Dissertation - Colin Robertson

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE OF HYDROGEN POWERED FUEL CELLS AND THEIR POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE CLEAN ENERGY FOR BUILDINGS IN THE FUTURE COLIN ROBERTSON 0302502 MArch/BSc (Hons) ARCHITECTURE THE SCOTT SUTHERLAND SCHOOL, ROBERT GORDON UNIVERSITY

18-01-08

I hereby declare that the work presented in this Dissertation has been composed by myself and has not been accepted in any previous application for a Degree. All quotations have been indicated by quotation marks, and all sources of information specifically acknowledged in the reference chapter at the end. Signature Name

Colin Robertson

Date

18-01-08

i

I would like to thank the following people for their endless enthusiasm and help that they gave me during the writing of this dissertation. Brian Leask at the Hjaltland Housing Association David McGrath and his team (Stuart and Derek) at ReGen Tech Laura Stewart at Pure Energy Jason, Charles and Stephen of the Stuart Island Energy Initiative Bruce Taylor and of course my Parents ii

CONTENTS

1.0

2.0

Declaration

i

Acknowledgements

ii

Contents Page

iii

List of Illustrations

vi

Introduction

1

1.1

Introduction

2

1.2

Aims

3

1.3

Methodology

3

1.4

Preface

3

An Explanation of Terms

5

2.1

Hydrogen

6

2.2

Hydrogen Production

6

2.3

Fuel Cells – General Information

7

2.4

Electrolysis of Water

9

2.5

Hydrogen Fuel Cells – How Do They Work?

10

2.6

The Hydrogen Economy

11

3.0

Why Do We Need Alternative Energy Sources?

13

4.0

The Benefits of Hydrogen Powered Fuel Cells

17

5.0

4.1

Clean Energy

18

4.2

Energy Efficiency

18

4.3

Off-The-Grid Living

19

4.4

Storage on Site

19

The Issues with Hydrogen Powered Fuel Cells

20

5.1

Cost

21

5.2

Public Perception

21

5.3

Safety Concerns

21

6.0

An Introduction to the Case Studies

23

7.0

Case Study One – Hydrogen Powered Houses, Shetland, Scotland

25

7.1

Location

26 iii

8.0

7.2

Type

26

7.3

On Site

26

7.4

Design Team

26

7.5

Background

27

7.6

Concept

27

7.7

Building Design

28

7.8

System

28

7.9

Fuel Cell

28

7.10

Efficiency

29

7.11

Funding and Costs

29

7.12

Problems Encountered

29

Case Study Two – Stuart Island Energy Initiative, Washington State, USA

31

8.1

Location

32

8.2

Type

32

8.3

On Site

32

8.4

Design Team

32

8.5

Background

33

8.6

Concept

33

8.7

Building Design

33

8.8

System

33

8.9

Fuel Cell

34

8.10 Efficiency

34

8.10.1 Electrolysers

34

8.10.2 Fuel Cell

35

8.10.3 Total Electrical Efficiency

35

8.11 Funding and Costs

35

8.12 Problems Encountered

36

9.0

Analysis and Comparison of Case Studies

39

10.0

Conclusion : A Look to the Future

42

11.0

Appendices

46

11.1 Interview with Brian Leask of the Hjaltland Housing Association iv

47

12.0

13.0

11.2 Interview with Jason Lerner of the Stuart Island Energy Initiative

50

11.3 Interview with David McGrath of ReGen Tech

53

11.4 Interview with Laura Stewart of Pure Energy

56

References

59

12.1 Literature

60

12.2 Electronic Resources

60

Bibliography

63

13.1 Literature

64

13.2 Electronic Resources

64

v

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure

List of Illustrations and Sources

Page

1

Table of Common Fuel Cells http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-cell1.htm

8

2

Basic Set-Up for the Electrolysis of Water http://www.slowmovingwater.com/images/electroysis-hoffmanvoltame.jpg

9

3

The Working of a Fuel Cell http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fc_pics/fuel_cell_still.gif

10

4

The Reactions within a Fuel Cell http://www.princeton.edu/~chm333/2002/spring/FuelCells/fuel_cellschemistry.shtml

11

5

Energy Consumption in the UK 2006 www.berr.gov.uk/files/file39881.pdf

14

6

A wind farm in Cumbria http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/files/images/migrated/MultimediaFiles/Liv e/Image/7009.jpg

15

7

The McKay House in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire http://www.rgu.ac.uk/sss/research/page.cfm?pge=32984

16

8

Plans of Ground and First Floors – not to scale http://www.shetlandnews.co.uk/archives/news_09_2007/Low%20energy%20houses_small.jpg

30

9

Map Showing the project’s relationship to Scotland maps.google.com

30

10

Map Showing its location within Shetland maps.google.com

30

11

Initial Sketch of the Two Houses http://www.shetlandarchitecture.co.uk/richardgibson6.htm

30

12

Location Plan – Not to Scale http://www.shetlandnews.co.uk/archives/news_09_2007/Low%20energy%20houses_small.jpg

30

13

Stuart Island in relation to Washington State and Canada maps.google.com

37

vi

14

The Electrolysers http://www.siei.org/images/electrolyzers%20h%20174.JPG

37

15

The ReliOn Fuel Cell http://www.siei.org/images/open%20fuel%20cell%20h%20200.JPG

37

16

The Storage Tank http://www.siei.org/images/storage%20tank%20h%20174.JPG

37

17

Stuart Island’s Location in reference to the San Juan Islands maps.google.com

37

An Overall schematic of the system http://www.siei.org/images/System%20Schematic.GIF

38

18

vii

1

INTRODUCTION

1

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1

Introduction “Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe.” (Sorensen 2005 p5 ) The technology of hydrogen fuel cells is, at the moment being extensively researched and developed as it could potentially provide clean energy for buildings in the future. Hydrogen fuel cells combined with renewable energy sources, such as solar panels and wind turbines, produce energy from water. Within a fuel cell system an electrolyser takes water and uses electrical energy from these renewable sources to produce hydrogen, this hydrogen is fed into the fuel cell component where it is converted into electrical energy. The only by-products from the system are water and heat. This means this technology has the potential to provide carbon-free, energy efficient, environmentally friendly living. For this technology to be successful a lot of work still needs to be done, firstly people’s attitudes must change. Just as the design world has made a distinct step towards sustainability, the general public must follow. This must happen in our lifestyles before the use of new technologies become useful. There will be no point introducing these technologies until our energy efficiencies are at a level that will accommodate them. Hydrogen fuel cells have many benefits, one of course being the clean energy that they produce. They also allow areas of land, which previously were too remote to be linked back to the electrical and utility grids, to be provided with power. Since the power can be produced and stored on site then there is no need to be linked to the grid. There however are barriers restricting the widespread testing and development into the research of hydrogen fuel cells, the main one being the cost of the component parts. In the world today there are a few people brave enough to invest their time and money into the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology. It is only from these examples or prototypes that our knowledge will develop. If these few examples prove to be a success then this will provide concrete evidence as to how feasible this technology can be.

2

Hydrogen fuel cell technology is still in its infancy compared to the other methods of providing electrical energy, but if successful it can provide the answer we have been looking for. This dissertation does not claim to cover all the issues with hydrogen fuel cells, how could it when new information is being produced everyday? It will however provide an insight into its potential. 1.2

Aim The aim of this study is to discover the potential of hydrogen fuel cells and whether they can be a realistic answer in our search for clean and renewable energy.

1.3

Methodology I conducted my research in two ways, firstly through a review of literature, in books and journals but mostly electronically based, and secondly by interviewing key people. My topic dictated the method of my research, as it is a rapidly developing technology a lot of the information I have based my research on is recently released (within the last two years and in some cases within the last couple of weeks!) So a lot of the information has not made it into books yet. I also made a visit to ReGen Tech’s offices in Bucksburn, Aberdeen. Spending a morning at their offices allowed me to see the perspective of the people who are currently developing the technology. The information for my case studies came mainly from interviews with the designers and the clients. This was essential as, at the time of writing, one of the projects is still waiting to go onto site and the other, although having been completed in 2006 and having a very comprehensive website, required addition information regarding the background of the project. These interviews were crucial as they gave me a greater understanding of the people who are some of the leaders in this technology.

1.4

Preface The main reason for choosing this topic is my interest in sustainable design. During my placement in 4th year at Keppie Design in Edinburgh, I worked closely with Architects and Technicians who were designing sustainably, an example is their highly regarded work on Great Glen House for Scottish National Heritage in Inverness, Scotland. Listening to and learning from these people is what inspired me to look further into the subject of sustainable design. This is when I discovered the relatively new technology of using hydrogen fuel cells to provide clean energy. 3

Secondly, I’ve always wanted to base my dissertation on a topic that is ‘current’. At the moment there is a clear drive from the Government to make people aware of their carbon footprint and teach them about sustainable living. I think it is important to think about these issue s and discover methods of combating climate change.

4

2

AN EXPLANATION OF TERMS

5

2.0 AN EXPLANATION OF TERMS

2.1

Hydrogen All variations of Hydrogen fuel cells require one key element: Hydrogen. Hydrogen is a chemical element represented by the symbol H; it is the simplest and most plentiful gas in the universe, it has an atomic number1 of 1. At room temperature and standard pressure it is a colourless, odourless, non-metallic, tasteless, highly flammable diatomic gas2. Hydrogen constitutes roughly 75% of the universe’s elemental mass (High Energy Astrophysics Scien ce Archive Resea rch Cen ter, 2007). “Hydrogen is never found alone on earth – it is always combined with other elements such as oxygen and carbon.” (Fuel Cells 2000, 2008) Extraction is possible from almost any hydrogen compound and it is safe to

manufacture as long as it is handled properly, just like natural gas and gasoline today require careful handling. “Hydrogen is no more dangerous than other fuels, just different.” (Fuel Cells 2000, 2008) 2.2

Hydrogen Production “Hydrogen is not an energy source, but is an energy vector or carrier3.” (Florida Solar Energy Center, 2007)

Hydrogen therefore must be produced from one of the primary energy sources (e.g. fossil fuels, nuclear, solar, wind, bio-mass, hydro and geothermal.) All the energy we consume, including hydrogen must be produced from one of these primary sources. “On Earth hydrogen is found combined with other elements, for example, in water, hydrogen is combined with oxygen. In fossil fuels, it is combined with carbon as in petroleum, natural gas or coal.” (Florida Solar Energy Center, 2007) 1

Atomic number is often referred to as the proton number (Bio tech Resources 1998); it identifies the number of protons surrounding the nucleus of an atom. It is also equal to the number of electrons in the atom. 2

Each Hydrogen molecule has two atoms of Hydrogen ther efore it is often seen as H 2 (Fuel Cells 2000, 2008). The + equation for hydrogen gas is - 2H + 2e -> H2 3

An energy carrier is a substance or system that moves energy in a usable form from one place to another. Electricity is the most well-known energy carrier.(Energy Information Administra tion 2006)

6

One of the key issues in the production of hydrogen is the challenge to separate the hydrogen molecules from these other elements, in an efficient and economic way. There are several different methods for extracting hydrogen from these compounds. One comm on technology is methane reforming, this method is used for the over 95% of the hydrogen that is used in the United States of America (Florida Solar Energy Center, 2007).This is the process that allows hydrogen to be produced from hydrocarbons. This is a common method of production but it is not suitable for fuels cells due to the scale of the reforming units. Scientists are currently working on small-scale steam reforming units, as way to provide hydrogen to fuel cells (Wikipedia 2008). Although steam reforming is the most common method of producing hydrogen my report will concentrate on another process called electrolysis (see 2.4). Electrolysis is used primarily in hydrogen fuel cells because it can produce hydrogen from water, making it a clean energy source. 2.3

Fuel Cells – General Information The principle of a fuel cell was first thought of in 1838 by Christian Friedrich Schönbein, but it wasn’t until much later in 1959 that Sir Francis Thomas Bacon, the British Engineer, developed the first example of the fuel cells we see today (Fuel Cell Today 2008). “The electrochemical conversion of energy is a conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy or vice versa.” (Sorensen 2005 pg113) A fuel cell is also known as an electrochemical energy conversion device. It works almost like a common battery; the only difference being a fuel cell does not run out of charge or require recharging. It will produce energy in the form of electricity and heat as long as there is a consistent supply of fuel. A fuel cell works by catalysis, separating the component electrons and protons of the reactant fuel, and forcing the electrons to travel through a circuit, hence converting them to electrical power. The catalyst is typically comprised of a platinum group metal or alloy (The expense of this catalyst is one of the factors why fuel cell prices are currently so high.). Another catalytic process takes the electrons back in, combining them with the protons and the oxidant to form waste products, most commonly in the form of simple compounds like water and carbon dioxide. A fuel cell provides direct current (D.C.) voltage. 7

There are a number of different types of fuel cells, each using a different chemical reaction to produce the electrical energy. They are classified by their operating temperature and the type of electrolyte (or reactant fuel) that they use. Figure 1 shows the most common types of fuel cells and a brief explanation.

Polymer exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) The Department of Energy (DOE) is focusing on the PEMFC as the most likely candidate for transportation applications. The PEMFC has a high power density and a relatively low operating temperature (ranging from 60 to 80 degrees Celsius, or 140 to 176 degrees Fahrenheit). The low operating temperature means that it doesn't take very long for the fuel cell to warm up and begin generating electricity. Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) These fuel cells are best suited for large-scale stationary power generators that could provide electricity for factories or towns. This type of fuel cell operates at very high temperatures (between 700 and 1,000 degrees Celsius). This high temperature makes reliability a problem, because parts of the fuel cell can break down after cycling on and off repeatedly. However, solid oxide fuel cells are very stable when in continuous use. In fact, the SOFC has demonstrated the longest operating life of any fuel cell under certain operating conditions. The high temperature also has an advantage: the steam produced by the fuel cell can be channelled into turbines to generate more electricity. This process is called co-generation of heat and power (CHP) and it improves the overall efficiency of the system. Alkaline fuel cell (AFC) This is one of the oldest designs for fuel cells; the United States space program has used them since the 1960s. The AFC is very susceptible to contamination, so it requires pure hydrogen and oxygen. It is also very expensive, so this type of fuel cell is unlikely to be commercialised. Molten-carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) Like the SOFC, these fuel cells are also best suited for large stationary power generators. They operate at 600 degrees Celsius, so they can generate steam that can be used to generate more power. They have a lower operating temperature than solid oxide fuel cells, which means they don't need such exotic materials. This makes the design a little less expensive. Phosphoric-acid fuel cell (PAFC) The phosphoric-acid fuel cell has potential for use in small stationary power-generation systems. It operates at a higher temperature than polymer exchange membrane fuel cells, so it has a longer warm-up time. This makes it unsuitable for use in cars. Figure 1 - Table of common fuel cells.

British Gas has recently signed an agreement with Ceres Power (an England based fuel cell developer) to produce a revolutionary new boiler, powered by fuel cells.

8

A recent press release from Ceres Power told of how “The two companies have signed a heads of agreement to determine how the world-leading fuel cell developed by Ceres can be packaged into a complete combined heat and power (CHP) unit that will provide household electricity as well as heat for hot water and central heating.” (Ceres Power, 2005) 2.4

Electrolysis of Water About four percent of hydrogen gas produced worldwide is created by electrolysis, and normally used onsite. A vital part the hydrogen fuel cell is the electrolyser, which produces a constant flow of hydrogen and oxygen through a reaction called electrolysis. 2H2O (liquid) → 2H2 (gas) + O2 (gas)

Figure 2 - Basic set-up for the electrolysis of water.

The basic electrolyser (figure 2) consists of two electrodes, the anode (positive electrode) and the cathode (negative electrode). In this case platinum electrodes have been used; platinum has been used because it is one of the most un-reactive metals. If another metal, for example iron electrodes in a sodium chloride solution electrolyte, is used then it will react with the oxygen to form an iron oxide, which will react to form iron hydroxide. This will deplete the electrode and therefore the electrolyser. When water is added to the system and a DC current is passed through it a reaction will begin, producing hydrogen and oxygen. At the cathode hydrogen gas will begin to bubble up and at the anode the oxygen will begin to appear. 9

The energy efficiency of water electrolysis varies widely. The efficiency is a measure of what fraction of electrical energy used is actually contained within the hydrogen. Some of the electrical energy is converted to heat, a seemingly useless by-product. In many of the cases where a water electrolyser is incorporated in a fuel cell within a house, this heat energy can be used to assist the heating of the house. This will increase the efficiency of the electrolyser. 2.5

Hydrogen Powered Fuel Cells – How do they work?

Figure 3 – The Working of a Fuel Cell

The purpose of a fuel cell is to produce an electrical current that can be used for an external function, from something as small as illuminating a light bulb, right up to providing the power for a house. To complete the circuit this electrical current runs out of the fuel cell around the external circuit and then returns to the fuel cell. The chemical reactions that happen within the fuel cell are vital to produce this electrical current. As I have shown in section 2.3 there are several different types of fuel cells, each one operates slightly different. But generally they tend all to work based on the same basic principles (figure 4). The hydrogen atoms enter the fuel cell at the anode side (the negative electrode), and get stripped of 10

their electrons by a chemical reaction. These hydrogen atoms are now known to be ‘ionised’ and therefore carry a positive electrical charge. It is the negatively charged electrons that flow around the external circuit to provide the current. The output from a fuel cell tends to be in the from of DC (direct current), in most cases an inverter is required to convert this to AC (alternating current), which is required for most domestic appliances. Chemistry of a Fuel Cell Anode side: 2H2 => 4H + + 4e Cathode side: O2 + 4H + + 4e - => 2H2O Net reaction: 2H2 + O2 => 2H2O Figure 4 - The reactions within a fuel cell

At the opposite side of the fuel cell, the cathode (the positive electrode), the oxygen combines with the negatively charged electrons returning from the electrical circuit and the hydrogen ions that have travelled through the electrolyte from the anode. The role of the electrolyte is key; it allows only the correct ions to pass between the anode and the cathode. When they combine they form water, which drains from the cell. As long as a fuel cell is supplied with hydrogen and oxygen, it will generate electricity. 2.6

Hydrogen Economy A hydrogen economy is a hypothetical economy; it is based on the idea that all the energy that we require for electricity in static applications and the power needed for cars and other forms of transport could be derived from reacting hydrogen with oxygen. The primary purpose of the hydrogen economy is to attempt to eliminate the use of carbon-based fossil fuels and thus reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions entering the Earth’s atmosphere, the secondary goal to provide an alternative energy carrier to the reducing supplies of fossil fuel. The person credited with originating the phrase “hydrogen economy” in the early 1970s, Australian electrochemist John Bockris, wrote in 2002, “Boiled down to its minimalist description, the ‘Hydrogen Economy’ means that hydrogen would be used to transport energy from renewables (at nuclear of 11

solar sources) over large distance; and to store it (for supply to cities) in large amounts. Our cars, our homes, our industries would be powered not by pollution generating fossil fuels – coal, gas, and oil, much of which is imported from geopolitically unstable regions – but hydrogen from pollution-free domestic sources.”

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3

WHY DO WE NEED TO LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES?

13

3.0

WHY DO WE NEED TO LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES?

In today’s world we heavily rely on fossil fuels to provide us with the energy we consume. This reliance on finite resources is quickly becoming a serious issue as they begin to run out. There has been an increased importance put on finding alternative energy sources. For years now people have seen a number of these renewable energy sources appear, for example solar, wind, and hydro. Although all these are credible alternatives none have become convincing energy sources for the future, this can be seen in the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform’s latest report into UK Energy. Shown in figure 5 is a graph of the UK’s electrical energy consumption in 2006, it shows that we still re ly a great deal on fossil fuels. Positively, in recent trends show that renewable energy sources like hydro have started to make an impact rising from 2% in 1990 to over 5% now. Although this can be seen as a step in the right direction it is still not enough progress if we consider the future of the planet.

Figure 5 – Electrical Energy consumption in the UK 2006.

Fossil fuels have played an important role in getting society to the point it is at today. However their use to provide our energy brings with it a series of other problems, in the form of examples like global warming and high CO2 emissions. If we were to shift to use renewable energy sources and begin to integrate new technologies like hydrogen fuel cells we would begin to solve a lot of these issues. 14

Global warming is caused by a phenomenon called the ‘Greenhouse Effect’. In normal circumstances the sun’s rays enter the Earth’s atmosphere and are reflect off of the Earth’s surface and head back through the atmosphere into space. The ‘Greenhouse Effect’ occurs when a build up of gases like methane, carbon monoxide and CFC’s in the Earth’s atmosphere prevent these rays from escaping and reflect them back down towards Earth. This build up of gases has greatly increased since the start of Industrial Revolution; this lead to a boost in the burning of fossil fuels causing much more carbon dioxide emissions. (BBC News 1998) “Our energy choices are inextricably tied to the fate of our global climate. The burning of fossil fuels emits CO2 into the atmosphere, where it builds up, blankets the planet, and traps heat, accelerating global warming. Earth’s atmosphere now contains more CO 2 than at any time in the past 420,000 years – leading to rising global temperatures, more extreme weather events (including floods and droughts), sea level rise, the spread of tropical diseases, and the destruction of crucial habitats such as coral reefs.” (Romm, 2005, pg 4)

Technologies like hydrogen fuel cells will potentially have a dramatic affect on these carbon emissions, possibly even eliminating them completely. Hydrogen fuel cells combined with renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind turbines (figure 6) have the prospective to provide completely clean energy, meaning that they do not require the use of any fossil fuels. “The question centres on whether you buy into the peak oil scenario and when it will take effect. Desire versus needs, no oil crisis in making it remains a desire and slow change, if there is it will be driven by needs.” (David McGrath, Personal Communica tion, 14 January 2008 )

Figure 6 - a wind farm in Cumbria

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The urgency of this need for change will only increase as the fossil fuel supplies diminish. Before we can even think about the change to renewable technologies, we as a nation must be more efficient with the energy we use. There are many ways we can achieve this; increased insulation, low energy devices, using CHP systems, harnessing wind and solar power, exploiting passive energy and even down to something as simple as remembering to turn off the lights when you leave a room.

Figure 7 - The McKay House in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire

The Architect Gokay Deveci designed this as a low-energy home (figure 7) that keeps heating requirements to a minimum and reduces the CO2 emissions by up 60% compared to standard timber kit houses. Another innovative design feature is the use of UK of Velux solar panels that are built-in into the grid of the Velux roof lights (Scott Sutherland School of Architecture, 2008). The work of Gokay Deveci and many other Architects’ practices throughout the world shows the changing attitude of the architectural community. This is a promising start in the battle to combat climate change and a move towards clean energy, but there is much more that can be done.

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4

THE BENEFITS OF HYDROGEN POWERED FUEL CELLS

17

4.0

THE BENEFITS OF HYDROGEN POWERED FUEL CELLS

4.1

Clean Energy Clean energy is a term used for an energy source that does not produce pollutants, for example, solar, wind and wave energy. It can also be known as green energy. Energy produced from hydrogen powered fuel cells when combined with any of these renewable energy sources can be described as clean energy, as the only by-products are water and heat. Fuel cells which use hydrocarbons however can not be included in this statement as one of their byproducts is carbon dioxide, which, when released, is harmful to the Earth’s atmosphere. The creation of electrical energy from hydrogen powered fuel cells is environmentally friendly, as the reaction causes no air pollution. Potentially, hydrogen powered fuel cells can lead to an elimination of green house gases and the pollution caused by the use of fossil fuels.

4.2

Efficiency The efficiency is a measure of what fraction of the electrical energy is actually contained within the hydrogen. In the electrolysis reaction some of the potential electrical energy is converted into heat energy instead; a useless by-product. It is reported that based on the Lower Heating Value of Hydrogen, that the efficiency of electrolysis can range from 50%-70% (How Stuff Wo rks 2007). The average hydrogen fuel cells in operation today have a fuel-to-electricity efficiency of 40% (risoe.dk 2008). This efficiency can be increased if the waste heat energy can be utilised within the overall CHP

system, the efficiency can reach up to 85%. In large-scale building systems where the heat energy is incorporated the energy costs to service the building can reduce by 20% to 40% (Fuel Cells 2000, 2008). The efficiency for each variation of a fuel cell is different, as technology advances these efficiencies will only get better. While these efficiency levels are pretty impressive there are still flaws in the system. There is still a lot more research and development that will need to be carried out before fuel cells can become a viable technology.

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4.3

Off-The-Grid Living Hydrogen fuel cells have the potential to provide all the power needs for a building. This means there would be no reason to have a connection to nationwide electronic grid. Potentially this will open up parts of the world previously considered too remote to be built on. They make ideal small-scale local generators because of their reliability, quietness and lack of emissions. This departure from the grid could in theory provide free energy, although minimal running costs would be involved.

4.4

Storage on Site Hydrogen can be produced anywhere that you have electricity and water. People with a hydrogen fuel cell system installed in their homes will have excess hydrogen, produced in the electrolysis reaction, stored somewhere on site. The advantage of this is that they can have access to this energy source whenever they require it. The stored hydrogen can potentially keep a home running for an extended period of time, depending on the size of the storage tank. In one example, the Stuart Island Energy Initiative, the storage tank has the capacity to store enough hydrogen to power the house for up to 14 days. (Stuart Island Energy Initiative 2007)

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5

THE ISSUES WITH HYDROGEN POWERED FUEL CELLS

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5.0

THE ISSUES WITH HYDROGEN POWERED FUEL CELLS

5.1

Cost At this time the cost of producing a fuel cell is the main reason why the technology is struggling to take off. Most of the fuel cells that are being integrated into buildings are unique as they are being designed specifically for each build. This means that the cost is not only based on the individual components, but on the research and development that goes into creating each one. Generally the most expensive components are the electrodes within the electrolyse r and the catalyst within the fuel cell. Research is ongoing to reduce the cost and thus increase demand. As fuel cell technology develops these costs will decrease, as David McGrath of ReGen Tech pointed out, fuel cells are the same as every other new technology. “Laptops once cost on average £5000 and now a top of the range costs less than £500 with capability and functionality that makes early devices look foolish.”

5.2

Public Perception The public’s attitude to new technologies, especially in the UK, has be always been a questioning one. Fuel cell technology has been around for decades, but the number of people who would consider investing in one has not increased much since their inception. If the people were to realise the current state of the planet’s fossil fuel resources then I’m sure they would have more time for new technologies such as hydrogen powered fuel cells.

5.3

Safety The history of the safety of hydrogen is misleading. The Hindenburg Disaster is quite often blamed on the fact that in its gaseous form hydrogen is highly reactive. However a 1990’s investigati on proved that the chemically coated outer fabric was to blame (United Kingdom Hydrogen Associa tion 2007). In the electrolysis reaction, hydrogen is produced at a rate that is greater than the demand of the fuel cell. Therefore this excess hydrogen must be kept nearby. As long as it is properly stored then

21

the potential safety concerns can be dispelled. In the UK there are a number of governing bodies which regulate fuel cell design. Britain's Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are responsible for the regulation of almost all the risks to health and safety arising from work activity in Britain. The HSE has taken a lead to bring UK industry stakeholders together to draft a Guideline for stationary appliances. Specifically, An Installation Guide for Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Associated Equipment (Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Safety 2005). In addition, as the UK is a member of the EU, CE marking will be required for many hydrogen energy systems. CE Marking is a mandatory mark for many of the products sold on the EFTA plus European Union (EU) market (Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Safety 2005).

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6

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CASE STUDIES

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6.0

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CASE STUDIES

In the following two chapters I will examine two case studies, a two house development designed by Richard Gibson Architects in Shetland and an experimental project by three developers in Washington State. Around the world at the moment there are limited precedents for buildings that incorporate fuel cell technology in to their designs. This is mainly due to the fact that the technology is in its infancy and the costs of the systems are currently out of most people’s price ranges, even if in the long run they will end up paying for themselves. Most of the designs are experimental and will act as prototypes for future projects. I have chosen the two case studies based on their differences. The project in Shetland is still at the construction stage, so some of the information is still unavail able due to commercial confidentiality. However, this study will enable me to see how the hydrogen fuel cell technology can be utilised in this country. The project in Shetland is an extreme example of the natural resources available in Scotland, but if the technology can be successful in this environment then it can be used as a model for what can happen in the future. This study will also allow me find out information regarding the funding available in Scotland for fuel cell technologies. The experimental project set up on Stuart Island will provide an example of what people can do with the right backing and the will to change. I would suggest that, to the designers, this project was more of a scientific project than an attempt to make a significant architectural statement; the main aim was to show that hydrogen fuel cells have potential. This project will allow me to see exactly how a fuel cell can be integrated into an existing building, and exactly what a hydrogen fuel cell system consists of.

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7

CASE STUDY ONE – HYDROGEN POWERED HOUSE, SHETLAND

25

7.0

CASE STUDY ONE – HYDROGEN POWERED HOUSE, SHETLAND

7.1

Location Eshaness, Shetland. Shetland is a remote island situated on the north coast of Scotland. Eshaness itself is a very rural area with very dramatic scenery and has the ‘luxury’ of having a plentiful supply of wind. (Figures 9 & 10)

7.2

Type Two new-build houses, designed to be rented out to people with housing needs. (Figure 11)

7.3

On site Spring 2008 - scheduled to be completed by November 2008

7.4

Design Team Architect:

Richard Gibson Architects (RGA)

An established architectural practice, they work to provide high standard of buildings whether that be in the form of a new build or the conservation of an existing building. They are an active member of Acanthus, a nationwide network of independent architectural practices who share similar ideals in conservation, sustainable design and new design technologies. (Acanthus 2008) Client:

Hjaltland Housing Association (HHA)

A completely non-profit making organisation that’s primary concern is to provide and manage housing for people in housing need. This will be the first project that they have developed which incorporates a hydrogen fuel cell. (Hjaltland Housing Association 2008) Fuel Cell Designer: Pure Energy Based in Shetland, Scotland, Their team of skilled professionals spent their time researching hydrogen technologies, health and safety issues and renewable energy systems. While the main 26

purpose of their centre is providing hydrogen fuel cell technology, they also run a series of educational training programmes. (Pure Energy Cen tre 2008) 7.5

Background “The fight against climate change has received a boost from a Shetland partnership who have pledged to build the Isles' first houses with no carbon footprint by the end of next year.” (Hans J Marter 2007)

RGA are currently developing two rural houses together with Pure Energy based in Unst. The houses will provide a very low energy footprint for the client Hjaltland Housing Associ ation. A wind turbine will generate electricity that will power an electrolyser that will produce hydrogen, this will power fuel cells to provide energy for heating and hot water when needed. This experimental project will be the first domestic application of fuel cell technology in Europe. Although it is not the first project in Scotland to use hydrogen, this project will use a completely new technology and the power used to create the hydrogen will come from completely renewable sources. “Other hydrogen projects I’ve seen or been aware of, use what I class as black hydrogen, that’s hydrogen that is made using mains gas.” (Brian Leask, Personal Co mmunica tion, 22 November 2007) It is intended that the houses will be monitors and developed as a model for unpl ugged housing projects in the future. The design of the fuel cell is a collaboration between three companies, HHA, Pure Energy and Fuel Cell Scotland. Pure are producing the hydrogen and developing the electrolysis, they integrate these parts into the fuel cell developed by Fuel Cell Scotland. HHA are leading the project and working with RGA to develop the houses for the systems to go in. 7.6

Concept The client HHA came into this project specifically looking for different ideas. Brian Leask of the HHA admitted that “the hydrogen fuel cell idea came along a wee bit later. The original idea when we were looking at the project was some sort of battery idea, to supplement wind. Obviously wind turbines can be expensive, and we looked at the system, what’s the two most expensive things or take up the most electricity in the house? Your heating and your hot water. Now if you can do away with

27

the need for a turbine for heating and hot water it would make the house more efficient. We’re using the fuel cell to provide the heating and hot water.” 7.7

Building Design The people at Richard Gibson Architects have designed the buildings to maximise passive solar gain (figures 8 & 12).They do this through clever building design and the use of solar water collectors (Laura Stewart, Personal Communication, 14 January 2008). Hjaltland have also specified that they require solar

hot water systems to be incorporated into the houses. 7.8

System The fuel cell in this system is used as a back-up device, when the other energy sources are unavailable (wind turbine). Initially the hydrogen used to run the fuel cell will be delivered onto site. Laura Stewart of Pure Energy told me that the long term goal will be to generate the hydrogen on site from “local renewable resources”. The fuel cell will be used for both electricity and hot water. The fuel cell will produce about 1kW of electricity and 1.5kW of hot water. The 1.5kW of hot water will be put through a loop in a hot water tank. This hot water tank will provide the heating and hot water for the house. The 1kW of electricity will be used to run an exhaust air heat pump, this will run at 500W – 600W and provide the rest of the heating in the house (Brian Leask, Personal Communication, 22 November 2007).

Pure Energy are supplying the project with two fuel cell CHP units (1 per house) which will connect into the overall energy systems of each house. This will be one electrical connection and one thermal connection from each fuel cell into each house energy system (Laura Stewa rt, Personal Communication, 14 January 2008).

7.9

Fuel Cell The fuel cell proposed for this project is still in development by Pure Energy, the details of which are currently commercially confidential. Pure Energy are using this project as an experiment for the fuel cell they are developing. Laura Stewart told me that “It was specifically built and developed for this project; however, this basic design is planned for use in other projects, should this one prove a success.“ 28

7.10

Efficiency

As the system is still in production the exact details for its efficiency are unfortunately unavailable. However, Laura Stewart told me that “wherever possible, waste heat is utilised to warm the buildings or supplement the hot water supply. Waste heat from components like power converters etc are lost, however the waste heat from the fuel cell is used to heat the buildings and hot water supply. Although the fuel cell is configured as a CHP unit (with internal heat exchanger etc), there is still a very small amount of waste heat that leaves via exhaust. The amount of heat that is lost (thermal efficiency) is un-confirmed at the moment. This will be confirmed during the rigorous testing phase in the project (before the units are installed in the houses).” 7.11

Funding and Costs

This scheme has received funding from a number of different sources; the Scottish Executive has provided money to Pure Energy for the design and development of the fuel cell. The Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company have provided the money to put up the turbine and install the deep discharge battery system. The total cost of the project is, at this time, commercially confidential. The only running costs involved will be for the maintenance of the system. The electricity and hot water should effectively be free. 7.12

Problems Encountered

After speaking to the client he revealed that to only problems that this project has encountered so far are a couple of objections to the placement of the wind turbine. There have so far been no issues with the use of a hydrogen fuel cell. There have been a few short time delays as Pure Energy had to wait for funding to arrive from the Scottish Executive before they could start developing the fuel cell, and the wind turbine took longer than expected to get planning permission.

29

Figure 10 - Map showing its location within Scotland

Figure 9 - Map showing the project’s relationship to Scotland

Figure 11 - Initial Sketch of the Two Houses

Figure 12 - Location Plan - not to scale

Figure 8 - Plans of Ground and First Floors - not to scale

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8

CASE STUDY TWO – STUART ISLAND, WASHINGTON STATE

31

8.0

CASE STUDY TWO – STUART ISLAND, WASHINGTON STATE

8.1

Location Stuart Island is part of the San Juan Islands of Washington State in the west coast of the United States of America (figures 13 & 17). There is no ferry service to the island but there are two airstrips. It has a population of around 800 people. The site is located off the grid i.e. it does no have a supply of natural gas, a link to electrical power grid or similar utility services.

8.2

Project Type The system was integrated into an existing home. The house acts as a holiday home for team leader Stephen Friend.

8.3

On Site Started in 2004 and completed in 2006

8.4

Design Team Stephen Friend Stephen is the founder of a Seattle based biotech company specialising in the technology behind the testing for anti-cancer drugs. He was the team leader for this project. Jason Lerner Jason runs Island Power Solutions LLC. They specialise in designing alternative energy systems in the San Juan Islands. He was in charge of the electrics. Charles Delahunt Charles was the hydrogen specialist; he lives on Waldron, another of the San Juan Islands and has vast experience in all aspects of the construction process.

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8.5

Background “Stephen is an incredible thinker and one not to let anything get in his way. He felt Hydrogen has a potential in residential use, and the only way to find out what that use or uses are, is to do it and find out.” (Jason Lerner, Personal Communication, 22 December 2007) This project on Stuart Island was created by three friends who have a vested interest in new renewable energy systems and the hydrogen economy. The idea for the project came after they bought and built the Thames and Kronos Fuel Cell Car and Experiment Kit. The design of this car works like a miniature version of their house, using a solar panel array to provide the power to create hydrogen, to run a mini PEM fuel cell.

8.6

Concept The team at the Stuart Island Energy Initiative believed it is an essential part of their research into new technologies to test them out in practice. They see it as a critical part of their work, “there is a huge difference between theory and practice” (Stuart Island Energy Initiative, 2007).

8.7

Building Design As the fuel cell system was incorporated into the building, it did not affect the building’s design in any way.

8.8

System (Figure 18) The project began with the installation of a series of photovoltaic panels in the house’s front garden. This was done by Jason Lerner. These cells produce 1.6kW of electrical energy during the sunniest hours of the day. This solar electricity is used to run the two electrolysers. They do not utilise the heat produced within this electrolysis reaction. These electrolysers then produce hydrogen at a rate of 0.3 gallons a minute, the hydrogen is then stored in a steel tank (figure 16). This hydrogen is then used to run the 48-volt fuel cell. The electricity produced from this particular fuel cell is in the form of DC, so therefore an inverter must be used to convert this to AC for t he home’s 110V system. The whole system is controlled by a series of switches and relays. Once the system has been without sun for 20 minutes, the electrolysers shutdown and the hydrogen stored in the tank is fed into the 33

fuel cell to provide the house’s power. As this home is used as a holiday home a satellite link has been set up to transmit reports on voltage and tank capacity back to Stephen’s office, and a hydrogen sniffer checks for leaks. 8.9

Fuel Cell The choice for the fuel cell was a difficult one, when they started out there were very few suitable appliances out there. The first company they approached, Ballard, were unwilling to sell to them. One of the big names in the fuel cell world presently are Plug Power, but I was told by Jason that, back in 2004, their product was not viable. In the end they decided to go for the ReliOn I-1000 (figure 15), there were a few reasons they made this choice. Firstly, it has PEM cartridges. This is a part of

the fuel cell which tends to diminish with time, with the ReliOn a replacement cartridge could be sent by “FedEx and swapped with the fuel cell still running!” The ReliOn fuel cell also has a DC output this was a plus for the design team as they had already procured a very good inverter, other fuel cells have different electrical outputs. 8.10

Efficiency

According to the website set up by co-designer Charles Delahunt, they have based the efficiency of their system on the combined calculated efficiency of the two “players”, the electrolysers and the fuel cell. Efficiency is the ratio between power in and power out. 8.10.1

Electrolyser

The two Hogan-GC electrolysers (figure 14) are about 18% efficient: They consume a total of about 1.2 kW, and produce (we think- we do not have a precise measurement) 1.2 litres/min of H2. Thus in one hour they consume 1.2 kWh, and produce 72 litres of H 2 . 72 x 3.5 Wh/L = 0.25 kW of power. However, the electrolysers have a one hour warm-up period in which they use full power but produce no H2, so over an 8 hour day their average hourly output is 12% lower. Thus we get a power in: power out ratio of (1200: 250x0.88) = (1200:220) ≈ 18% efficiency. (Stuart Island Energy Initiative 2007)

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8.10.2

Fuel Cell

The reaction to turn the hydrogen produced by electrolysis happens in the ReliOn fuel cell. It produces heat and electricity in a ratio of roughly 50:40 (with 10% internal parasitic losses), so its electrical efficiency (as opposed to total efficiency including heat) is about 40%. 8.10.3

Total Electrical Efficiency

(power out: power in) = 18% x 40% 8.12

=

0.18 x 0.4 ≈ 0.072 or 7%

Funding and Costs

The Stuart Island Energy Initiative was set up as a non-profit making organisation. The project was completely funded by team leader Stephen Friend. The total cost of the project is approximately 60000$. The cost of the individual components can be seen in the table below. Component

Cost ($)

Solar Array

13400

Electrolysers

15800

Fuel Cell

22000

Storage Tank

1480

Additional Equipment

2320

(piping, batteries,etc.) Total

60000

source SIEI.org

As this is an ongoing experiment so there are continuing costs. “Now that the system is up and running costs have definitely slowed. There is still check in’s, as there would be in any other system. And we are always finding better relays, or monitoring systems that work better. It is a continuing project, its purpose to try new ideas and products, figure out what works and what is hype, and then get the word out to help people do their own projects.” (Jason Lerner, Personal Communication, 22 December 2007)

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8.13

Problems

The first problem with this project arose when they couldn’t find any company willing to sell them a fuel cell. The first system they were going to invest in was manufactured by Ballard Power, who after a site visit decided they did not wish to sell to the SIEI. “On this basis we carried out our experiment. Indeed, we found that installing a hydrogen system is by no means a straight shot. But the bulk of the challenge stemmed from the lack of field experience with these technologies; the kinks are not yet worked out. We were particularly interested in finding out the weak links in the system. Our goal is to pass on what we have learned, in order to smooth the way for other installers, and ultimately to help these great technologies attain off-the-shelf efficiency. (We also wanted to have fun, and for that hydrogen is a great way to go.)” (Jason Lerner, Personal Communication, 22 December 2007)

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Figure 17 – Stuart Island’s location in reference to the San Juan Islands

Figure 13 – Stuart Island in relation to Washington State and Canada.

Figure 15 – The ReliOn fuel cell

Figure 14 – The Electrolysers

Figure 16 – The Storage Tank

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Figure 18 – An overall schematic of the system

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9

ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF CASE STUDIES

39

9.0

ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF CASE STUDIES

Although the case studies are situated in completely different locations, different continents even, comparisons can be drawn into the choice of these sites. The site in Shetland was chosen because of its high exposure to wind, and the site on Stuart Island is open to lots of sun throughout the year. These facts were obviously the main reason why the separate renewable energy sources were chosen to power the electrolyser in each case. Both projects were based in locations which did not previously have access to the national electricity grid. The choice of these sites reflects the best locations for exploiting hydrogen fuel cell technology, if there is a large source of renewable energy to power the electrolysers then the fuel cell will be more efficient. “Well one of the main reasons we went down the route was because we are in Shetland and a lot of the areas are quite rural, one of the main ideas when I looked at it, was if this works it will open up a whole load more land that doesn’t have any utility connection. One of the main constraints is that we don’t have utility connections for housing, and if this sort of works, it wouldn’t just work in Shetland it would work across the world, areas that don’t have connections to electricity, hot water and heating, whatever that might be. This would enable that to work, and open up land.” (Brian Leask, Personal Communication, 22 November 2007)

The concepts behind each project are also similar, both sets of design teams set out to produce experimental prototypes of a technology that they think will potentially have widespread use in the near future. Obviously the project on Stuart Island is the most obvious example of this: their inspirational attempt, funded with their own money, was set-up with only one thought in mind: to show what is possible. Hopefully, with both these case studies, when people look at the long term results in terms of things like cost and efficiency they will be able to see the potential in hydrogen fuel cell technology. The projects have already drawn interest from the architectural world. Brian Leask of HHA the client for the Shetland project told me of the interest that they’d already received, even before the first foundation was laid. “We’ve been in quite a few journals and things around the world. Pure Energy centre have actually done a few presentations in America, China and the Middle East. Presenting the idea, cause they see it as a

40

seller across the world. If it’ll work up here it’ll work everywhere.” (Brian Leask, Personal Communication, 22 November 2007)

Unfortunately, as the project in Shetland is still in construction and the fuel cell is still being developed, it is impossible to compare the two fuel cell systems. The system on Stuart Island is however very interesting even though it seems it was thrown together in a way that could be called ‘backyard’ architecture. The house is currently used as a holiday home for Team Leader Stephen Friend, so the system was only designed to be used at certain times of the year. For the power required at these times the system’s output actually reflects a very good efficiency. It may only be 7% but, as they have storage capacity for a maximum of 14 days they can store the hydrogen and only use it when it is required. They are already looking into ways to increase the efficiency of their systems and have even considered increasing the size of the storage tanks.

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10

CONCLUSION – A LOOK TO THE FUTURE

42

10.0

CONCLUSION – A LOOK TO THE FUTURE

“Its time to start phasing it in now – building infrastructure, training technicians, educating the public, regulators and politicians – is NOW. Everything else is pretty much transitional: useful and necessary, but ultimately it will have to give way to, or be complimented by, hydrogen.” (Peter Hoffman 2002) It is clear that there is potential in hydrogen fuel cells, any technology that can offer clean and potentially free energy is bound to attract interest. There is an obvious problem with the state of the world dependence on fossil fuels to cope with our energy needs, these energy sources are depleting at a rapid rate. A solution must be found and hydrogen powered fuel cell are an example of renewable technologies that could solve this problem. Hydrogen fuel cells are not going to solve the world’s problems of high carbon emissions or global warming. However their introduction alongside with other renewable technologies, on any scale, has started to provide the solution. “Hydrogen will contribute significant reductions by 2050 only if we dramatically change the energy path we are now on.” (Romm 2005 pg 188) Currently the use of hydrogen fuel cells in building design is not viable and the key factor for this is cost. This can be seen in my case studies, with one being heavily backed by the government and the other, an experiment funded by one of the designers, it shows that presently the technology is too expensive to be successful on a commercial scale. “If major advances in cost reduction and performance are projected for hydrogen technologies, similar advances must be projected for hybrid vehicles, renewable bio-fuels, and the like. If hydrogen is being presented as a solution to problems such as global warming and dependence on imported oil, then the projected costs must be compared with those of the likely competition.” (Romm 2005, pg 89) It is only through extended and intensive research that this cost will come down. Like every other new technology the price is always high when it is still in its developmental stage. Costs will come down though and as this happens more people will be willing to invest in the fuel cells, as it is clear that they have clear benefits. 43

David McGrath of ReGen Tech provided his vision of what we could see in the future. He suggested that it is possible that hydrogen fuel cells will become just another white-good product that you would expect in your home, “when you’re out shopping in Comet, you’d pick out your dishwasher, your washing machine and then your fuel cell.” This may seem a long way off at the moment, and it probably is, but it is possible. It will only be when the technology becomes mass produced that the costs will come down. The general public also have a part to play in the development of hydrogen fuel cell.

The

effectiveness of this technology will not be felt until we are able to increase our energy efficiency. The hydrogen fuel cells have the potential to provide power for a complete household, but if the were to deal with current energy consumption the size of the systems, especially the storage tanks would be ridiculous. If we are able to reduce amount of power currently wasted, whether it be by switching off the lights when you leave the room or turning your television off rather than on to standby, then this will only help the progression of sustainable technologies like fuel cells. There is no point of providing an answer to a small part of the problem when the larger more serious problems are not being addressed. “There is a lot of Hype about the Hydrogen Economy, and that a few guys with a small boat can pull off creating their own fuel on an island has inspired some people a little closer to town and with larger budgets to take a close look at what can be done now, not in the future.” (Jason Lerner, Personal Communication, 22 December 2007)

Throughout the world, current prototypes are providing excellent examples of what hydrogen fuel cells can achieve. These ‘experiments’ will not only inspire other Architects and Engineers but force Governments and Politicians to make positive steps to make the introduction of hydrogen fuel cells easier by providing increased funding and incentives. I am not trying to suggest that hydrogen fuel cells are the only answer in the quest to find clean energy for our buildings, but their potential is there. It is possible that with continued research and the right backing hydrogen fuel cells could become a fixture of new builds in the future. “Historians may write admiringly of the foresight of those who helped enable a hydrogen economy. But if we fail to act during this decade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – especially if we do so because we have bought into the hype about hydrogen’s near-term prospects – historians will 44

condemn us because we did not act when we had the facts to guide us, and they will most likely be living in a world with a much hotter and harsher climate than ours, one that has undergone an irreversible change for the worse.” (Romm 2005 pg 196) Without doubt hydrogen fuel cells have the potential to provide clean energy in the future of sustainable building. They may also provide some of the answers to the world’s problems regarding reliance on finite energy sources, high carbon emissions and global warming. But it is obviously that, even if the potential of hydrogen fuel cells is not realised, that something must be done and soon.

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11

APPENDICES

46

11.1

Appendix 1 - Interview with Brian Leask of the Hjaltland Housing Association (HHA)

This interview was conducted via telephone on the 22nd of November 2007 The first one is, this a project between yourselves and Pure Energy Centre in Eshaness. I was just wondering how much they’ve been helping you out with the technology of the fuel cell there. Well, the project is a partnership between three companies, HHA, Pure Energy and Fuel Cell Scotland. F uel Cell Scotland is actually producing the fuel cell. What Pu re a re actually doing are produ cing the hydrogen and developing the electrolysis. That then in tegrates in to the fu el cell being developed by fuel cell Scotland. W e’re basically leading the project and developing the houses for the systems to go in.

And is this the first type Hydrogen Powered house you’ve done? Yeah, absolutely, yeah.

Has there been a lot of interest from the Architectural Community about this? Well, yeah, we had an official launch a wee while ago. We had, I can’t remember is name, Sir Robin Saxby, up for the official presentation and launch of it. We’ve been in quite a few journals and things around the world . Pure Energy centre have actually done a few presen tations in America, China and the Middle East. Presen ting the idea , cause they see it as a seller across the world. If it’ll work up here it’ll work everywhere.

This is one of the first projects in Scotland isn’t it? There are other hydrogen fuel projects in Scotland around. The differen ce between them and this one is the type of technology that’s being used. It is new and it is also fully renewable hydrogen. O ther hyd rogen projects I’ve seen or been aware of, use what I class as bla ck hydrogen, that’s hydrogen that is made using mains gas. Whereas this one is actually using a wind turbine to convert water.

As this is one of the first projects, have you been able to get any funding? We’ve got funding fro m the Scottish Executive, to develop the fuel cell th emselves. We’re looking to get funding from the Highlands and Islands co mmunity Energy Company, to put in the tu rbine and the d eep discharge battery system.

There’s a few wind turbines used across the Shetland Islands? Most of the co mmunity halls have gone fo r the wind to hea t s cheme. Bu t there a re also individuals who’ve put they’re own turbines in. There’s a sort of small scale wind tu rbine fa rm up here as well.

Is there a reason you’ve moved away from the wind to heat scheme and onto the hydrogen powered scheme? We were specifically looking at different ideas; the hydrogen sort of fu el cell idea ca me along a wee bit la ter. The original idea when we were looking at the project was so me so rt of battery idea, to supplemen t wind. Obviously

47

wind turbines can be expensive, and we looked at the system, what’s the two most expensive things or take up th e most electricity in the house? are your heating and your hot water. Now if you can do away with the need for a turbine fo r heating and hot water it would make the house more efficient. We’re using th e fuel cell to provide th e heating and hot water.

Is it to do with the location of the site? Is it off the grid? Yeah, we’ve been looking to build houses in th e area . It is a very ru ral area. Very dra matic scenery, it’s also got very good wind. A great location for a turbine. That’s one of the pa rticular reasons. Yeah, and because it is so ru ral was one of the main reasons we chose that site. Plus th e co mmunity themselves are very b ehind the scheme. Obviously getting the co mmunity on board with so me of th ese p rojects is one of the ha rdest things you can do.

Yeah, well that was going to be my next question, have you had any problems with the residents? Well, there’s been one o r two that’s not happy with the wind turbin e going up as usual. The co mmunity as a whole are very much behind it.

What about with the planning office, have you had any problems with them? We’ve got planning permission for it already; we have full planning permission fo r the turbine that came in last week. And we’re hoping to get the full application in for the houses in b efore Ch ristmas.

Has the fact that you are integrating a hydrogen fuel cell into the design increasing the length of the design process? Yeah, if we’d gone fo r a standard build we would have probably been o n site by now. We had a fairly leng thy process actually making the o riginal application. Waiting on money fro m the Scottish govern men t. Now tha t’s in place, we now have to develop the fuel cell. That takes a bit of time. We also had to put a wind tu rbine it, which also takes a bit of time to go through the planning process. So it has slowed it down a bit, bu t we do see the benefits in the long run. Outweighing the short term lo ss.

The cost of the fuel cell, has that had any economic impact on the cost of the project? No, as it has been affectively fully funded by the g rand we’ve received fro m th e govern ment.

Has it had any effect on the design of the building? No

You’re planning on using it for heating and hot water, is there anything else you’d think of using it for? Not within this project at the moment, I think specifically where it could be used. I mean the system doesn’t give off a huge amount of hot water and electricity. It’s actually a very small unit; I can’t remember the exact size of it. The actual process itself is only about 65mm. It’s a very small unit, tha t’ll fit inside the house. They usually take up quite a bit of room, so that’s one of the new things that came ou t of this.

Is this a completely new fuel cell that you’ve developed?

48

Yeah, Now what we’re looking at in terms of, it produces about 1kw of electricity and 1.5kw of hot wa ter, wha t we’re going to do is put the 1.5kw through a loop in a hot water tank, and that’ll p rovided the heating and hot water, and we will also be using the 1kw of electricity and running that through an exhaust air hea t pump. Which runs at about 500-600W and that’ll provide all the hea ting for the house.

When this project has been completed, will there be any running costs? The only sorts of running costs we’ll have are the running costs, and all th e main tenance costs, but effectively it should be free electricity and hot water.

And your company HHA, Do they see it as important to experimenting and investigating? Well one of the main reasons we went down the route was because we a re in Shetland and a lot of the areas are quite rural, one of the main ideas when I looked at it, was if this works it will op en up a whole load more land that doesn’t have any utility connection. One of the main constraints is that we don ’t have u tility connections for housing, and if this sort of works, it wouldn’t just wo rk in Shetland it would work across the wo rld, a reas that don’t have connections to electricity, hot water and heating, whatever tha t might b e. This would enable that to work, and open up land.

Yeah, cause my dissertations on the potential of hydrogen fuel cells in houses in the future; I was just wondering whether you see this as a legitimate method of providing clean energy in the future? The cost is going to have to come down, at the momen t the cost is just astronomical. Un til the cost comes down it’s not going to be used much. It’s the same as everything else, the mores it’s used the mo re the cost will co me down . Bit it’s going to take a bit of encouragement from the govern men t I would say, to enable that, a t the moment, you know, gas is the predo minant system, we’ve moved away from that, you know, when the gas starts running out, then it makes sense to start looking at alterna tive ideas. I certainly think this is goin g to be, micro-gen eration on site, the big thing the Sco ttish government is looking at, at th e mo ment. And this is I think, so rt of one method, you could say these houses are stand alone. They’re not requiring anything, so in terms of ca rbon footprint there’s none!

Do you anticipate any problems when it comes to selling these houses, with the perception the public might have about new technologies such as fuel cells? We don’t sell them, we are a charitable organisa tion, and we ju st rent them out.

When does the project go onto site, is there a date yet? We’re hoping to be on site by about May/June

Ok, that’s kind of all my questions, do you have any additional information that you could possibly send me? Have you spoken to Pure yet? A lo t of the stuff, if i t is sp ecifically about hydrogen and fuel cells, its maybe wo rth talking to them. What I would say is that a lot of th e stuff that they do is professionally confiden tial informa tion. They don’t want their competito rs knowing their trad e secrets! You could probably speak to them up there; th e guy you should speak to is Ross Gazie.

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11.2

Appendix 2 - Interview with Jason Lerner of the Stuart Island Energy Initiative (SIEI)

This interview was conducted via email on the 22nd of December 2007. I’ve heard this was the first handmade fuel cell powered house in America, do you know if this is true? There is a fello w in New Jersey, Mike Strizki ($300,000) and Bryan Beaulieu in Arizona ($3 Million). I have tried contacting Mike to share sto ries but never heard back from him. The Ch ristian Science Monito r did an article about Mike being the first and contacted us to see wh en we go t ours up and running. Technically we were first, b ut he has a lot invested in it, and the systems are very differen t, we are off grid , he is g rid connected .

What sort of funding have you got? SIEI was formed as a non profit and is funded by Stephen Friend.

How does your system work? Photovoltaic panels charge the battery bank, when th e battery bank is full; the Hydrogen makers tu rn on an d produce Hydrogen, when the Battery voltage falls at the end of th e day the Hyd rogen makers turn themselves off. The Hydrogen is sto red for use when there is no sun and the batteries need to be cha rged. At that time the Hydrogen fuel cell uses the sto red gas and charges the batteries.

What were the important factors that made you move away from the norm on Stuart Island (e.g. solar panel and a back-up)? The wo rst part of an off grid system is using a generato r. Fo r our loca tion the PV systems I design have way too much power in the summer and just barely enough (or not quite) in the winter. In th e late spring/ su mmer/early fall most battery banks have been charged full by ea rly in the afternoon, then all that available power is “wasted ”. We have taken that “wasted” available power and crea ted th e fuel for ou r backup generato r. The No rm on Stuart Island is a PV system with Generato r backup; we did a way with the Propane powered Genera tor and hauling its fuel.

What inspired you to be the first ones to make this leap? Stephen is an incredible thinker and one not to let anything get in his way. He felt Hyd rogen has a potential in residential use, and the only way to find out what that use o r uses a re, is to do it and find out.

I’ve read that you have a storage tank that has the capacity for 14 days worth of power, have you found this to be enough? I believe there’s an option to increase this capacity? I think 14 days is stretching it a bit, and no I think th ere is not enough capacity, and yes I think it need s to be increased. Right now Hydrogen sto rage is the big obstacle. We can keep adding bulky tanks, but they a re big and ugly and take up much roo m.

Have you encountered any problems over the winter months when there hasn’t been sufficient solar energy? Does this situation ever happen? 50

Usually yes, we can have stretches of three weeks with no sun. One option is using a wind gen erato r, it wo rks, bu t we decided to fo cus on untested products instead of ones known to work, and try to keep it simple (ha!). Th e Friends use the house on Stuart Island as a second home, and that is what the system is designed for. If th ey were there in the winter fo r mo re than two weeks at a time, the PV’s battery bank and Hydrogen sto rage would all be increased.

Are there any running costs involved? Now that the system is up and running costs have definitely slo wed. There is still check in’s, as there would be in any other system. And we are always finding better relays, or monitoring systems that wo rk better. It is a continuing project, its purpose to try new ideas and products, figure out what works and what is hype, and th en get the wo rd out to help people do their own projects.

Do you take advantage of the heat energy produced in the electrolysis reaction? Not at this time,

Did you encounter any problems along the way, either during the initial stages (e.g. conceptual, planning) or during the construction process? Ha! A few. First off Charles and Stephen couldn’t find anyone willing to sell them a Fuel Cell. It wasn ’t u ntil they presented at the Fuel Cell conference in Colo rado that anyone would even listen to them. Then Stephen (th rough the fuel cell store.com) bought a fuel cell from Balla rd power. It took them about eight months, had us up for a visit, and then decided they would not sell it to us, even after it had been paid for. That is when we talked with Reli-on. Then how do we hook all of this up? Ballard have contacted an engineering group in BC called Powertech , they did the initial design for the piping etc. Which in the end we changed because it didn’t address certain safety issues like shut off valves and bleeds. Then we were told we needed a licensed pipe fitter to hook it all up, which there are none in WA. State, so we did that ou rselves. The Sys tem has b een inspected by the local building department and passes all codes fo r Hydrogen piping, and also passed with ou r local Electrical inspecto r. There are many many many sto ries on “problems” but you get the drift.

Did you live on Stuart Island beforehand or did you choose it for its ideal position for such a project? I live on Waldron Island an Island close to Stuart, and Charles was living on Stuart. After the con ceptual stages, Charles and his family ended up moving to Waldron. The reason it happ ened on Stuart is because that is where Stephen wanted it to happen, on an island with no sto res o r services of any kind, no ferry, grid power, o r (wh en we started) county do ck. In the beginning the id es was that Charles lived right down the road to keep it all going.

Why have you only been able to replace part of the battery bank with hydrogen storage? Batteries we know wo rk and are very predictable. Without batteries the Fuel cell would need to operate all the time to keep very small loads running, “wasting” allo t of fuel. The house is po wered by the inverter (120 volts AC) which gets its power fro m the batteries. The fuel cell is a secondary charging source (PV’s b eing #1) to the batteries. Charles said it well on the website calling the ba tteries the slush fund for power. W e use th e fuel to charge the batteries.

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What do you think is the potential for hydrogen fuel cells in the future? I am not sure what will happen in the future, bu t what we have done a t SIEI has poten tial right no w for many off grid systems to use their “wasted” power in th e high kWh producing months. In grid tied PV systems the g rid is their “slush fund”

Do you believe your “experiment” has had any affect on the views of the people you have spoken to about hydrogen energy? I do. There is allo t of Hype about the Hydrogen Economy, and that a few guys with a small boat can pull off creating their own fu el on an island has inspired some people a little closer to town and with larger budgets to take a close look at what can be done no w, not in th e futu re. And it is a good conversa tion starter.

How efficient is your system, is there anything you’ve done to increase the efficiency of the house since the construction process has been completed? The first step in any house using PV’s should be an energy audit, and in off grid systems this is even more important. Fortunately the house had been running for many yea rs with funky PV/ba ttery system so was already pretty efficien t. A far as ho w efficient the Hyd rogen system is, Charles should really answer that question. The joke we have is that it really is 100% efficient, because it only makes Hyd rogen wh en the batteries a re full and is using power that would otherwise no t be used.

Does the “poor efficiency” of the electrolysers have any real affect on the overall efficiency? It all has to do with system sizing. If the Hydrogen Makers draw X then and we want them to run fo r X amount of time then we need Y amount of PV and batteries. It is the same as I want to run my big screen TV for fo ur hours a day, how many PV’s do I need?

What made you choose the ReliOn I1000; there are plenty of other choices, what inspired this choice? When we started there was not many options, Balla rd of coarse, but that did not wo rk out, Plug Power (who I think now has a great product) was not yet viable. Reli-on was aiming at the telecom and Military. Their design uses replaceable PEM cartridges which was great because with the Ballard fuel cell after 3000 hours you need to toss the whole thing in the dumpster. With the Reli-on Fuel cell, if you needed a replacement cartridge they would send one FedEx, and it could be swapped out with the fuel cell running. Also Reli-on has a DC outpu t which also was advantageous. We already had a very good inverter, and Balla rd and others coupled th eir Fu el cell with some kind of UPS system. Reli-on is also in WA. State, and seems to being heading in the righ t direction, not so mu ch to wards the residential market, but to wards an ex cellent product.

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11.3

Appendix 3 - Interview with David McGrath of ReGen Tech

This interview was conducted via email on the 14th of January 2008. What do you see as the key benefits of the hydrogen economy and fuel cell technology? Consider the attached, page 8 (figure i) and ask yourself fro m where we will get the energy to heat ou r houses. Fossil are about to declin e in production so the world fa ces severe en ergy supply shortages unless we curb d emand dramatically. Renewables generate electricity Hydrogen allows storage and transport Fuel cells allow generation of heat and electricity fro m th e hydrogen in the most efficient manner.

Obviously cost is one of the main reasons why this technology has been difficult to introduce, what do you believe are the other factors slowing the progress, and could you give me a rough idea of the costs involved? Discussion on costs is utterly irrelevant at this stage. All new technologies cost more to start with. 6 yea rs ago a 40" LCD screen cost £10k now we talk of every house having a 60" for less than £750. The main blockage is behaviour, availability of relatively cheap energy, irresponsibility by people, politicians and government agen cies. EC state aid rules or UK adherence to them is not h elping. Lap tops once cost on average £5000 and now a top of the range costs less than £500 with capability and functionality that makes early devices look foolish.

What do see for the future of hydrogen fuel cell technology in the built environment? How long do you think it'll take to implement? Ask the question what if page 8 is right, it will and must play its part, just what pa rt no one really knows yet but we have enough evidence from Norway and Sweden on effective district h eating and energy efficiency, how can they do it and we cannot. They bear th e costs of greater efficiency we do not

If fuel cell technology is to be integrated into existing buildings then these buildings must adapt, do you believe this will be a stumbling block or is it something that you think will be quite easy? It is easy technically, behaviourally it will be difficult as everyone will tell you what cannot b e or why it should not be done.

Is there enough funding available for the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology? Absolutely not in this country. We are now the lowest investing nation in Eu rope yet raise 3.5b in green taxes hardly any is spent for the purpose it is raised, £65m per year from CT, 15m on th ese technologies.

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You suggested that it’s technically quite easy to integrate fuel cells into existing homes. Is this because in the future, as you were saying back in December, that you see these fuel cells being marketed as just another one of the white goods everyone has already got plenty of in their homes? Do you think the main difficulty in this integration would be the renewable energy sources, i.e. solar panels and wind turbines, and people’s negative views on them? If energy is in short supply costs will soar. This brings a new urg ency to the issue. We will reduce consu mption dramatically, use what we have more efficiently, exploit the real estate to its maximu m to p roduce energy fo r the building or we choose to do without or pay the price for ever rising fossils. This will mean insulation, low energy devices, switching of lights automatically, using CHP systems, Solar, wind, passive energy everything we can think of. Question centres on whether you buy into the peak oil scena rio and when it will take effect. Desire versus needs, no oil crisis in making it remains a desire and slow change, if there is it will b e driven by needs. How they can be used is far ore co mplex than can be answered is a sho rt time and we a re not a rchitects

After this is done you might want to consider in a quiet and reflective manner th e legacy ou r generation is lea ving you. Your generation will have to pick up the pieces, pay to repair the damage, pay our pensions, health ca re, free transport etc. in return fo r doing a shit job on our watch having squandered th e legacy of ou r foreb ears.

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Figure i - Page 8 from the Energy Outlook Group's recent report: Crude Oil - The Supply Outlook

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11.4

Appendix 4 - Interview with Laura Stewart of Pure Energy

This interview was conducted via email on the 14th of January 2008. First, simply, or maybe not, how does the system work? I assume that it would be quite similar to others that I’ve been looking at, with the wind turbine being used to power the electrolyser, which then produces the hydrogen to run the fuel cell. The fuel cell is a back-up device, used to provide additional en ergy wh en other sources of energy a re unavailable (wind turbine etc). In the first instance, bottled H2 (stored at pressu re) will be delivered to the site and will provide the fuel fo r the fu el cell, with the ultimate goal being to use hydrogen that is produ ced on -site directly, from local renewable resources (once such a system is up and running in No rth Mavin e).

I believe a wind turbine is being used to provide the power, will you be incorporating any sort of photovolatics to take over for the rare occasion when there's not enough wind? PV is un-econo mic at present due to our latitude (60° north) so in the winter months (when we’re on GMT and not BST) the PV panels will collect very little re-usable electrical energy. Ho wever, the buildings are d esigned to maximise passive solar gain through clever building design and the use of solar water collectors. I assume you spoke to the architects about the building design and chara cteristics (insulation, ven tilation etc). Hjaltland also intend to have solar ho t water systems in corpo rated in to the houses.

Would it be possible for you to provide some basic technical information regarding the electrolyser and the fuel cell? i.e. build-up, output and efficiency Unfortunately, this information is commercially sensitive, so rry. Please see http://www.fuelcells-scotland.com/ for more basic info on the fuel cells.

Was this fuel cell built specifically for the Eshaness project or is it a design that you can see being used for future projects? It was specifically built and developed for this project; however, this basic design is planned for use in o ther projects, should this one prove a success.

With other case studies I’ve been able to acquire a block diagram of the system; do you have anything like this you could email me? Hjaltland have not finalised their complete system d esign yet, therefo re no block diag ram is available. Fro m the PEC’s perspective, we are supplying two fuel cell CHP units (1 per house) which will connect into the overall energy systems of each house. This will be one electrical connection and one thermal connection fro m ea ch fuel cell into each house energy system, whatever that may be.

What is the total efficiency of the system; does the heat produced in the various reactions get used? i.e. to assist the heating for the dwellings. 56

Wherever possible, waste heat is utilised to warm th e buildings or supplement the hot water supply. Waste heat from things like power converters etc are lost, however the waste heat from the fuel cell is used to heat th e buildings and hot water supply. Although the fuel cell is configured as a CHP unit (with internal heat exchanger etc), there is still a very small amount of waste hea t that leaves via exhaust. Th e amount of hea t that is lost (thermal efficiency) is un-confirmed at the mo ment. This will be confirmed du ring the rigorous testing phase in the project (before the units are installed in the houses).

I would imagine the hydrogen must be stored on site, how is this achieved, how much hydrogen can it store and potentially how long could you live of the supply? There will be hydrogen storage on-site. The sizes of the on-site tanks a re yet to be confirmed by Hjaltland.

When you turn the system on, how long would it take to start producing electricity? The system as a whole o r the fu el cell? The system as a whole should be able to produce electricity as soon as th e system is commissioned. The info rmation on th e sta rt-up time for th e fuel cell (from initial sta rt to full power) is commercially sensitive at this time.

Would you be able to provide any information regarding the cost of the system? Sorry no, commercially sensitive at this time.

After speaking to Brian Leask of the HHA, i believe the Scottish Executive has provided the funding for your work. Is this right? Yes. They have supported the development of the CHP Fu el Cell Device.

Will there be any running costs when the system is up and running? There will be maintenance costs for the fuel cell CHP unit – (no thing runs forever without regular servicing).

How long will it take for the system to be installed, at what stage of the construction does the initial installation work happen? Building construction is due to begin in February and the complete energy system will be installed and integ rated as the buildings go up. The wind turbine etc has achieved planning consent. Installa tion and commissioning of the FC CHP units should not take more than a few days (approximately). They will only be installed on ce th e basic energy system is in place (so that there is something for th em to connect to). De tails of when that will be will come from Hjaltland.

Has the design of the fuel cell system had any affect on the design of the building? Nope, the idea is to make the system wo rk with the building, not the o ther way round. The starting p remise is on e of energy efficiency and the building has been designed around this from the outset. The only requiremen t for the fuel cell CHP units was a small housing block, outside the main building (attached at the back of the house). This is following current guidelines from the HSE.

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Pure Energy are obviously one of the leaders in hydrogen technology, what do they see for the future of hydrogen fuel cells in static applications? In the first instance, increased use of hydrogen fuel cells in niche applications, comp etin g against battery technology, fo r areas such as large UPS systems (g reater than 8 hours autonomy) and in the small portable power sector. In the UK, anything beyond this is dependent very much on en ergy politics and the strategic direction the government decide to take.

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