Hydrogen Production and Delivery Research

In response to DOE's Solicitation for Grant Applications DE-PS36-03GO93007, 'Hydrogen Production and Delivery Research', SRI International (SRI) proposed to conduct work under Technical Topic Area 5, Advanced Electrolysis Systems; Sub-Topic 5B, High-Temperature Steam Electrolysis. We proposed to develop a prototype of a modular industrial system for low-cost generation of H{sub 2} (<$2/kg) by steam electrolysis with anodic depolarization by CO. Water will be decomposed electrochemically into H{sub 2} and O{sub 2} on the cathode side of a high-temperature electrolyzer. Oxygen ions will migrate through an oxygen-ion-conductive solid oxide electrolyte. Gas mixtures on the cathode side (H{sub 2} + H{sub 2}O) and on the anode side (CO + CO{sub 2}) will be reliably separated by the solid electrolyte. Depolarization of the anodic process will decrease the electrolysis voltage, and thus the electricity required for H{sub 2} generation and the cost of produced H{sub 2}. The process is expected to be at least 10 times more energy-efficient than low-temperature electrolysis and will generate H{sub 2} at a cost of approximately $1-$1.5/kg. The operating economics of the system can be made even more attractive by deploying it at locations where waste heat is available; using waste heat would reduce the electricity required for heating the system. Two critical targets must be achieved: an H{sub 2} production cost below $2/kg, and scalable design of the pilot H{sub 2} generation system. The project deliverables would be (1) a pilot electrolysis system for H{sub 2} generation, (2) an economic analysis, (3) a market analysis, and (4) recommendations and technical documentation for field deployment. DOE was able to provide only 200K out of 1.8M (or about 10% of awarded budget), so project was stopped abruptly