FEASIBILITY OF HOME HYDROGEN REFUELING (HHR) SYSTEM FOR ADVANCED PLUG-IN

HYDROGEN VEHICLE APPLICATIONS

Michael Pien, Steven A. Lis, and Radha Jalan

ElectroChem, Inc.400 West Cummings Park

Woburn, MA 01801

Present at

NHA Conference and Hydrogen Expo

April 1, 2009

Outline

• Background

• Home Refueling System

• ElectroChem HHR approaches

• Bottoms-up Analysis

• Conclusions

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H2 for Transportation - Long Term

• Large scale Centralized natural gas reforming is the most cost-effective hydrogen production pathway

• An increase in U.S. natural gas consumption of about 2% would support sufficient hydrogen production to fuel 10 million FCEVs

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H2 for Transportation - Long Term

• A more significant hydrogen fueling challenge is downstream at the retail level

• The key issue is the early market introduction period and the transition to high volume

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H2 for Transportation - Near Term

• Home Refueling System

Generate hydrogen at home

• Hydrogen pathways

Nature gas reforming

Water electrolysis (alkaline)

Water electrolysis (PEM)

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Factor Reformer Alkaline Electrolyzer PEM Electrolyzer

Toxic Chemical Hazard

Potential for poisonous CO or

natural gas leakage

Uses Concentrated Caustic Soda

None

Hydrogen Purity Requires Purification Requires Purification No Purification Needed

Green House Emissions

CO2 emitted as

byproduct

None None

Resource Availability Natural Gas is Not Available Everywhere

Water and Electricity is in Every Home

Water and Electricity is in Every Home

Fundamental Technology Characteristics

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Advantages of PEM Electrolyzer

• High Hydrogen Purity

• No Green house Emission

• No Toxic chemical Hazard

• High Resources Availability

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ElectroChem’s Home H2 Refueler (HHR)

• Provides 1kg of H2 directly to vehicle storage tank

• Using lower cost off-peak electricity

• No high pressure H2 is stored in the appliance

• Simple and computer control

• No “infrastructure” investment needed

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Benefits of ElectroChem’s HHR

• Sufficient for 65 mile driving range

• Small and compact

• Simplified for maximum safety and minimum cost

• Modest Installation Cost – similar to a conventional air conditioning system

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Challenges for PEM Electrolyzer

• Water separation

• High pressure gas crossover

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ElectroChem’s Solution for HHR

• Integrated Flow Field (IFF)IFF’s breakthrough is on the development of flow field material and structure that allows

Major system simplificationSize reduction Cost saving

• New membrane material Nanocomposite technology allows

Electrochemical compression

O2H2

+-

WaterFeed

H2OH2O

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HHR’s operating Target

Parameter Value Units

Hydrogen Production Capacity 1 kg/day

Period of Operation 8 hrs

Operating Voltage 240 Volts (AC)

Power Use During Operation 6.3 kW

Physical Size 2 x 2 x 2 feet

Daily Commute 35 Miles

Mileage Efficiency of Vehicle 65.7 Miles per kg

Capacity Utilization 50%

Product Life 10 Years

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Schematic of the HHR Appliance

1 ft

PressureRegulators

CoolingFan

TapWaterInput

DI WaterCartridge

HighPressureWaterPump

AC/DC Converter& System Controller

O2Venting

HighPressure

H2 Output

WaterReservoirs

ElectrolyzerStack with

Cooling FinsWater Condensers

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Competitive Hydrogen Price

• Hydrogen is price-competitive with gasoline when a kg of hydrogen is twice the price of a gallon of gasoline

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Operating Costs

Installed Appliance Cost $2221

Annual Mortgage Cost $331

Annual Maintenance $50

Power Cost $0.035/kW-hr

Power Cost of H2 $1.76/kg

Annual Power Cost @ 50% Utilization $322

Total Annual Fuel Cost @ 50% Utilization $703

H2 cost @ 50% Utilization $3.85/kg

H2 cost @ 100% Utilization $2.81/kg

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A small appliance based on the HHR technology can efficiently refuel individual hydrogen vehicles using off-peak power @ $0.035/kW-hr for as little as $2.81/kg of H2.

Cost Components of the HHR Appliance

HHR Appliance Cost Breakdown

Stack Hardware12%

Nafion Membrane

4%

Precious Metals5%

Small Components

16%

Stack Assembly Labor &

Overhead10%

System BOP Materials, Labor

& Overhead39%

Installation14%

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The Effective Cost of Hydrogen Fuel

$- $2.00 $4.00 $6.00 $8.00

$/kg of Hydrogen

Appliance Life (20 yrto 5 yr)

Maintenance ($50 to$200/year)

Utilization (100% to50%)

Electricity Cost (3.5 -10 cents/kW-hr)

Installed Capital Cost($1500 to $3500)

HHR Electrolyzer Sensitivity

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The effective cost of hydrogen fuel is sensitive to several factors, but remain in the vicinity competitive to current gasoline prices

The Effective Cost of Hydrogen Fuel

Annual Driving Fuel CostCompared to 30 mpg Gasoline Vehicles

$-

$200

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

$1,400

$1,600

$1,800

$0.030 $0.050 $0.070 $0.090 $0.110

Electricity Rate ($/kW-hr)

Veh

icle

Fu

el C

ost

($/

yr)

Electricity Cost

Total H2 Cost

$2.00/gal gasoline

$3.00/gal gasoline

$4.00/gal gasoline

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Annual costs are compared with a gasoline vehicle having a mileage of 30 mpg, which the HHR makes significantly lower under most pricing scenarios

Conclusion I

• Demonstrated a unique Home H2 Refueler (HHR) design that allows great simplifications, yet high performance, for PEM electrolyzer technology suitable for automotive home refueling systems.

• A home-based hydrogen electrolyzer refueling system for charging advanced plug-in hybrid vehicles is feasible using night time off-peak electricity power.

• A bottoms-up analysis shows that a small appliance based on this technology can efficiently refuel individual hydrogen vehicles using off-peak power for as little as $2.81/kg of H2.

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Think about hydrogen the same way we think about electricity

• Installed wherever there is electricity

• Reduce hardware development costs

• Allow for rapid engineering enhancement

• Allow to store hydrogen from intermittent renewable resources (e.g. wind, solar)

Conclusion IIA paradigm shift of H2 for Transportation – Enabler for Both Near and Long Terms

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