First Hydrogen Fueling Station in New England Opens
29 June 2006
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| The station while undergoing testing. |
Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT), EVermont, and other local businesses gathered for the dedication of New England’s first hydrogen fueling station, located at the Department of Public Works in Burlington, Vermont.
The fueling station includes an Proton HOGEN H Series electrolyzer (12 kg/day, 40 kW at peak production capacity) with a combination of electrochemical and mechanical compression for on-site storage at 6,000 psi in high-pressure cylinders.
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The hydrogen production and fueling station is located adjacent to a 65kW AOC wind turbine. The electrical output of the wind turbine and the electrical demands of the fueling station will be monitored and correlated via the fueling station control system.
Both systems will be connected through the utility grid, and part of the testing and data collection will include analysis of the optimal operation of the fueling station in relation to the output of the wind turbine and the other electrical demands at the adjacent facilities. (Earlier post.)
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| The hydrogen Prius. |
The station, with its advanced PEM electrolysis stack, has been under development since April 2004, and supported by US$973,000 in funding from the Department of Energy. As part of the project, eVermont has acquired a hydrogen-fueled Prius hybrid—converted by Quantum—for testing.
This project is an important demonstration of the potential of “wind to wheels.” It provides a viable link between renewable energy and the transportation industry.
—Harold Garabedian, Project Manager of EVermont and Assistant Director of the Air Pollution Control Division at the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
The current plan is to measure or calculate hydrogen output, power consumption, efficiency, wind turbine output, and seasonal/temperature related performance, as well as vehicle fill times, performance (km/kg), and maintenance requirements.
The team anticipates showing electrolyzer power supply efficiency improvements of 25-50% that could potentially decrease hydrogen fueling costs by up to $0.50/kg from current costs.
Resources:
EVermont Renewable Hydrogen Fueling Station (May 2006)
look at this
Posted by: saikrishna | 29 June 2006 at 05:46 AM
Ok, its a start.... But then again, unless the energy cycle gets better (vs petroleum), It will be a niche fuel.
Posted by: allen zheng | 29 June 2006 at 06:47 AM
Okay, this is my first time I have seen a Hydrogen Fueling station. This was my first thought: WOW, look at all that crap to run one little hose. Might work for municipal or fleet but looks like it has a loooong way to go before it is on every street corner.
Posted by: Joseph | 29 June 2006 at 07:20 AM
I think there was supposed to be one in Westchester county, north of NYC, but a child daycare nearby objected. Shell and GM are opening several others too.
Posted by: allen zheng | 29 June 2006 at 08:21 AM
Joseph,
Just wait and see. If Calif. CARB decides that this going to work out well, then there may will be a mandate similar to the ZEV mandate of the 90's, specifying an x % of car to be sold in Calif. have to run on H2...and then, other metropolitan areas may decide follow suit, and H2 filling stations will spring up like mushrooms.
Posted by: Roger Pham | 29 June 2006 at 11:37 AM
They are 'anticipating' improvements in electrolyzer efficiency. Well I,m anticipating improvements in Tesla coils to power my electric car. We'll see which happens first if at all.
Posted by: tom deplume | 29 June 2006 at 03:49 PM
This is just a demo unit realy.They already built far more productive stations that can handle 400 cars a day. As for improving the electrolizer eff.. they already have done that several times and recent improvements should be rather interesting. They found a way to use a catalyst to get the temp needed for high temp production down toa level more mass produced cheaper parts can be used in the system AND much more normal industrial processes can be used to provide the heat.
Posted by: wintermane | 29 June 2006 at 04:09 PM
Wind power and hydrogen fuel generation are not correlated. The idea of running one only when running the other, when both are connected to the grid, is asinine. They are two separate systems, and run most efficiently when they have nothing to do with each other.
The wind generation should be putting energy into the system whenever possible. Either it's useful and thereby resulting in less oil, coal, or natural gas burned -- or it's not, in which case there's no gain and no loss.
The hydrogen should be running on nights and weekends, when demand is lowest. The most efficient power generation is used first, and successively less efficient means of generating electricity next. So, by running the generation at nights and weekends when demand is lower, it's serving to level out the curves and use energy most efficiently. By running when the wind power is being generated, it's not helping to smooth the curve -- and therefore not optimizing on reducing pollution, fuel usage, and cost.
Posted by: stomv | 30 June 2006 at 05:22 PM
Allen:
Although a regular gas station may look simple, there is alot more infrastructure (oil rigs, tankers, etc.) and effort required to get oil from the ground to your gas tank than there is in that local hydrogen fueling station. (never mind all the people that had to die in order to get that fuel from the ground to your gas tank) That hydrogen fueling station is leaps and bounds more responsible/ethical and less complex than any regular gas station.
Posted by: Norm | 05 July 2006 at 05:22 AM