Report of the Production and Delivery Subgroup

Abstract

The Production and Delivery Subgroup was tasked with evaluating the various options that could be used for hydrogen production and delivery in terms of availability/industry readiness, technical and economic barriers, and environmental considerations. Hydrogen can be produced using a variety of feedstocks and conversion technologies. The feedstock options include water, natural gas, coal, petroleum, methanol, ethanol, biomass, and organic waste streams. Ultimately, using these domestic resources we will be able to produce all the hydrogen we will need for the complete conversion of our transportation infrastructure. The various conversion technologies include electrolysis, reforming (principally of natural gas, but also ethanol and methanol), photobiological and photoelectrochemical, biofermentation, pyrolysis and gasification of biomass and coal, high temperature thermochemical, and catalytic membranes. All of these production technologies are being actively researched by DOE's Office of Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies (HFCIT); and other offices within DOE support work that complements the HFCIT Program activities. In addition, private industry is also dedicating significant resources to these efforts. In establishing the California Hydrogen Highway Network (CA H2 Net) we must utilize both distributed (that is, hydrogen that is produced at the point of use) as well as centralized production of hydrogen. Because of technical and economic barriers, most of the technologies for hydrogen production listed above will not become practical for either mode of hydrogen production in large quantities until at least the 2015-2030 timeframe. In the near term, that is, the transitional period between now and 2010 when we will establish a widely available hydrogen fueling infrastructure in California, the distributed production options of reforming and electrolysis will play the dominant role. In addition, production of hydrogen at centralized plants using natural gas reforming and delivery of pressurized or liquefied hydrogen by truck will be utilized. This is a logical extension of the current merchant hydrogen market.