Many BC companies are developing innovative uses for hydrogen
in a potential commercial context, giving the Canadian
province
a reputation for being a world leader in hydrogen and fuel
cell technology. Some have even gone so far as to dub BC
the "silicon valley" of hydrogen. Vancouver
is home to the largest cluster of fuel cell and fuel cell
related developers in the world. It is also the
city
where
research
on fuel cell technology was first pioneered by Ballard Power
Systems nearly 20 years ago.
Currently, Vancouver is headquarter to Canada's Hydrogen
Highway project, which will see the development of the world's
first hydrogen bus fleet by 2009, and will link Vancouver
and Whistler with seven hydrogen-equipped fueling stations
for the buses in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Engineering
company Sacré-Davey is a leader of hydrogen energy
in BC. A participating member of the Hydrogen Highway project,
the company has partnered with other companies in the industry
and spearheaded several demonstration projects under a larger
campaign called the Integrated Waste Hydrogen Utilization
Project (IWHUP).
IWHUP is a complete 'source-to-end' project that captures,
purifies and compresses waste hydrogen, and then delivers
it in compressed form to fuelling stations for vehicles that
have been converted to run on hydrogen.
Combined, the several sub-projects of IWHUP include:
• Capture, purification and compression of the by-product hydrogen
from two chemical facilities in North Vancouver
• Distribution of this purified (fuel cell grade) hydrogen
to 3 locations:
1. A fueling station in North Vancouver to fuel 8 hydrogen
internal combustion engine pick-up trucks and 3 shuttle
buses.
2. A fueling station at the Translink bus depot in Port
Coquitlam to fuel 4 internal combustion engine transit
buses that run
on a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas.
3. A fuel cell powered
car wash in North Vancouver.
What distinguishes IHWUP from other demonstration models
is how it has created the infrastructure to support the production
of hydrogen fuel cells. Sacré-Davey is demonstrating ‘real
world’ uses for waste hydrogen, and this has never
been done before.
"
A project like IHWUP is a good indication that the industry
is beginning to make the transition from a demonstration
phase to a pre-commercial phase," says Hamid Tamehi,
Project Manager for Sacré-Davey. "Earlier demonstration
programs have tended to be narrowly focused on specific applications
or aspects of infrastructure.”
The combination of reclaiming hydrogen from the fate of
becoming industrial waste, then using it to fuel vehicles,
public
transit, and a car wash run entirely (and efficiently)
on fuel cells, has brought a watchful interest to the IWHUP
project from business at the local, national and international
levels.
"
The inception of our project was to find a way to purify
hydrogen currently used as waste, and then it just grew from
there," says Tamehi. "IWHUP is the first demonstration
project that has developed incrementally like this. Once
we had the hydrogen on our hands, we wanted to find places
to put it."
When people think of fuel cells they most likely think
about hydrogen-powered vehicles, yet automotives are
just one aspect
of the industry. Unfortunately, they are also the farthest
from becoming a commercial reality. Other applications
are closer to becoming commercial, such as lift trucks,
back-up
power, household heat and power, and portable power for
cell phones and laptop computers.
Automotives - the “holy grail” of fuel cell
research and development - are the most challenging because
the infrastructure
isn't there to support them yet.
"
I don't want to put a number to it," says Tamehi. "People
predict all sorts of things and then it doesn't happen.”
Make no doubt however, Tamehi asserts: It will happen.
The industry has been making steady, incremental
progress
in this area for years, and learning a lot of lessons
along the way. "
If this industry wasn't going to survive, it would have died
out a long time ago," says Tamehi. "A lot of things
are currently being learned, where we are now is just a stepping
stone.
Can anybody covert any new vehicle to run on hydrogen?
According to Tamehi, retrofitting an existing vehicle
to run on hydrogen can be done, but it is not the
most “practical
proposition." The ultimate solution is to run hydrogen
through compressed fuel cell power in a vehicle designed
specifically for this purpose, rather than modifying what
already exists.
There are presently two types of hydrogen demonstration
vehicles on the roads today:
• Hydrogen internal combustion engine powered
• Hydrogen fuel cell powered
Hydrogen internal combustion engine powered vehicles:
Pros: It is relatively easy to retrofit a diesel or gasoline
engine to run on hydrogen. The technology required to do
a retrofit already exists, and can be made to work reliably
at a reasonable capital cost. To convert a diesel or gasoline
engine to hydrogen, it is necessary to install: compressed
hydrogen storage
tanks;
hydrogen piping and valves; special fuel injectors; a supercharger;
and an intercooler. The drive train computer management
system would also have to be reprogrammed.
Cons: The required hydrogen storage tanks consume a lot
of space. Hydrogen is very expensive and burning it in an
internal combustion engine, which is half as efficient as
a fuel cell, does not make good economic sense.
Developers: BMW is the only car company developing this
technology for commercialization. Ford and Powertech have
retrofitted pick-up trucks and shuttle buses, respectively.
They recognize, however, that this is a bridging technology
as opposed to an end solution. Their use will help develop
the infrastructure, codes and standards and public acceptance
of hydrogen.
Hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles:
Pros: Fuel cells are the most efficient use of hydrogen.
They also lend themselves well to hybridization with batteries.
Cons: Significant improvements in durability and cost reduction
are needed in order to be commercialized.
Developers: Almost all major car companies are developing
fuel cell cars either through their in-house programs or
in conjunction with companies like Ballard.
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