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Sustainable Energy Engineering Queen’s University Labs

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Hydrogen, Fuel Cells

and Backup Power

Brant A. Peppley

Queen’s University

Sustainable Energy Engineering

Queen’s University Labs

(SEEQUL)


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Status of Backup Power

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http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2016/01/f28/fcto_2015_business_case_fuel_cells.pdf

Fuel Cell and Hydrogen

Energy Association 2015

Review.

Highlights (US Perspective)- Ballard Power Systems, has installed

more than 100 of its methanol-fueled fuel

cell systems on rooftops in major cities

around the world to provide backup power

to critical telecom sites.

- Sprint has installed several hundred

backup power fuel cell systems at cellular

towers and sites around the U.S. with

ARRA funding, as well as on its own.

- SouthernLINC Wireless anticipates

deploying as many as 500 new LTE sites

utilizing the Plug Power ReliOn integrated

solution, which includes fuel cell systems

and bulk refillable hydrogen storage


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Companies in Top 50

of the Fortune 500

Operating or

Developing Fuel Cells

… but there is good

news closer to home!


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The Hydrogen Economy Is Here The Future of

Power (Melbourne, October 2014)4


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Backup Power Case StudyOntario Government Emergency Call Centre

Backup Power Load 100kW

Required Run Time 48 hours

Outage time per year 48 hours

Project Life 20 years

Diesel Escal. Rate 3%

Hydrogen Escal Rate 1.9%

Inflation Rate 2%

Discount Rate 2.5%

Backup Power Systems

• Diesel Generator

• Battery Bank

• PEM Fuel Cell

(HyPM R 100)

• Battery + Diesel

Generator


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Backup Power Business Case Study:

Specs and Inputs

Battery Bank Diesel Generator PEFC

Maximum Power

Output (Backup power

output)

100 kW 265 kW (100kW) 120 kW (100kW)

Unit Life 4-10 years 20 years 20 years,

General equipment

cost

$480/kWh $112,000 $395,000

Fuel storage cost - $100,000 $250,000

Installation cost $3,000 ($30/kW) (existing) $39,500

Battery ride-through

cost

- - $15,000

Annual O&M $75/kWh $5,000 $140


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Backup Power Case Study

Backup battery runtime (hours)

Battery

Life

(Years) 0.25 0.5 1 1.5 2

4 -$360,000 -$260,000 -$80,000 $110,000 $300,000

6 -$370,000 -$290,000 -$130,000 $40,000 $200,000

8 -$380,000 -$310,000 -$170,000 -$30,000 $110,000

10 -$400,000 -$340,000 -$220,000 -$100,000 $10,000

Cost effective to replace diesel/battery system with a fuel

cell if the battery bank run time is greater than 1 hr


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Turn the Picture Around

• The grid is the backup system

• The fuel cell is the steady power

• Why? Because natural gas keeps flowing

when power goes down!

• How often does the power go down?

• Aside: Natural gas is a handy place to

store hydrogen (reference Alex’s talk

coming up next).

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Green Hydrogen Research Center

Commercialization of Japanese 1 kW class fuel cell CHP system

http://www.ace.or.jp/web/works/works_0090.html

Large scale

demonstrationPilot Commercial

0

30000

60000

90000

120000

150000

180000

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4

6

8

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'02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14FY

Price,

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Annual

installedPrice

Subsidy

Num

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of unit

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Green Hydrogen Research Center

Japanese 1 kW class fuel cell CHP system

http://home.tokyo-gas.co.jp/enefarm_special/

http://www.osakagas.co.jp/en/rd/fuelcell/pefc/index.html

http://panasonic.co.jp/ap/FC/about_01.html

http://panasonic.co.jp/ap/FC/index.htm

https://www.toshiba.co.jp/product/fc/english/index.htm

Pictures and Specifications from following web-site

Toshiba has an English site.

Thanks to Shigenori Matsushima

Yokohama National University

For providing these two visuals. 1.8m/6 ft

Reformer/Fuel Cell

750 W

200 L Hot Water


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Overview• Eight Ontario Government properties were identified for

business case studies and given a RETScreen basic

cost analysis and an extended cost analysis using a

custom designed spreadsheet.

• Six of the properties where the baseload was greater

than 200 kW and Combined Heat and Power or

Combined Cooling Heat and Power could be

implemented were shown to have positive NPV and

reasonable payback.

• For an emergency call centre both a 100 kW SOFC

generator and a PEM fuel cell backup power system

were evaluated.

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Near Term (1-3 years)

Basic Requirements and Assumptions

• Natural gas fuelled combined heat and

power preferable that is financially feasible

(NPV>0)

• Products with proven record of reliability

and maintainability

• Condition of study was that there was no

access to sell power back to the grid.

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Currently Viable NG-Fuelled CHP

Fuel Cell Systems for Near Term

• DFC 300 (discontinued)

• Output: 300kW

• Fuel: Natural Gas

• Project Cost:≈ $3.35 million

• O&M Cost:≈ $44,000/year

• PureCell 400

• Output: 400kW

• Fuel: Natural Gas

• Project Cost:≈$3.94 million

• O&M Cost:≈$100,000/year


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Case Study Inputs:

Base Case and Sensitivity StudiesOptimistic Likely Conservative

Project Life (yrs) 20 20 20

Electricity Price $0.128/kWh $0.128/kWh $0.128/kWh

Natural Gas Price $0.261/m3 $0.261/m3 $0.261/m3

Steam Price $0.015/lbs $0.015/lbs $0.015/lbs

Debt Ret. Charge $7/MWhgen $7/MWhgen $7/MWhgen

Inflation Rate 2% 2% 2%

Discount Rate 2.5% 2.5% 2.5%

Natural Gas Escal Rate 2% 2.3% 3%

Electricity Escal Rate LTEP rate

plus 0.5%

LTEP rate

(see note)

LTEP less

0.5%

Painful


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RETScreen Results

Net Present Value

CCHPDFC 300

CHPPC 400

PC 400

PC 400

DFC 300

DFC 300

PC 5 × 4

Bloom ES5400

CHP

CHP

CHP

CHP

CHP

Power

CCHP – combined cooling heat and power,

CHP – combined heat and power


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RETScreen Results

Net Present Value with SensitivityCCHPDFC 300

CHPPC 400

PC 400

PC 400

DFC 300

DFC 300

PC 5 × 4

Bloom ES5400

CHP

CHP

CHP

CHP

CHP

Power

OL

C

O – Optimistic, L – Likely, C - Conservative


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RETScreen Results

Equity Payback


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RETScreen Results

Equity Payback with Sensitivity

OL

C


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RETScreen Results

Simple Payback


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RETScreen Results – Carbon Intensity

Note the double negative negative reduction is an increase.


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Business Case Summary• Six of the eight buildings resulted in a positive NPV

given a continuous fuel cell power system on natural

gas.

• The Distributed Energy Site at the London

Courthouse was the closest to optimal.

– combined cooling heating and power with existing

absorption chiller.

• The 911 Call Centre (Thunder Bay) had the most

negative NPV with the SOFC solution but could have

a positive NPV for a backup power system operating

on hydrogen replacing the batteries.


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Looking Forward (3-5 years)

Basic Assumptions

• Hydrogen infrastructure becomes more developed in

Ontario

• Newer fuel cell products based on pure hydrogen

become available and are more cost effective

• New fuel cell products using SOFC-CHP become

available

• More technologies for energy storage for peak

shaving and time of use shifting become available.

• Carbon emissions reduction becomes a more

significant priority (Carbon pricing???)

• Selling to the grid where possible should be an

option. (Without debt retirement penalty!)

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Chicken and Egg• Clean transportation has always been the driver of the hydrogen

vision, requiring a large infrastructure that would in turn make

hydrogen widely available for all applications

• Enter the ‘chicken and egg’ conundrum which persists today

• Problem: Commercial FC vehicles are being launched but H2

station profitability is not predicted until 2025 (using NG reforming

hydrogen and later using other ‘greener’ technologies)

• Solution: Well-resourced public-private partnerships in leading

jurisdictions are committing to infrastructure build-up, in sync with

FC vehicle launches and deeper research into user needs

– E.U./Germany – H2 Mobility, CHIC

– U.S.A./California – H2USA

– Asia/Japan - HySUT


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H2 Infrastructure Offers

Variety of Solutions

Hydrogen Supply Pathways – HyFLEET:CUTE


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Government Buildings

Mid-Term Options Summary

(3-5 years)

• Hydrogen distribution already is available and utilized

successfully. (e.g., Walmart Forklifts, glass

manufacturers, backup power systems). This will

increase dramatically in the next 5 yrs.

• Hydrogen costs can be quantified. A typical refueling

system is $1 to 2 million to install.

• Business case analyses of mid-term power system

options, however, is virtually impossible or at least

would involve wild guesses as there are materials,

codes and standards, and logistics issues that have

huge uncertainties.

• These products will, however, be better in terms of

cost, GHG reduction, and reliability.

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Government Buildings

Long-Term Options Summary

(6+ years)

• Mass market Fuel Cell Vehicles will be available for

fleet applications.

• Ballard ClearGenTM products will have proven track

record from deployments in US and China

• Hydrogenics will have extensive experience with

backup power.

• Hydrogenics will have fully proven their renewable

energy storage by electrolysis systems

– Power to gas

– Renewable hydrogen

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ConclusionsNear Term (1-3 years)

• Pilot trial natural gas fuelled systems.

• …but, projects result in increases in CO2

emissions. Carbon pricing???

• Pure hydrogen backup power systems

represent a good investment because of

positive NPV compared to batteries and also

because it is Ontario-grown technology and

eliminates problems of diesel fuel storage

associate with diesel backup.


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ConclusionsMid Term (3-5 years)

• The current phosphoric acid and molten

carbonate technologies may be replaced by

SOFC systems that use cheap(?) natural gas

as a fuel or PEM systems using hydrogen

fuel.

• Backup power systems could be deployed on

a much wider scale (Ontario-grown

technology).


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ConclusionsLong Term (>6 years up to 20 years out)

• Fuel cell vehicle deployments will change the

landscape for hydrogen infrastructure.

• Hydrogen-fuelled CHP products will offer path to

reducing carbon footprint. (Carbon pricing??)

• The potential for production of hydrogen for

vehicle refueling and onsite power will be

available.

• These could be quantifiable in 2 years but not

likely deployable for 5 years.


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Brant A Peppley, Queen’s University

[email protected]

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Nicol Hall

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hydrogen, fuel cells and backup power - h2gta.ca · pdf filehydrogen, fuel cells and backup...

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