Electrolysis: Information and Opportunities for Electric Power Utilities

Kroposki, B.; Levene, J.; Harrison, Kevin; Sen, P.K.; Novachek, Frank

doi:10.2172/892998

Cited by 49 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…60 Once again, fossil fuels appear in the chemical balance sheet unless all the grid electricity comes from renewable sources. A completely clean route to hydrogen would be connecting an electrolyzer to a PV array, both commercial technologies today which can be coupled.…”

Section: Cost Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technical and economic feasibility of centralized facilities for solar hydrogen production via photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry

Pinaud

Benck

Seitz

et al. 2013

Energy Environ. Sci.

1,201

1,069

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Photoelectrochemical water splitting is a promising route for the renewable production of hydrogen fuel. This work presents the results of a technical and economic feasibility analysis conducted for four hypothetical, centralized, large-scale hydrogen production plants based on this technology. The four reactor types considered were a single bed particle suspension system, a dual bed particle suspension system, a fixed panel array, and a tracking concentrator array. The current performance of semiconductor absorbers and electrocatalysts were considered to compute reasonable solar-tohydrogen conversion efficiencies for each of the four systems. The U.S. Department of Energy H2A model was employed to calculate the levelized cost of hydrogen output at the plant gate at 300 psi for a 10 tonne per day production scale. All capital expenditures and operating costs for the reactors and auxiliaries (compressors, control systems, etc.) were considered. The final cost varied from $1.60-$10.40 per kg H 2 with the particle bed systems having lower costs than the panel-based systems. However, safety concerns due to the cogeneration of O 2 and H 2 in a single bed system and long molecular transport lengths in the dual bed system lead to greater uncertainty in their operation. A sensitivity analysis revealed that improvement in the solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of the panel-based systems could substantially drive down their costs. A key finding is that the production costs are consistent with the Department of Energy's targeted threshold cost of $2.00-$4.00 per kg H 2 for dispensed hydrogen, demonstrating that photoelectrochemical water splitting could be a viable route for hydrogen production in the future if material performance targets can be met. Broader contextAs global energy consumption continues to rise, it is imperative that we develop renewable alternatives to the fossil fuel energy sources that currently power our civilization, curb CO 2 emissions, and secure a permanent energy supply for the future. Although the solutions to these global challenges are likely to consist of many different energy storage and conversion technologies, sustainably produced chemical fuels will likely play an important role due to their high energy density. Hydrogen gas is an especially promising energy carrier, but current hydrogen production processes such as steam methane reforming are unsustainable. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is an alternative process that enables sustainable hydrogen production from water using the energy from sunlight. PEC water splitting has been demonstrated on the laboratory scale, but it has never been implemented on a large scale relevant to the global energy demand, so the prospects for scaling up this process have remained controversial. The present paper addresses the technical and economic feasibility of plants producing hydrogen via PEC water splitting. We establish practical operating efficiencies for PEC reactors, detail four potential reactor and centralized plant designs, and discuss the...

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Section: Cost Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technical and economic feasibility of centralized facilities for solar hydrogen production via photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry

Pinaud

Benck

Seitz

et al. 2013

Energy Environ. Sci.

1,201

1,069

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“…Therefore, it becomes essential that these electrolyzers are able to accept such fluctuations in the supplied power. If water electrolysis is to be integrated as an energy storage system in the renewable energy production chain, it is crucial to understand the mode of operation of the electrolyzers under dynamic conditions and not only in the steady state [2,3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selectivity of Nanocrystalline IrO2-Based Catalysts in Parallel Chlorine and Oxygen Evolution

et al. 2014

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This paper examines the detection and quantification of the potentially corrosive byproducts of the oxygen evolution reaction on iridium and iridium-ruthenium mixed oxides. A conventional but stationary ring-disc electrode was employed in a flow cell configuration for the detection of volatile reaction product other than oxygen, and the formation of at least two active species was detected.Potential-modulated UV-VIS reflectance spectroscopy helped to identify one of these volatile reaction byproducts as hydrogen peroxide, and the other is tentatively suggested to be ozone. It was found that these species are formed under potentiodynamic conditions due to the chemical recombination of the absorbed reaction intermediates. The influence of the electrode material composition on the production yield of these byproducts was studied, and we found that the generation of these corrosive reaction byproducts is suppressed the more active the catalyst is for the OER. The formation of by-products can therefore be addressed by a rational choice of the electrode materials based on the adsorption energy of the reaction intermediates as is done for the OER itself. Steady-state electrolysis minimizes hydrogen peroxide formation as byproduct of the oxygen evolution reaction.

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“…Megawatt-scale hydrogen energy storage systems-using both above-ground storage (in tanks) and below-ground storage in formations similar to CAES-have been proposed (Kroposki et al 2006). Because compressed hydrogen has a higher energy density than air, a storage cavern could store more energy in the form of hydrogen than could compressed air.…”

Section: Hydrogen Energy Storage and Fuel Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Volume 2. Renewable Electricity Generation and Storage Technologies

Augustine

Bain

Chapman

et al. 2012

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Chapter 6. Biopower TechnologiesBain, R.; Denholm, P.; Heath, G.; Mai, T.; Tegen, S. (2012). "Biopower Technologies," Chapter 6. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Renewable Electricity Futures Study, Vol. 2, Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory; pp. 6-1 -6-58. Chapter 7. Geothermal Energy Technologies PerspectiveThe Renewable Electricity Futures Study (RE Futures) provides an analysis of the grid integration opportunities, challenges, and implications of high levels of renewable electricity generation for the U.S. electric system. The study is not a market or policy assessment. Rather, RE Futures examines renewable energy resources and many technical issues related to the operability of the U.S. electricity grid, and provides initial answers to important questions about the integration of high penetrations of renewable electricity technologies from a national perspective. RE Futures results indicate that a future U.S. electricity system that is largely powered by renewable sources is possible and that further work is warranted to investigate this clean generation pathway. The central conclusion of the analysis is that renewable electricity generation from technologies that are commercially available today, in combination with a more flexible electric system, is more than adequate to supply 80% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2050 while meeting electricity demand on an hourly basis in every region of the United States.The renewable technologies explored in this study are components of a diverse set of clean energy solutions that also includes nuclear, efficient natural gas, clean coal, and energy efficiency. Understanding all of these technology pathways and their potential contributions to the future U.S. electric power system can inform the development of integrated portfolio scenarios. RE Futures focuses on the extent to which U.S. electricity needs can be supplied by renewable energy sources, including biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, and wind.The study explores grid integration issues using models with unprecedented geographic and time resolution for the contiguous United States. The analysis (1) assesses a variety of scenarios with prescribed levels of renewable electricity generation in 2050, from 30% to 90%, with a focus on 80% (with nearly 50% from variable wind and solar photovoltaic generation); (2) identifies the characteristics of a U.S. electricity system that would be needed to accommodate such levels; and (3) describes some of the associated challenges and implications of realizing such a future. In addition to the central conclusion noted above, RE Futures finds that increased electric system flexibility, needed to enable electricity supply-demand balance with high levels of renewable generation, can come from a portfolio of supply-and demand-side options, including flexible conventional generation, grid storage, new transmission, more responsive loads, and changes in power system operations. The analysis also finds that the abundance and diversity of U.S. renewabl...

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Electrolysis: Information and Opportunities for Electric Power Utilities

Cited by 49 publications

References 15 publications

Technical and economic feasibility of centralized facilities for solar hydrogen production via photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry

Technical and economic feasibility of centralized facilities for solar hydrogen production via photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry

Selectivity of Nanocrystalline IrO2-Based Catalysts in Parallel Chlorine and Oxygen Evolution

Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Volume 2. Renewable Electricity Generation and Storage Technologies

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