One of the major road blocks in the transition from the current oil economy to the future hydrogen fuel economy is the availability of low cost hydrogen fuel for the average consumer. Currently, the price per kilogram of hydrogen fuel is higher than the cost of an equivalent measure of gasoline and its availability is limited to large metropolitan areas. Both of these factors prevent hydrogen from being an attractive alternative to gasoline for most consumers. The goal of this project, in a senior thermal design course, is to design and construct a low-cost hydrogen generation system for residential hydrogen fuel production and storage. The system will be powered by renewable sources of energy; namely a micro-scale wind turbine and a solar panel. The power generated will be used to power a small-scale PEM electrolyzer to produce hydrogen gas that will then be stored at low pressure in a safe, metal hydride storage tank. This relatively low cost system will provide the average consumer with the ability to safely produce hydrogen fuel for use in residential fuel cells or fuel cell-powered vehicles, making hydrogen fuel an attractive alternative to fossil fuels.
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