Hydrogen delivery and storage options for backup power and off-grid primary power fuel cell systems: Two years later

Abstract

In 2008, ReliOn presented a paper discussing hydrogen delivery and storage options for fuel cells delivering backup and off-grid primary power. As fuel cells become a more widely deployed solution for telco backup, the delivery and storage of hydrogen remains key. In addition, the attention paid at both the corporate and government level to fuel cells as alternative energy solutions increases. In late 2008, The U.S. Department of Energy released a Funding Opportunity Announcement, targeting Market Transformation for stationary fuel cells for communications backup. One specific requirement of this program is the capability to provide 72 hours backup on compressed hydrogen. ReliOn has been at the forefront of hydrogen supply alternatives and infrastructure strategies since the company was established in 1995. In 2009, U.S. DOE issued multiple awards under the Market Transformation sub-topic. ReliOn was awarded a program to deploy 200 fuel cells with 72 hours backup. The majority of these sites will incorporate a field-refillable hydrogen storage module, placing into service both the storage solution and delivery model discussed in our 2008 paper. Driven by the prospects of this program, further development of market-ready options has occurred, and the industry is in the first phases of a nation-wide deployment of 72 hour backup solutions based on hydrogen fuel cells. This paper provides an overview of the program and preliminary status update, focusing on the storage and fueling solutions presented two years ago, and the influence these specific programs have had in stimulating the emergence of bulk hydrogen delivery for stationary backup applications. The value of the Market Transformation program is threefold: it provides a one-time cost offset to accelerate commercial deployment of a large number of fuel cell backup systems; it requires long run time on compressed hydrogen; and it requires deployment over a short period of time. The benefit of the cost offset is the strong incentive for telecommunications companies to make the near-term investment in a medium-size deployment. This creates a critical mass, with corporate attention paid to the endeavor. Previously, attention was limited to forward-looking leaders at the regional market level, with minor discretionary spending authority. The benefit of the requirement to have long run time with compressed hydrogen drives the development and production of storage modules and delivery infrastructure by again creating a critical mass of units, generating attention from a major gas supplier with the capabilities, and now the potential business opportunity, to bring both storage and delivery to the stationary backup market. The short deployment time requirement (two years) ensures that the previous two critical mass exercises are achieved quickly, avoiding the typical delays that the vagaries of budgets, management, and intense competition introduce to the successful completion of any large, strategically important yet tactically less critical, program. Field refill of fixed vessels in hydrogen storage cabinets and ground storage modules is now becoming a reality in many locations throughout the United States. This option-patterned on bulk gas deliveries to industrial users-can provide extended run time, reduce labor requirements and transport logistics, and decrease hydrogen wastage. Options of high pressure hydrogen delivery and storage continue to develop, though their deployment and commercial availability are still in the future.