones • System Configuration Trade Study • EltliElectrolysis an dFlCllMbd Fuel Cell Membrane MtilMaterial Improvements • Elec tro lys is an d Fue l Ce ll Mem brane-Elec tro de- Assembly Fabrication Optimization • Fuel Cell Stack Design and Test • Electrolysis Stack Design and Test • ItIntegrat tdEed Energy St orage S yst em D emonst rati on 30.