Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure Research Articles

An Exploration of Safety Measures in Hydrogen Refueling Stations: Delving into Hydrogen Equipment and Technical Performance

The present paper offers a thorough examination of the safety measures enforced at hydrogen filling stations, emphasizing their crucial significance in the wider endeavor to advocate for hydrogen as a sustainable and reliable substitute for conventional fuels. The analysis reveals a wide range of crucial safety aspects in hydrogen refueling stations, including regulated hydrogen dispensing, leak detection, accurate hydrogen flow measurement, emergency shutdown systems, fire-suppression mechanisms, hydrogen distribution and pressure management, and appropriate hydrogen storage and cooling for secure refueling operations. The paper therefore explores several aspects, including the sophisticated architecture of hydrogen dispensers, reliable leak-detection systems, emergency shut-off mechanisms, and the implementation of fire-suppression tactics. Furthermore, it emphasizes that the safety and effectiveness of hydrogen filling stations are closely connected to the accuracy in the creation and upkeep of hydrogen dispensers. It highlights the need for materials and systems that can endure severe circumstances of elevated pressure and temperature while maintaining safety. The use of sophisticated leak-detection technology is crucial for rapidly detecting and reducing possible threats, therefore improving the overall safety of these facilities. Moreover, the research elucidates the complexities of emergency shut-off systems and fire-suppression tactics. These components are crucial not just for promptly managing hazards, but also for maintaining the station’s structural soundness in unanticipated circumstances. In addition, the study provides observations about recent technical progress in the industry. These advances effectively tackle current safety obstacles and provide the foundation for future breakthroughs in hydrogen fueling infrastructure. The integration of cutting-edge technology and materials, together with the development of upgraded safety measures, suggests a positive trajectory towards improved efficiency, dependability, and safety in hydrogen refueling stations.

The operation and applicability to hydrogen fuel technology of green hydrogen production by water electrolysis using offshore wind power

Hydrogen is gaining attention as a transportation fuel due to its potential for long-term and sustainable energy supply, as well as its capacity to address security and environmental concerns. However, the widespread adoption of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles requires overcoming certain barriers, including the vehicle-infrastructure system and zero-emission hydrogen production. Establishing a hydrogen fueling infrastructure that is compatible with hydrogen vehicles and developing sustainable hydrogen production technologies are of paramount importance. Additionally, factors such as the cost of green hydrogen production and its economic viability must be taken into account. Therefore, the development and dissemination of new technologies for carbon-free or low-carbon hydrogen production are crucial for the hydrogen production and hydrogen fuel sectors. In this study, a comprehensive model is presented for the installation of a green hydrogen production facility. The model focuses on utilizing Offshore Wind Technology (OWF) for hydrogen production through water electrolysis, as well as the storage and transportation of the produced hydrogen for use in hydrogen fuel stations. OWF technology is specifically addressed in this study to overcome its limited approach in the green hydrogen industry and address these limitations. The suggested model for green hydrogen production has been discussed, outlining the stages of hydrogen production, storage, and transportation, with its application in the Edirne-Enez location. Furthermore, a detailed techno-economic analysis of the modeled green hydrogen production facility is conducted. According to this analysis, the cost of producing green hydrogen through OWF is projected to be 6.26 EUR/kg in 2023, decreasing significantly to 1.13 EUR/kg by 2050. When accounting for fuel transportation and fuel station expenses, the overall hydrogen cost is estimated to be 10.7 EUR/kg in 2023 and 2.42 EUR/kg in 2050. Given the current state of hydrogen vehicle technology, the cost per kilometer is projected to be 0.0927 EUR/km in the year 2023 and is expected to decrease to 0.021 EUR/km by the year 2050.

Prioritization and Optimal Location of Hydrogen Fueling Stations in Seoul: Using Multi-Standard Decision-Making and ILP Optimization

Thus far, the adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HCEVs) has been hampered by the lack of hydrogen fueling infrastructure. This study aimed to determine the optimal location and prioritization of hydrogen fueling stations (HFSs) in Seoul by utilizing a multi-standard decision-making approach and optimization method. HFS candidate sites were evaluated with respect to relevant laws and regulations. Key factors such as safety, economy, convenience, and demand for HCEVs were considered. Data were obtained through a survey of experts in the fields of HCEV and fuel cells, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process method was applied to prioritize candidate sites. The optimal quantity and placement of HFSs was then obtained using optimization software, based on the acceptable travel time from intersections of popular roads in Seoul. Our findings suggest that compliance with legal safety regulations is the most important factor when constructing HFSs. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis revealed that the hydrogen supply cost currently holds the same weight as other elements. The study highlights the importance of utilizing a multi-standard decision-making approach and optimization methods when determining the optimal location and prioritization of HFSs and can help develop a systematic plan for the nationwide construction of HFSs in South Korea.

A Study on the Priority of Advancing Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure Using AHP

In this study, the solution to the problems raised in the hydrogen industry infrastructure construction was considered using the AHP analysis. This research model divided the major decision-making issues of hydrogen infrastructure construction into seven and evaluated the importance and priority of detailed items for each decision-making issue. The result of the analysis indicated that locations near existing gas stations were suitable for installing hydrogen refueling stations. To expand the supply of hydrogen refueling stations, safety concerns and acceptability of the refueling stations were evaluated as the biggest problems to be solved. It was evaluated that the location near the new mass demand was the most suitable location of the hydrogen production facility. Expanding public service advertisements related to hydrogen safety was found to be an appropriate technique for raising public awareness for the expansion of hydrogen infrastructure construction. Insufficient hydrogen infrastructure was evaluated as the most important factor for expanding the hydrogen industry ecosystem in Korea. Therefore, to expand the construction of hydrogen infrastructure, in addition to the subsidies for hydrogen vehicles, support policies from the government that guarantee a certain rate of return on the operation of hydrogen infrastructure facilities are necessary.

Analyzing the Business Case for Hydrogen-Fuel Infrastructure Investments with Endogenous Demand in The Netherlands: A Real Options Approach

This paper explicitly incorporated the impact that realized investments in new transportation infrastructure have on adoption speed in a real option framework for taking sustainable investment decisions under uncertainty and analyzed the consequences of this dependence for optimal business investment strategies. We used a modified Generalized Bass Model to shape the adoption diffusion process and incorporate this approach into an N-fold compound real option framework. We applied the combined model to the case study of the introduction of hydrogen fuel stations for hydrogen cars in the Netherlands. We performed a scenario analysis for six different transportation infrastructure investment strategies combined with four different parameterizations. The results show the risk of ignoring the potential interaction between the adoption process and the speed with which the required transportation infrastructure will become available. This may lead to suboptimal decisions with respect to the optimal timing of corporate investment spending, as well as with respect to the assessment of the overall feasibility of the project.

Comparing the Levelized Cost of Returned Energy (LCORE) Values for Hydrogen-Based Conversion Pathways and Batteries

A method for analyzing the levelized cost of conversion, storage, and return of input energy as an end product net of losses with a zero cost of input energy, termed the levelized cost of returned energy (LCORE), is introduced and applied uniformly to compare the net conversion and storage costs of various renewable electrolysis technologies and hydrogen end-uses with battery and flow-battery energy storage technologies. The LCORE methodology accounts for capital costs, financing costs, operation and maintenance costs, energy efficiency of each step, technology lifetime, and replacement costs. Results show that the most valuable use of the renewable hydrogen is as fuel for fuel cell electric vehicles, although the costs of the hydrogen fueling infrastructure are estimated to be high using the existing paradigm of trucking, compression, and dispensing (adding more than $7/kilogram to the price of hydrogen). Importantly, the analyses show that the range of costs for pathways that produce hydrogen by electrolysis from renewable generation and return it to the electric grid using the natural gas system to transport the hydrogen to an existing combined cycle plant to produce the electricity have costs of $76–$210/MWh. These costs are directly competitive with battery energy storage pathways at $51–$150/MWh while also providing energy storage over durations as long as months, durations that are that are not technically feasible for many battery technologies due to charge leakage.

Insights for Industry 4.0 Applications into a Hydrogen Advanced Mobility

The present paper aims to investigate the integration of a hydrogen fueling infrastructure and a hydrogen advanced mobility system, such as a fuel cell hybrid tram for a new tramway route. A mathematical model has been formalized and implemented in order to analyze the key elements of such integrated energy system. The model is used to carry out a sensitive analysis to investigate the system response to different passengers numbers and journey speed, monitoring the hydrogen daily consumption, the station energy consumption and the overall system efficiency. Results have been used as a support to provide insights on potential interconnections with Industry 4.0 applications.

Development of a Hydrogen Contaminant Detector

Deployment of polymer electrolyte fuel cell vehicles commercially requires the development of a robust hydrogen fueling infrastructure. This is coupled with the need for high purity hydrogen fuel necessary to maintain fuel cell engine performance and durability over the life of the vehicle. In this paper, we discuss the development of an electrochemical hydrogen contaminant detector (HCD) to sense the presence of impurities in hydrogen fuel. Specifically, the role that mass transport plays on the HCD response is discussed. Electrolyte development is highlighted, in with focus on the effects of thickness on detecting the presence of contaminants. Further work on humidity independent electrolytes is provided, along with a brief discussion on the response measured during high pressure testing.

Modeling operating modes, energy consumptions, and infrastructure requirements of fuel cell plug in hybrid electric vehicles using longitudinal geographical transportation data

The fuel cell plug in hybrid electric vehicle (FCPHEV) is a near-term realizable concept to commercialize hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCV). Relative to conventional FCVs, FCPHEVs seek to achieve fuel economy benefits through the displacement of hydrogen energy with grid-sourced electrical energy, and they may have less dependence on a sparse hydrogen fueling infrastructure. Through the simulation of almost 690,000 FCPHEV trips using geographic information system (GIS) data surveyed from a fleet of private vehicles in the Puget Sound area of Washington State, USA, this study derives the electrical and hydrogen energy consumption of various design and control variants of FCPHEVs. Results demonstrate that FCPHEVs can realize hydrogen fuel consumption reductions relative to conventional FCV technologies, and that the fuel consumption reductions increase with increased charge depleting range. In addition, this study quantifies the degree to which FCPHEVs are less dependent on hydrogen fueling infrastructure, as FCPHEVs can refuel with hydrogen at a lower rate than FCVs. Reductions in hydrogen refueling infrastructure dependence vary with control strategies and vehicle charge depleting range, but reductions in fleet-level refueling events of 93% can be realized for FCPHEVs with 40 miles (60 km) of charge depleting range. These fueling events occur on or near the network of highways at approximately 4% of the rate (refuelings per year) of that for conventional FCVs. These results demonstrate that FCPHEVs are a type of FCV that can enable an effective and concentrated hydrogen refueling network.

A Business Model for Hydrogen Fuel and Hydrogen Cars Infrastructure

It is clear to any objective observer that in the coming decades – likely by the year 2050 – the use of hydrogen for energy will be a central global phenomenon – facts on the ground demand it, facts under the ground demand it and consumers demand it (the latter being the most important). When a Business Model is driven by consumer demand, the products, as well as the model, must be as responsive as those consumers expect. Hydrogen will be increasingly needed for automobiles, and this is probably the largest application in terms of quantity of gas used, but it is also sorely needed for many other applications; industrial but not only large-scale industrial (the coming decades will also see a large increase in individual manufacturing via printing technologies, as well as greater emphasis on nanotechnologies, and hydrogen is also very important to both of those). However, there are two impediments which must be addressed: scaling up and Green Hydrogen (or at least, significantly “greener”) both of those terms are described below. This article addresses these two central issues, as well as other less central, issues needed to support that effort. The project herein described is an actual project (not theoretical) in process of being built. Caveat: Specific Product names are not used to prevent ethical violations.

German CEP opens Air Liquide stations in Limburg, Kamen

The Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) in Germany has further expanded the nationwide hydrogen fueling infrastructure, with the recent completion of new public access hydrogen refueling stations in Limburg an der Lahn (Hesse) and in Kamen (North RhineWestphalia). The latter is the first public hydrogen station in the Ruhr area, the largest urban agglomeration and industrial region in Germany. The hydrogen fueling technology for both stations was supplied by Air Liquide [see also page 10].

CEP opens more hydrogen stations in Geisingen, Münster

The Clean Energy Partnership has added two more hydrogen refueling stations to the expanding nationwide network in Germany. The ninth hydrogen station in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg is now open in Geisingen, extending the hydrogen fueling infrastructure towards the Alpine nations. And the northwestern state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has inaugurated a new station in Münster, which brings the total to 25 operational facilities in Germany.

H2ME 2 launched in Europe to grow hydrogen fueling infrastructure network and vehicle fleet

The European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) has signed a new grant agreement, to provide €35 million (US$39 million) in funding towards the new €106 million ($118 million) Hydrogen Mobility Europe 2 (H2ME 2) project. This marks the launch of a second pan-European deployment of hydrogen refueling infrastructure, alongside passenger and commercial fuel cell electric vehicles.

The Role of Renewable Hydrogen in Sustainable Manufacturing

Reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and other pollutants is a critical need worldwide for sustainability. Transportation is one major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, and there is significant debate over the relative merits of fuel cells vs. batteries as the energy system. Batteries provide improved energy efficiency, but do not provide the driver with the same experience in range and fueling time as the fuel cell option. However, a major drawback for fuel cells is the lack of hydrogen fueling infrastructure. While even hydrogen from natural gas provides a well to wheels emissions benefit, hydrogen from non-carbon based sources has had challenges in being viewed as a cost effective option, largely because the electricity cost dominates the analysis. While much attention has been directed towards hydrogen as a transportation fuel, it should also be remembered in developing global solutions that hydrogen is also a major world chemical feedstock. Most of the world's hydrogen goes to hydrogenation of fats and oils, and ammonia generation. Production of ammonia is one of the world's largest consumers of energy, largely based on the energy consumed in the generation of hydrogen from natural gas. The Haber Bosch process occurs at high pressure (150–300 atm) and high temperature (400°–500°C), and accounts for about 1-2% of the world's annual energy consumption (5% of the world's natural gas). In addition, the fossil fuel reforming of natural gas to hydrogen results in substantial carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Hydrogen production from water electrolysis requires more energy per kilogram of hydrogen than natural gas reforming (when only considering the generation step), but has the option of using renewable energy as the primary energy source. In addition, polymer membrane-based electrolysis is very well suited for load-following applications. These devices can therefore operate primarily on excess electricity from what would otherwise be stranded renewable resources. Finally, because an electrolyzer is a flow cell, like a flow battery, the reactants and products are stored separately from the electrochemical device, which is more attractive for very long charge times. Higher capacity can be added simply by adding storage tanks. This talk will discuss the current status of electrolysis and challenges in bridging the gaps between present commercial status and future optimized solutions in this context. In addition, an analysis of energy of manufacturing for electrolyzers themselves shows opportunities for improvement. One energy intensive process is the manufacture of the membrane electrode assembly. The energy required to deposit and bond the catalyst to the membrane can be reduced through advanced manufacturing processes, and use of less catalyst reduces the original refining energy, which is also a significant contribution. Progress in reduction of manufacturing energy will also be briefly discussed. Figure 1

Systematic Selection and Siting of Vehicle Fueling Infrastructure to Synergistically Meet Future Demands for Alternative Fuels

In order to meet the increasing demand for low carbon and renewable transportation fuels, a methodology for systematically establishing build-out scenarios is desirable. In an effort to minimize initial investment costs associated with the development of fueling infrastructure, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) has been developed and applied, as an illustration, to the case of hydrogen fueling infrastructure deployment in the State of California. In this study, five parameters are selected in order to rank hydrogen transportation fuel generation locations within the State. In order to utilize meaningful weighting factors within the AHP, expert inputs were gathered and employed in the exercising of the models suite of weighting parameters. The analysis uses statewide geographic information and identifies both key energy infrastructure expansion locations and critical criteria that make the largest impact in the location of selected sites.

Low-cost, transportable hydrogen fueling station for early market adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles

Thousands of public hydrogen fueling stations are needed to support the early Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) market in the U.S.; as of July 2014 there were 12. Government agencies are the largest investors in the U.S. hydrogen fueling infrastructure and are developing stations that cost anywhere from $1.8–$5.9 million each. To attract private investors and decrease dependence on government funding, a low-cost, mobile hydrogen dispensing system must be developed. This paper describes a transportable 700 bar hydrogen fueling station that has been designed with an off-the-shelf component cost of $423,000; less than 23% of the capital cost of current stations. The design utilizes liquid hydrogen storage and a novel cryogenic compression system which can be factory built for high volume, rapid production. These stations are contained in a standard 40 foot ISO shipping container to adapt to varying locational demand. The demand adjusted cost to sell hydrogen is estimated to be $9.62/kg. This paper presents the mechanical design and operation of the fueling station. This design won the grand prize for the 2014 Hydrogen Student Design competition and a complete report including an economic analysis and safety features is available elsewhere.

Hydrogen Fueling Standardization- Enabling FCEVs with Fast Fueling and Consistent Vehicle Range Equal to Today

Hydrogen Fueling Standardization: Enabling ZEVs with "Same as Today" Fueling and FCEV Range Zero Emission vehicles are essential to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. Wide scale adoption of electric vehicles has been challenging due to the limited range and long charging times. Fueling with hydrogen offers the possibility to fuel Fuel Cell Electric vehicles in a few minutes and allow them to achieve a consistent high SOC, enabling 300+ mile range. Hydrogen Vehicles are slated to first enter into a small-scale commercial phase in three markets (Germany, California, and Japan) with the advent of multiple OEMs 2015-2017. SAE created a fueling protocol to standardize this fueling worldwide base on modeling, lab and real-world data. The objective of the SAE J2601 hydrogen fueling protocol is to fuel all FCEV vehicles within a reasonable timeframe, with a high fueling density, without exceeding the hydrogen safety storage limits. SAE J2601 creates a "Customer Acceptable" hydrogen fueling, with rapid hydrogen Fueling (<5 minutes) at 70MPa and 35MPa utilizing pre-cooling of hydrogen to offset the heat of compression. SAE J2799 Communications fueling is also possible enabling close to 100% rated density or state of charge (SOC). After 13 years of development, the J2601 and J2799 standards, published in 2014 will enable the first generation of commercial fuel cell vehicle and hydrogen fueling infrastructure which enables the "same as today" fueling experience and vehicle range.

Toyota MIRAI Fuel Cell Vehicle and Progress Toward a Future Hydrogen Society

This article presents a high-level overview of the various technological advances that were performed to enable the commercialization of the Toyota MIRAI fuel cell vehicle. The article describes the innovations made in flow-field structure, catalyst layer structure and composition, various stack components, the hydrogen storage tank, and in streamlining the humidification process. Finally, the article highlights the importance of leveraging mass manufactured parts from prior generations/platforms to the maximum extent possible to achieve the requisite cost reductions and concludes with some thoughts on the future of fuel cell vehicles, and the necessity for a concerted effort to develop a hydrogen fueling infrastructure.

Barriers of scaling-up fuel cells: Cost, durability and reliability

Since its creation over 170 years ago, and despite major investments and efforts by stakeholders over the last few decades to move this technology to the mainstream, today fuel cells continue to be regarded as a fledgling industry. In spite of the commitment by industry leaders, analysis shows that their actions do not address the critical questions facing this technology: Why has scaling-up of fuel cells failed so often when many researchers have stated their successes in the small scale? Why do fuel cell stacks have lower durability, reliability and robustness than their individual cells? Could investments of a hydrogen fueling infrastructure stimulate advancements in the key issues of durability, reliability and robustness and substantially reduce fuel cell costs? In this paper, we will analyze and confront these fundamental questions to improve understanding of the challenges of scaling-up technologies and identify key barriers. Then we will examine options and suggest a procedure for change to substantially improve the durability and reliability of fuel cells and reduce their costs.

Final Results from U.S. FCEV Learning Demonstration

The “Controlled Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Demonstration and Validation Project,” also known as the National Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Learning Demonstration, is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) project started in 2004 and concluded in late 2011. The purpose of this project was to conduct an integrated field validation that simultaneously examined the performance of fuel cell vehicles and the supporting hydrogen fueling infrastructure. The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) received and analyzed all of the raw technical data collected by the industry partners through their participation in the project over its seven-year duration. This paper reviews highlights from the project and draws conclusions about the demonstrated status of the fuel cell vehicle and hydrogen fueling infrastructure technology. Through September 2011, 183 fuel cell electric vehicles were deployed, 25 project fueling stations were placed in use, and no fundamental safety issues were identified. We have analyzed data from more than 500,000 individual vehicle trips covering 3.5 million miles traveled and more than 150,000 kg hydrogen produced or dispensed. Public analytical results from this project are in the form of composite data products (CDPs), which aggregate individual performance to protect the intellectual property and the identity of each company while still publishing overall status and progress. Ninety-nine of these CDPs have been generated for public use and posted on NREL’s technology validation website. The results indicate that fuel cell vehicle technology continues to make rapid progress toward commercial readiness and that the fueling infrastructure technology is ready to provide a consumer-friendly fast fill and long range experience consistent with expectations of gasoline vehicle customers.