Bill Elrick's presentation from the GNA/ACT Expo webinar on February 19, 2014. Bill gives an overview of hydrogen stations in California, commonly used equipment, and codes and standards information.
3. Where do we get H2?
Renewable sources
Traditional sources
Solar, wind, geothermal,
hydro, biomass, algae
Natural gas, methane,
gasoline, nuclear, coal
5. Other fuel cell applications
• Transit
» Already meet or exceed US DOE
performance and reliability goals
» Next focus on cost reduction and full
replacement of conventional fleet
• Medium- and heavy-duty
» US DOE development of new FC platforms
» Seeking volunteer fleets for demonstrations
• Material handling and lift trucks
» Capabilities and cost effectiveness has led to private company
transition without co-funding (Sysco, FedEx, Whole Foods, BMW, etc)
5
6. California hydrogen infrastructure goals
• 68 stations –minimum to start the market
(CaFCP Roadmap)
» Clusters – 45 stations
•
•
•
•
•
Santa Monica and West LA
Torrance and Nearby Coastal Cities
Coastal / Southern Orange County
South San Francisco Bay Area
Berkeley
» Connectors
» Destinations }
23 stations
• 100 stations –facilitate market growth (AB8)
» Expansion of cluster, connector & destination station communities
» Develop new communities
6
7. Hydrogen stations are:
• Public stations
» Dispensers & storage equip added to existing gas stations
» Purpose-built stations (only for H2)
• Private stations for fueling company vehicles
» Transit buses
» Forklifts
On-site production
Tanker delivery
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8. Retail hydrogen stations
Newport Beach
• Retail fueling location
• Onsite production (SMR)
• Two dispensers on an
island under the canopy
Harbor City
• Retail fueling location
• Gaseous H2 delivery
• ~1200-1500 sq ft footprint
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9. Co-located hydrogen stations
Emeryville – transit & public fueling
• Buses fueled inside fenced yard
» Hydrogen delivered as liquid
• Cars access fuel from street
» Hydrogen produced using solar power
9
10. Renewable hydrogen stations
Fountain Valley
• H2 from wastewater
• 100kg/day of H2 for vehicles
• Produces 11% of the facility’s
electricity and provides heat
for wastewater treatment
11. Hydrogen station equipment
Gaseous
Liquid
Electrolysis
SMR
Pipeline
• Gaseous
compressed
storage
• Liquid storage
• Vaporizer
• Electrical supply
• H20 purifier
• Electrolyzer
• NG supply
• SMR unit
• PSA
• H2 supply
• Scrubber
• Greater storage
capacity
• Larger footprint
• Fuel boil off
potential
• On site production
• Carbon credits
• Larger footprint
• More expensive
• On site production
• Larger capacity
• More expensive
• Larger capacity
• Larger footprint
• More equip.
• Smaller
footprint
• Flexible
placement
• Least storage
capacity
• Compressor
• Buffer storage
• Booster compression (opt)
• Chiller
• Dispenser
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12. Station zoning, codes, & permitting
• Primary permitting guidelines established:
» California Fire Code
» NFPA 55 – Gaseous & Liquid Hydrogen Storage
» NFPA 52 – Vehicle Fuel Dispensing
• NFPA 2 – Hydrogen Technologies Code
» H2 safety
» Installation & operation of H2 fueling stations
» Associated hydrogen storage and repair facilities
• Typically, adding H2 fueling to existing station is “by
right” process w/no zoning changes
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13. Workshops, training and resources
• California Fuel Cell Partnership
» Fire and Safety Resources, Permitting Workshops
• US Dept of Energy and NREL
» Intro to H2 for Code Officials, H2 Station Development & Setbacks,
Codes & Standards for CA H2 Dispensing, National C&S Template
• State of California
» ZEV Action Plan,
ZEV Community
Guidebook
• Clean Cities Fuel
Retailers Toolkit
13
14. Projected hydrogen station costs
• Argonne Ntl Lab
• 25 unit serial
production, 200
kg/day capacity
• Based upon station
builder feedback
and predictions
• Release in 2014
14
15. Station funding
• California
» Stations co-funded by CEC - up to 70% of capital costs
and 3 years O&M in recent solicitation
» AB8 secures $20M/yr for up to 100 stations
» SCAQMD funds for upgrading existing stations
» Clean Vehicle Rebate Program
• Federal
» 10% federal credit for alternative fueling properties
» EV tax credit
» Clean vehicle fleet rebates
• Many, many more…
15
16. In summary
• Vehicles ready to launch
• Basic safety codes and standards established
• Many applications to consider
» Passenger cars, M/HD, transit, forklift, stationary, etc
• Retail focused infrastructure
» Consider leveraging these public access locations first
• Resources and materials exist
»
»
»
»
CaFCP
California (Gov’s office, ARB, CEC) and other states
DOE, National Labs and H2USA
ACT EXPO
FCEVs – the next step in the evolution of electric drive!
16
Editor's Notes
Automakers have announced they will bring FCEVs to market in around 2015. You may have heard recent news reports of the Toyota, Hyundai and Honda vehicles coming to market as early as this year (Hyundai). Automakers are also forging new alliances to speed cost reductions and deployments, which is a major commitment and statement when major OEMs collaborate like this. Fuel cell buses are coming too. We are just entering the commercialization phase, where plug-ins were a few years ago and the hybrid market a decade ago. The major differences between hydrogen and FCVs and other alternative fuels is that this rollout is focused on the consumer market; not fleet applications… and the refueling equipment is targeting existing retail fuel stations, not homes or businesses. It may be more challenging, but it cuts right to the core of the US vehicle market and current use patterns.This is because FCVs are zero emission, full sized, long range vehicles that can fuel in minutes. They are one-for-one replacements for todays gasoline vehicles.But we need enough H2 stations so their customers will have access to fuel.
But other FC applications are also moving forward. FC Transit buses are already meeting and exceeding performance and durability goals set by the Dept of Energy, and they are poised to enter the last Technology Readiness Level before becoming a fully commercial product. DOE has supported the development of several new FC M/HD platforms, including a new reefer truck and MD duty delivery van. They are actively seeking fleet operators to fully demonstrate these applications, and I can help connect you if you are interested in speaking with them.FC forklifts are now considered fully commercialized, as many companies are now transitioning their material handling fleets to FC operations, with NO funding assistance, because they are proving both economical and more effective than other technologies. This platform has achived this in under a decade of development.There are also class 8 HD trucks, airport tugs and even FC locomotives in operation, truly demonstrating the range and versatility of FC technologies.
To build this infrastructure network, CaFCP members developed a Roadmap that identified how a small network of well placed hydrogen stations could support the launch of the commercial market. This Roadmap represents the collective thinking and expertise of automakers, station providers, government, education and national lab stakeholders, and is the result of years of collaborative discussions and analysis. It focuses on developing the initial coverage needs for buyers in the early market communities. It expands these initial cluster areas with connector, destination and emerging market stations, allowing early drivers to fully utilize the range and versatility of the FCV. This market launch is going to start in these first California communities, but expand to additional communities and states nationwide. Similar approaches are being developing worldwide. The California government has passed legislation to ensure this build-out beyond the initial Roadmap design, and groups like H2USA are working on national plans.Today there are 9 publicly accessible stations in CA, with 19 additional stations funded and in development. We are actively working on building out the rest of the initial network to support commercial rollout of the light duty passenger market.
…yet this hydrogen station built in Harbor City CA early last year – one of the first to go into a retail setting – has already reduced that footprint nearly in half. We have further to go, but we are seeing tremendous progress in reducing station footprint.
Here is one example of hydrogen or H2 being created from a renewable source. This is the first in the world to source hydrogen from wastewater. The Fountain Valley wastewater facility uses waste gas (produced during the water treatment process) and fuel cell technology to create electricity, heat, and hydrogen—a tri-generation system. As the stationary fuel cell generates heat and 250kW of power for facility use, it also produces 100kg of hydrogen for the vehicle fueling station operated by Air Products.
There are many ways to produce hydrogen – through conventional or renewable resources, on site or off site. Each of these have their own set of pro’s and con’s – including different footprint sizes, capacity capabilities, and costs. However, much of the equipment needed at a station is similar; each needs a compressor, storage, a chiller and finally a dispenser. Depending upon needs and resources, stations can use any variety of these measures, but in the end, the car only cars that it receives quality fuel in a safe manner. It is agnostic to where that fuel came from, much like a battery electric car is agnostic to how its molecules were produced. Today, mostly due to lower costs and smaller footprints, the majority of hydrogen stations being built are using gaseous or liquid hydrogen storage. But as each technology advances, and they all are improving rapidly, each will find its place in the market.
Most of the fundamental safety, codes and standards have already been developed, although, as with all codes and standards, they will continue to be refined. Our immediate task now is helping local jurisdictions become aware of their existence and become familiar with them. With our focus on adding hydrogen to existing fueling locations, typically a “by right” process, hydrogen permitting is now like all permitting considerations – more about dealing with local AHJ needs and expectations with a given location and application. It is worth noting that some of the early hydrogen station developments have been led by industrial gas companies. They have tremendous experience with hydrogen station development, but with little previous experience in retail locations we have seen some early struggles developing stations in these environments. This can be summarized as not understanding local AHJ processes and needs, another communication and education challenge, not lack of code or standards issue.There are numerous resources available for hydrogen infrastructure codes, standards, permits and regulations. We provide links to many of these at our website, as well as local permitting workshops with NREL, but I have provided a short list of additional National and California resources for everyone’s convenience.
Most of the fundamental safety, codes and standards have already been developed, although, as with all codes and standards, they will continue to be refined. Our immediate task now is helping local jurisdictions become aware of their existence and become familiar with them. With our focus on adding hydrogen to existing fueling locations, typically a “by right” process, hydrogen permitting is now like all permitting considerations – more about dealing with local AHJ needs and expectations with a given location and application. It is worth noting that some of the early hydrogen station developments have been led by industrial gas companies. They have tremendous experience with hydrogen station development, but with little previous experience in retail locations we have seen some early struggles developing stations in these environments. This can be summarized as not understanding local AHJ processes and needs, another communication and education challenge, not lack of code or standards issue.There are numerous resources available for hydrogen infrastructure codes, standards, permits and regulations. We provide links to many of these at our website, as well as local permitting workshops with NREL, but I have provided a short list of additional National and California resources for everyone’s convenience.
Another area of progress is in station cost. In the early 2000’s stations were still very costly and considered demonstrations. The last round of CA state funding support saw total station costs drop to under $2M. Another funding round just closed last week, with awards announced sometime later this Spring, which we may see additional cost reductions. Argonne National Lab is set to release a detailed report and station cost model later this year that demonstrates that small mass production of hydrogen stations – 25 units per year, and 200 kg/day capacity – will likely lower the total station CAPEX to below $800,000. We are still seeing industry build up to that production level, but it gives us further hope and expectation that costs will also continue to decline moving forward.The model also shows that today’s contracted fuel price of $12-$15/kg would drop to just over $11/kg. With FCVs 2 to 3 times as efficient as a conventional vehicle, that puts the dollar-per-mile pump price of hydrogen equal to gasoline at $4.50