Regenerative fuel cell systems R{ampersand}D
The LLNL effort to develop electrochemical energy storage systems occupies a crucial regime in the hydrogen technologies` adoption process, between pure research/conceptual feasibility and near-term demonstrations of commercial systems This effort leaves as many component innovations as possible to others, and seeks to integrate the best systems from the highest performance, readily procurable components. The integration research and component testing being undertaken has already uncovered many operational and design issues that might hinder the adoption of breakthrough technologies being funded by the DOE and NASA A focus on delivering energy storage to the most weight-sensitive applications (aircraft and spacecraft) ensures that key technologies will be properly implemented and combined to perform in real, upcoming vehicle tests. The two key technologies that LLNL is aggressively implementing are proton exchange membrane (PEM) -based RFCs and high-performance tankage for storing compressed hydrogen and oxygen gases Tankage built from available technologies must be lightweight and must cope with volume penalties, gas permeation, and moisture handling to adequately furnish the breakthrough levels of specific energy that RFC systems offer Such multidisciplinary specifications have yet to be combined in the form of a commercial product. Were it not fat LLNL`s role as integrator leading industry, and as technical monitor promoting relevant specifications from within DOE-funded demonstration efforts in industry, such functional combinations of component performances would be years lather than months away. In particular, the DOE PRDA funded at Thiokol is on track to deliver vehicle-compatible hydrogen test tanks to support the Ford P2000 demonstration vehicle early next year The supervision of and close interaction with this industrial demonstration project is one important example of the real effort DOE is sponsoring at LLNL to bridge research into demonstrations Another DOE-funded industrial demonstration effort, with Proton Energy Systems as prime contractor, has recently been funded to introduce PEM-based energy storage into electrical utility applications Besides monitoring this field demonstration, LLNL will be directly supporting Proton Energy System`s technology development by testing electrolyzer and URFC cell stacks. In the cases of Proton Energy Systems, Thiokol, and Hamilton Standard (which currently offers the most advanced electrochemical components) LLNL has achieved close cooperation with industrial partners who hold the intellectual property. With these partners, LLNL is jointly developing systems relevant to a wide spectrum of applications, as depicted in Figure 1. These systems include high altitude long endurance (HALE) solar rechargeable aircraft (SRA), zero emission vehicles (ZEVs), hybrid energy storage/propulsion systems for spacecraft, energy storage for remote (off-grid) power sources, and peak shaving for on-grid applications (Carter 1998, de Groot 1997, Mitlitsky 1998, Mitlitsky 1996-a, Mitlitsky 1996-b, Mitlitsky 1996-c, Mitlitsky 1996-d, Mitlitsky 1994, Mitlitsky 1993). Figure 2 illustrates the original application for this set of innovations: solar powered aircraft This aircraft (Pathfinder) set the altitude record (71,500 ft) for all propeller- driven aircraft on July 7, 1997 (Mitlitsky 1998, NASA 1997).
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 325349
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JC-131087; CONF-980440-; ON: DE98058887; BR: EB4200000; CNN: W-7405-Eng-48
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: US DOE hydrogen program technical review meeting, Alexandria, VA (United States), 28-30 Apr 1998; Other Information: PBD: 24 Jun 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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