Fuel Cell Nation

Hamilton Sundstrand's ILPE - Oops!

U.S. Navy nuclear submarines can travel around the world under water, generating a supply of breathing oxygen as required. Virginia-Class subs generate oxygen utilizing what is called the   Integrated Low Pressure Electrolyzer (ILPE), an electrolytic system made by Hamilton Sundstrand (a unit of United Technologies Corp. (UTX)).The heart of the ILPE involves proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer technology (right), which uses electricity and distilled water as inputs to create high purity breathing oxygen (and byproduct hydrogen).  In 2009, Proton Energy Systems announced it would provide electrolyzer stacks to Hamilton Sundstrand for the ILPE.

 When the electrolyzers have been integrated into complete ILPE systems, they look like an arrangement of individual tan cabinets that have been bolted together (left). This is because the sections must be transported in pieces through the narrow passageways on a sub, until the ILPE undergoes final assembly in place.

On March 19, 2011, the USS New Hampshire (below), a Virginia-class attack boat that entered service in 2008, was on ICEX 2011 arctic maneuvers. While approaching the Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station, a floating ice station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, its ILPE oxygen generator failed. According to NAVSEA, the sub switched to its backup oxygen system — using sodium chlorate “candles” — and continued normal operations.

   
Navy Photograph

According to a 3/21/2011 Reuters article:

"Daniel Coulom, a spokesman for Hamilton Sundstrand, confirmed late Monday that company staff would travel to the ship to help repair the oxygen generator, but said it was too early to speculate on what caused the problem."

A 3/28/2011 article in the NavyTimes states:

"The technicians arrived at Prudhoe Bay late March 24, according to Kevin Copeland, spokesman for Submarine Force Atlantic. They flew to the ICEX base March 25 and were to be taken by helicopter to the sub March 26."

No word on if any repairs were conducted, or even if the mode of failure has been discerned.

Mercedes Fuel Cell Vehicle PR Tour - Oops!

Image: © 2009 Daimler AG

Bloomberg has a story titled Mercedes 18,600-Mile Trip Parts With Daimler's Century of Strategy Shifts that describes the plans for three B-Class F-CELL cars to circumnavigate the globe. It involves 4 continents, 14 countries, and more than 20 stopovers with their fuel cell vehicles.

Each car includes:

• A fuel cell stack operating at 80 C
• A lithium-ion battery
• 700 bar (10,000 psi) compressed hydrogen storage
• A single front-drive motor

Cold-start capability is promised down to minus 25 degrees Celsius.

All is well until Bloomberg discusses that "Daimler, which packed fuel cells into the back of a delivery van to create the world’s first vehicle using that technology in 1994." I couldn't believe this, so I found the Mercedes press release Zero-emission vehicle sets off on automotive marathon: Starting shot fired for F-CELL World Drive. Somehow, a Mercedes flack says "Mercedes-Benz recognized this potential at an early stage, launching the first vehicle with fuel cell drive, the NECAR 1, as early as 1994." Mercedes, do some fact checking!

It is very easy to find multiple references to the 1966 GM Electrovan, the REAL first fuel cell vehicle. The Electrovan had 32 1 kilowatt alkaline fuel cell "modules," and had a peak power output of 160 kW. Luckily, it never got recycled, and is at the General Motors Heritage Center near Detroit.

Another Bloom Story

 
There's a new Press Release from Bloom Energy about the  Bloom Electrons^TM program they started. Instead of paying big money up front to buy a Bloom Box [a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), running on natural gas], you can sign up for a 10-year lease and "... pay only for the electricity consumed ...". On the positive side, you now have a known price for much of your electricity supply (without tying down your natural gas price,) which is good. Also, you get the kudos of friends and neighbors for being an early adopter of Green Energy.

What I don't like is their somewhat deceptive advertising that you can pick one up and only "pay only for the electricity consumed." People are going to be saddened when they investigate and see that, just like cogeneration systems (and many other energy-saving technologies), it only pays to base-load a Bloom Box. Peak electric power will still need to be bought from the local electric utility. Of course, this non-base-loaded power is a large fraction of most customer's total annual electricity needs. So Bloom Electrons users will not generally be totaly green customers.

Once again, there is no such thing as a free lunch!

Hydrogen for 65,000 Feet

In 2003-2004 Giner Electrochemical Systems, LLC put me in charge of building a MATLAB/Simulink model that automatically optimized the design of a fuel cell-based power generation system for a stated 2-week high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) aircraft mission. NASA and other government agencies were convinced that an air-breathing, liquid hydrogen fueled engine would provide the lowest-weight HALE aircraft power plant. Accordingly, they hired us to determine the weight and volume of such a hydrogen-fueled proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell-based system. Other firms optimized the design of alternative power plants, such as a hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine.

AeroVironment is developing both types of aircraft. In 2005 they demonstrated a 1/4-scale version of their Global Observer HALE aircraft that was driven by a liquid hydrogen-based fuel cell engine. Earlier this month (1/11/2011) AeroVironment's full-scale, liquid hydrogen-fueled, internal combustion engine-based Global Observer took its first flight, lasting four-hours. Ultimately, with its 175 foot wingspan, it will operate for up to a week at 65,000 feet.

Global Observer at at Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB) in California (USAF Photo)

Its always good when the theoretical becomes reality!

Hydrogen Refueling - Oops!

Mid-August 2010 was not good for General Motors (GM) in Rochester, NY (or for Praxair). WIVB-TV has posted some video of an explosion seen from an airport security camera while Praxair was exchanging some compressed hydrogen storage tanks. Look for flames in the upper left corner after the camera shakes from the blast (or see County video of explosion near airport):

 

Not the worst thing in the world, but a black eye for GM (and Praxair). Nobody died, but two people were injured.

To avoid Hindenburg-style sensationalism, I'd like to see some analysis that looks at how many accidents happen with the gasoline refueling supply chain, in comparison with the current hydrogen refueling infrastructure. This is the first hydrogen event I've heard of, and many, many gasoline "events" occur in the U.S. each year. And nobody is talking about getting rid of gasoline!

Of course, if they generated hydrogen on-site at the refueling station with an electrolyzer, rather than bringing in compressed hydrogen made from fossil fuels, this might never have happened.

Another Interim Hydrogen Step

The Green Car Congress has an article from Nikkei about Japan's METI cost-sharing 50% of programs that will upgrade refinery-grade hydrogen (90% purity) to 99.99% pure fuel cell-grade hydrogen:

With Japan moving toward wide adoption of fuel cell vehicles by fiscal 2015, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry seeks to secure a steady supply of high-purity hydrogen.

Of course, this will do nothing to reduce global warming, as all refinery hydrogen is produced from petroleum-based feedstocks. You'd think they'd try to promote electrolyzers, which use renewable (or conventional) electricity to efficiently produce pure hydrogen. But, I'm sure they will get some good press about their valiant efforts to support fuel cells.