hydrogen and fuel cell research challenges and

Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research Challenges and Opportunities – An Industrial Perspective

Live Workshop

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter @H2FCSupergen and YouTube

26 February 2021 11:00-15:30 (GMT)

Professor Nigel Brandon

2

Director, H2FC Supergen Hub

Dean of Engineering

Imperial College London

CHAIR

Professor Anthony Kucernak

3

Professor of Physical Chemistry

Imperial College London/Bramble Energy Ltd

CO-CHAIR

Session 4 –Fuel Cells for Transport and Stationary Power

http://www.h2fcsupergen.com/uncategorised/h2fc-workshop-hydrogen-fuel-cell-research-challenges-opportunities-industrial-perspective-25-26-february//

26 February 13:30-15:30 (GMT)

http://www.h2fcsupergen.com/delivering-negative-emissions-biomass-derived-hydrogen/

Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research Challenges and Opportunities – An Industrial Perspective

Session 4 - Fuel Cells for Transport and Stationary Power

25/02/2020

H2FC Lead in polymer electrolyte

fuel cells and electrolysers

Professor of Chemical Physics,

Department of Chemistry,

Imperial College London


Lots of market interest in fuel cell companies due to re-emergence of the “Hydrogen economy”

7

Plug power

Ballard

Bloom

Ceres

News Releases

Bosch Collaboration With Ceres Progresses To Mass Production Of SOFC Systems, Dec 2020

Bramble Energy secure £5m Series A investment. August 5, 2020

Cummins Inc. entered in agreement to acquire Hydrogenics Corp. June 28, 2019

- US$290M paid to Hydrogenics or US$15 per share

Bosch and Powercell will work together to develop mass production of PEM. April 29, 2018

Fuel Cell Market

Compound annual

growth rate: ~48%

E4Tech: The Fuel Cell

Industry Review 2019

8

2020: ~ 1.35 GW

(E4Tech)

• Longer distances, higher

duty cycles

• Reduced cost will speed

uptake• 50% of stack cost is

Platinum catalyst

Fuel Cell transportation

• Manpower – scientists and engineers

• Reducing amount of platinum for PEMFCs• Thrifting and higher activity materials

• Improved systems efficiency and power

• Improving ability to manufacture systems at large scale

• Reduced system costs

Technical hindrances to rollout

10

DOE TARGETS2017

STATUS

2020

TARGETS

ULTIMATE

TARGETS

Peak energy

efficiency / %LHV60 65 70

Power density / W/L 640 650 850

Specific power W/kg 659 650 650

Cost $/kWnet 53 40 30

Pt Loading mg/cm-2 0.4 0.17 0.05

Precious metal usage for low temperature fuel cells

11

• Majority of PGMs in South Africa

• Ultimate recoverable resource of PGMs• 216 ktonne

• Current uses of PGMs in transport• ~ 0.05 g/kW for a Euro VI engine

• 0.25 g/kW in Toyota Mirai FCV

• Continuing pressure on reduction in platinum loading and improved catalysis

Securing Platinum-Group Metals for Transport Low-Carbon Transition, One Earth 1 ,

117–125, September 20, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2019.08.012

• PGMs are not likely to be a constraint for the mass deployment of FCVs at the global level

• Need to understand issues associated with reduced loading

Growth in delivery of fuel cell systems

12Securing Platinum-Group Metals for Transport Low-Carbon Transition, One Earth 1 ,

117–125, September 20, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2019.08.012

0.1 gPt / kW, 33.8 kTonne 0.05 gPt / kW, 56.1 ktonne

90%

50%70%

90%

50%

70%

~200 M vehicles p.a.

16 TW p.a.

~50 M

vehicles p.a.

5 TW p.a.

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

0 0.5 1 1.5 2

Ce

ll V

olt

age

/V

Current Density / A cm-2

10mg cm-2/10mg cm-2 10mg cm-2/30mg cm-2

30 µm

60wt% Pt/C

10mgPt cm-2

<1mm

0 200 400 600

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Cell

Voltage / V

iR-f

ree

Current / mA cm-2

0

1

2

HF

R / o

hm

cm

-2

0

50

100

150

200

250

Pow

er

/ m

W c

m-2

Cell temperature

[°C]80

Gas composition H2/Air

Pressure anode /

cathode [barabs]1.5/1.5

RH anode /

cathode [%]80/80

Stoichiometry

anode / cathode [-

]

1.5/2

H2/O2

Dr Colleen Jackson

Imperial College

Barriers to production of fuel cells – Rapid scale-up of production

13

• Use ubiquitous already existing manufacturing approaches and adjust chemistry

• PCB industry is $65B/year, and low cost• Allows fuel cells with reduced part count

• BUT copper does not survive under fuel cell conditions

• Developed electrically conductive anti-corrosion layer

• Can be applied in PCB manufacturing line

• A single PCB factory can manufacture 5 GW of fuel cell modules per year using Brambles patented technology

• Thousands of PCB factories in the world

Brett, Kucernak, “Fuel cell comprising at least two stacked printed circuit boards with a plurality of interconnected

fuel cell units”, 1103590.4 GB 01 March 2011

Kucernak, “Fuel Cell”,1207759.0 GB 03 May 2012

Kucernak and Lapinski, “Corrosion Protection Coating for Electrochemical Devices ”, 1207759.0 GB 03 May 2012

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

PCBFC™ 200 W Traditional 200 W Fuel cell

Num

ber

of

fuel cell s

tack c

om

ponents

Type of Fuel Cell

Fuel Cell component Tie bolts

Tie bolts insulators PCB components

Seals Graphite plates

Improved manufacturability

14

• 2009-2013 EPSRC Project

• Imperial-UCL – Prof. Dan Brett

• Carbon Trust Project (2012)

• Supported through Innovate UK and H2FC Supergen

• Fast design cycle

• https://www.brambleenergy.com

• Fuel cell industry growing quickly, urgent need for more manpower

• Technology is “good to go” now, but future improvements will drive cost down and increase market penetration

• Fundamental understanding of processes is leading to new improvements in technology

• H2-PEM fuel cells for stationary power generation

• Session speakers• Richard Cartwright, AFC Energy• Ben Todd, Arcola Energy• Chris Evans, Ceres Power• Hugo Spowers, Riversimple Holding Ltd

• 14:45 - Interactive topic discussion in small break out room groups

Summary

15

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter @H2FCSupergen and YouTube www.h2fcsupergen.com

Speaker Introductions

17

Ben Todd

Founder and CEO

Arcola Energy

Richard Cartwright

Fuel Cell Team Leader

AFC Energy

Chris Evans

Director of Product

Management

Ceres Power


Professor of Physical

Chemistry

Imperial College

London/Bramble Energy Ltd

Hugo Spowers

Hydrogen & Heat Leader

Riversimple Holding Ltd

Richard Cartwright

18

Fuel Cell Team Leader

AFC Energy

SPEAKER

Solidifying progress to AEMFCs

H2FC Supergen workshop

Richard Cartwright

www.afcenergy.com

26.02.2021

Introduction to AFC Energy

20

• 30+ employees, expanding rapidly to accelerate

development of ALKAMEM®, HydroX-Cell(S)® and

deployment of HydroX-Cell(L)® systems.

• Historical focus on liquid electrolyte AFC for large

scale industrial applications (FCHJU project

POWERUP)

• Recent focus on EV charging and temporary

power applications.

Background to the company

HydroX-Cell(L)®

Alkaline Fuel Cell

HydroX-Cell(S)®

Alkaline Fuel Cell

Modular stack 10kW

Scalable to multi MW applications

Accepts low grade H2

Zero greenhouse emission

Liquid electrolyte Solid membrane

Stationary Stationary and

mobile

Available now Available 2022

(target)

AlkaMem®

Initially developed

for solid AEM-FC

Low cost

Multiple additional

applications

including; alkaline

water electrolysis,

electrodialysis etc

• Today - Stationary

Key Addressable Markets

21

• Tomorrow – Stationary and Mobile

Rapid EV Charging

Construction

Temporary Power

Ports

Mining

Data Centres

Remote communities

Maritime

Rail

AFC Energy’s Hpower-20 EV charging system

• Within cities, the grid cannot support the expected uptake of

EVs

• On long journeys, the cost of upgrading many remote

service stations to manage rapid charging is prohibitive –

especially when demand cycles are unknown.

• Portable emission free charging is key for expansion of rapid

charging across the country.

• AFC is contributing to the EV rollout in this manner, while in

the future targeting transport applications with our AEMFC.

EV charging – Keeping up with the EV rollout

22EV fleet data from ZAPMAP

AFC Energy’s Hpower-40 EV

charging system on the

St Helena

• 5 races in 2021 season

• 40kW fuel cell system to charge Odyssey 21 EVs.

• System en-route to Saudi Arabia for race 1.

• The event will act as a showcase for fuel cells and other

renewable tech.

• Hydrogen electrolysed and stored on site.

• Data generated on hydrogen tech operated in extreme

environments – hot, cold, dry, humid, high altitude.

EV charging – Extreme – E

23

H2 production

H2 storage

Fuel cell

Battery / inverter

Location Date

Saudi Arabia – Desert 03/04/2021

Senegal – Ocean 29/05/2021

Greenland – Arctic 28/08/2021

Brazil – Amazon 23/10/2021

Argentina – Glacier 11/12/2021

Render of 160kW system

• Makes commercial and logistical sense to be fueled on cracked

ammonia, rather than pressurised hydrogen cylinders.

• Ammonia is cheap and widely available – we are actively seeking

sources of green ammonia at scale.

• AFC is also involved in supporting and testing other methods of

hydrogen storage and we are keen to continue to do so.

Diesel genset displacement

24

Image of diesel generator

Layout of a typical air scrubbing system

• AFC is developing a way of capturing the CO2 that is absorbed by

system.

• Alkaline fuel cells can remove up to 2-3% of the CO2 that would

have been produced by a diesel generator and become CO2

negative at point of use.

• Historically, AFC Energy has employed an in-line CO2 scrubber,

which works well, but for certain temporary power applications, the

electrolyte itself can act as a scrubber.

• Electrolyte can be changed out or regenerated as required.

• We are open to alternative innovations for capturing CO2 and

utilising CO2 containing material.

HydroX-Cell (L) CO2 and KOH – friend or enemy?

25

Fuel cell air exchange

chamber r

Atmospheric

air in

CO2 scrubber

HydroX-Cell (L)® stack

• AFC is committing staff and resource to facilitate deployment in 2022.

• Wide knowledge base from PEM research to be built upon.

• Major differences include catalyst selection, membrane chemistry, water management.

HydroX-Cell(S)® AEM vs. PEM

26

ORR at cathode

½ O2 + H2O + 2e-→ 2OH-

Oxygen in (humid)Hydrogen in (humid)

Hydrogen and water out

HOR at anode

H2 + 2OH-→ 2H2O + 2e-

OH- transport

Electron flow

Anode Cathode

Load

PEM

ORR at cathode

½ O2 + 2H+ + 2e-→ H2O

Oxygen in (humid)Hydrogen in (humid)

Oxygen and water out

HOR at anode

H2 → 2H+ + 2e-

H+ transport

Electron flow

Anode Cathode

Load

AEM

Water molecule

Hydroxide ion

Hydrogen ion

Hydrogen molecule

Oxygen molecule

Humidified membrane

Summary of opportunities for innovation

27

Ammonia and other storage strategies

28

Ammonia

• Ammonia is easy to source, cheaply, with a mature

distribution network, green ammonia is not.

• Cracking technology – space in the market for a UK

based supplier

• Direct ammonia - academic support for catalyst/GDE

development required to pursue this, low commercial

priority currently.

• Avoiding ammonia emissions after the fuel cell

Other

• AFC always keen to work with academic and

industrial partners all the way along this supply chain.

Collaboration opportunities

Large scale ammonia storage

HydroX-Cell (L)®

29

Stack

• Separator material to reduce KOH gap – KOH

provides barrier to gas crossover so does not need to

be continuous structure.

System

• Refine method for regeneration of CO2 containing

KOH.

• Space for collaboration with carbon capture

technology.

• Analysis of data generated in extreme environments.

Supply chain

• Cleaner sources of materials – non petrochemical

carbon etc. recycled materials: plastics, metals.


Extreme – E 40kW system

HydroX-Cell (S)®

30

GDE

• New catalyst materials to fully exploit alkaline nature

of reaction, that may not have found application in

PEM or other fuel cell types.

• Advanced analysis/diagnostics of MEAs (GDE and

catalysts) pre and post ageing, porosity, XPS, ICP-

MS

• Development of CCM methodology.

Stack

• Adapt PEM stack knowledge base to work for AEM

e.g. design, materials, supply chain.

• Full computational characterisation of fuel cell and

stack, alongside advanced in situ analysis.


Use cases for HydroX-Cell (S)®

ALKAMEM

31

Testing and development of membrane for other

applications:

• Electrolysers

• Desalination

• Membrane separation

• Gas humidification

• Electrodialysis

• Flow batteries


Large scale alkaline electrolysis

ALKAMEM® film

Thank you for your attention


• [email protected]

Ben Todd

33

Founder and CEO

Arcola Energy

SPEAKER

Arcola Energy Technology Solutions

H2FC Innovation Workshop for Industry

February 26th 2021

Dr Ben ToddCEO at Arcola Energy

Arcola Energy

35

A leading UK specialist in hydrogen and fuel cell integration, focused on zero-emission heavy-

duty vehicles

● Systems engineering company and

Tier 1 supplier in hydrogen, fuel cells

and batteries

● Strong project development

capabilities for deployment of

hydrogen and fuel cells in the UK

● Collaborative relationships with

international network of suppliers,

partners and customers

● Breadth & depth of knowledge -

catalyst to fleet, low & high

temperature

● Transport, stationary and portable

power - 1W to 1MW

● Focus on Quality, Safety &

Compliance

● Off-road – machines for construction and mining

● Trains – regional and suburban applications

● Buses – first market is UK double-deck, next steps Single Deck and coach

● Trucks

○ Vehicles for urban/municipal duties, especially refuse collection - partnerships with city

authorities and waste companies

○ Evaluating urban distribution market and use cases

Current Activities

36

Systems Integrator & Tier 1 Supplier

37

● Systems engineering company and Tier 1 supplier in

hydrogen, fuel cells and batteries

● Strong project development capabilities for deployment

of hydrogen and fuel cells in the UK

● Collaborative relationships with international network of

suppliers, partners and customers

● Breadth & depth of knowledge - catalyst to fleet, low and

high temperature

● Transport, stationary and portable power - 1W to 1MW

● Focus on quality, safety and compliance

Internationally recognised as a leader in delivering market-ready fuel cell and hydrogen solutions

38

Arcola Energy

Technology Platform

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) Powertrain

39

Arcola Energy Full Vehicle Engineering Capabilities

40

A-Drive Hydrogen Fuel Powertrain Platform

41

● Built around proprietary control system designed specifically for fuel cell

electric powertrains. System is responsible for sub-system control and

overall energy management to achieve efficiency, sub-system lifetime

and functional safety.

● Deep knowledge of subsystems, including hydrogen storage, fuel cell

and battery systems, high voltage system and thermal management.

● Remote monitoring and diagnostics to continually improve model-based

control approaches and to predict maintenance requirements.

● Adaptable to multiple vehicle platforms

● Reducing cost and development time

Accelerating the deployment of H2FC zero-emission transport

Arcola’s proprietary A-Drive hydrogen fuel cell powertrain system replaces the conventional diesel engine and drivetrain, to deliver a production-readysolution

A-Drive Platform

42

Powertrain Modelling

43

Powertrain Modelling Process

44

Remote Data Monitoring Platform

45

● Vehicle monitoring device

○ Physical connections and data layer

○ Local storage and buffering

● Message broker and bridge

● Web server

○ Visualisation

○ Technology stack and database

○ Accounts

● Vehicle data

46

Engineering Approach

Systems Engineering Approach

47

Powertrain Design Considerations

48

● How much power and energy needed for a given

vehicle on a given route?

● What battery / fuel cell sizing options do we

have?

● What trade-offs can we make to fit available

space, budget, supplier constraints?

● What power management strategy should we use

for my hybrid powertrain controller?

● How do we optimise efficiency and heat

recovery?

● How do we optimise fuel cell and battery lifetime?

● How do we deliver traction?

Arcola-OEM Integrated Design Approach

49

Industry Challenges

50

● Hydrogen storage optimisation:

○ How to store more hydrogen onboard in less space and weight in order to increase the range?,

○ What is the optimum approach for hydrogen storage on different carriers? Some considerations:

■ Infrastructure upgrade

■ Operational change i.e., duty cycle optimisation

● Refuelling time vs range. Often the case for hydrogen (less and faster refuelling), competitiveness against diesel is still

a problem.

● System integration efficiency and power electronics.

Thank you


Dr Ben Todd

CEO at Arcola [email protected]

+44 7974 240 612

mailto:[email protected]

Chris Evans

52

Director of Product Management

Ceres Power

SPEAKER

• High growth UK technology licensing company with global world-class partners

• World leading Solid Oxide fuel cell technology – Imperial College

• Unique IP ~50 Patent families + know how

Global power system and engine customers

54

• Collaboration agreement

• Commercial buildings

• JV 2020 Electric Bus and

stationary power market

• Manufacturing scale up/ Data

centre and commercial/Mass

production

• Commercial Scale CHP

• Power systems for Data

Centres

• Stationary power applications

Fuel Cell Technology – The Basics

55

• A fuel cell is a power generation unit that produces an

electric current from a chemical reaction

• No combustion

• Most efficient way to convert fuel to electrical power

• Results in clean air & less CO2

• no particulates and no SOx and NOx emissions

• Low to zero CO2 produced depending on fuel used

(between a 30% and 100% reduction)

Exhaust, water & heat out

Air in

DC power out

Air & heat out

Fuel in

1kW Stack

An SOEC is the same thing running backwards

Changing energy landscape (opportunities for SOFC / SOEC)

56

Depth of De-Carbonisation

Level of S

ocie

tal C

hange

Marginal gains Net Zero

Low

:

Supply

so

lutions

Hig

h:

Dem

and s

olu

tions

Electrified heating

H2 blend in gas grid

Electrified industrial processes

H2 in industrial processes

High renewables penetration

Bio-Energy + CCS

Coal to Nat Gas

H2 planes

Aviation e-fuel

Electric cars

H2 for HGVs & buses

CCUS

Gas grid fully H2

Smart appliancesBetter insulation

District heating

Biomethane in HGVs

Ammonia for shipping

SOFC (CHP option)

Distribution grid support

H2 Range Extender

CNG Range Extender

SOEC + Fischer-Tropsch

SOEC + Haber

SOFC on Ammonia

Fuel-flexible SOFC

Electricity storage

SOEC/SOFC + H2 storage

SOEC

SOEC

Electric HGVs & buses

Biomethane Range ExtenderSOFC w/ Balancing services

Electrified roads

Distributed GenerationDistributed SOFC on H2

Take-aways:

1. Deep decarbonisation

of industry and heavy

transport requires large

amounts of clean H2

2. Fuel-flexible (including

H2) distributed

generation makes

sense in all scenarios

other than full

electrification

3. Shipping and aviation

will rely on a low-carbon

on-board fuel

4. Making better use of

fossil fuels (esp. Nat

Gas) is a short-to-mid

term driver only but

remains a strong one

given the challenges of

deeper de-carbonisation

Distribution grid support

Biomethane blend in gas gridFuel-flexible SOFC

TodayBetter use of Gas

2030Electrification & Transition Gases

2050Net-Zero-Carbon

• Longer (life), stronger (robust), higher (power)

• Life prediction

• Evolution of materials through time

• Digitalisation in materials development

• Fuel diversity / flexibility

• Hydrogen in the gas grid (amount + variability)

• Ammonia / bio-gas / bio-methane

• Odorants, contaminants and removal

• Cheap gas composition sensing

• Other hydrogen carriers

• Industrial coupling

• E.g. SOEC + Haber-Bosch

Support from academia

57

• Partner, don’t compete

• Come and talk to us if you want a problem

• Be IP savvy – think before you publish

What are the big themes? How to work with Ceres

Thanks


ceres.tech

Hugo Spowers

59

Hydrogen & Heat Leader

Riversimple Holding Ltd

SPEAKER

Riversimple Movement

Influence of business model on fuel cell development

Riversimple.com

Twitter LinkedIn

26th February 2021

https://www.riversimple.com/

https://twitter.com/riversimple

https://www.linkedin.com/company/riversimple

61

Linear Powertrain

62

Network Electric Powertrain

63

The funnel of constraints

64

The funnel of constraints

65

Alignment of interests

2018

1948

66


2018

1948

38mpg

67


2018

38.6mpg

1948

38mpg

68


2018

38.6mpg

1948

38mpg

We need to make efficiency profitable

69

Making efficiency profitable“You never change things by fighting the existing reality.

To change something, build a new model

that makes the existing model obsolete”

- Buckminster Fuller

70

The sale of product

Selling a car:

Only 40%

Of lifetime revenues to the

manufacturer

£££

71

The sale of product

Mobility as a Service:

100%

Of lifetime revenues to the

manufacturer

£££

£££££££££££££££

72

The economic barrier

Typical supply chain cost curve

Reward

of efficiency

Selling service

Selling cars

73

A circular ‘Value network’ for fuel cells

Fuel cell stack

74


Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA)

75


Platinum (Pt)

76


Mining company

MEA supplier

Fuel cell manufacturer

77


Mining company

MEA supplier


£ per month

p per km

78


£ per month

p per km

£ per month

£ per month per hour

run time

£ for efficiency of H2

to electricity

Mining company

MEA supplier


79


£ per month

p per km

£ per month


run time


to electricity

£ per month

£ per month per

hour run time


to electricity

Mining company

MEA supplier


80


£ per month

p per km

£ per month


run time


to electricity

£ per month

£ per month per

hour run time


to electricity

£ per month per g

Mining company

MEA supplier


“We are called to be architects of the future –

not its victims” Buckminster Fuller

81

Thank you


Group discussion guide

• Explore

• What are the specific technological challenges in your product/service or research?

• What would an ideal world look like? Which technologies do you think will be there in 10 years, 20 years?

• What are the opportunities? What are the risks?

• Reflect

• What could be done to improve the situation?

• How can Industry and Academia collaborate better?

• How can H2 demonstration projects feed back to academia and how can academia help to solve issues?

• How could a National Hydrogen Programme help to develop this field further?

Breakout group discussion - Fuel Cells for Transport and Stationary Power

83

• Chair will assign someone to take NOTES - they can share the screen with others if useful.

• 45 minutes discussion, then we’ll return to the main room to wrap up.

• Use the CHAT function to capture more views

Discussion topic…

84

Key observations from the discussion:

(notes)

Proposed next steps for Industry-Academia collaboration:

Very important! Please send notes at the end of the discussion to

[email protected]


Thank you


• We will be putting together a report from this workshop which will be available on the H2FC website in due course.

• We’re updating our capability document – please respond to the email about this so we can ensure we have your uptodate details!

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• Please send any feedback to [email protected]

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hydrogen and fuel cell research challenges and

Documents