DOE Issues RFI for Fuel Storage Subsystems for Fuel Cell Applications
November 17, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS
This request for information (RFI) seeks input from prospective fuel cell system users, fuel cell component and system suppliers and other stakeholders on performance and cost requirements for fuel storage subsystems for early market fuel cell applications.
According to the RFI, the EERE Fuel Cell Technologies Program wants to advance the development and deployment of fuel cells for power generation in a variety of stationary, portable and transportation applications.
The program is working to identify appropriate performance and cost requirements for fuel storage subsystems for near-term, early markets for fuel cells. The requirements will be driven by consumer/user expectations for the various applications, rather than by the operating parameters or constraints of specific technologies, according to the DOE EERE.
Cost and performance requirements and their accompanying time-based targets will be set with industry and market input and will help guide the research, development and demonstration (RD&D) required for improvements in physical storage systems and/or solid state storage materials, designs and systems.
The program identified the following priority early market fuel cell application categories as important to market transformation for fuel cell technologies:
- Mobile power less than 10 kW - Service/utility vehicle applications, such as fork lifts, material handlers and airport vehicles.
- Stationary power 1-10 kW - Remote or off-grid applications, such as weather monitoring, sensors, instrumentation, communications and highway information signals.
- Backup power applications, such as telecommunications uninterrupted power supply (UPS), computing, instrumentation and emergency power.
- Residential applications for prime or auxiliary power.
- Mobile power 1-10 kW - Auxiliary power unit applications, such as highway long-haul trucks, portable floodlight sets, refrigerator trucks, construction, emergency and recreational vehicles.
- Stationary power greater than 10 kW - Commercial combined heat, power and hydrogen production (CHHP) applications, such as apartment and office buildings, strip malls, small business and light industrial.
- Stationary power 1-10 kW - Residential CHHP applications, such as single-family homes.
- Portable power less than 500 W - Handheld applications, such as communications, computing, entertainment, image processing, toys, medical, sensor, instrumentation and battery replacement.
- Portable power greater than 500 W - Higher power portable applications, such as power tools, communications, emergency power and instrumentation.
The primary fuel-of-choice for these applications can be (but are not limited to):
- Hydrogen from natural gas.
- Renewable fuels, such as hydrogen from wind or solar.
- Biogas or fossil fuels, such as natural gas, diesel fuel, methanol and liquid petroleum gas.
However, overall life cycle costs and emissions and petroleum use should be considered, according to the DOE EERE. For example, single-use disposable cartridges with "spent fuel" byproducts are unlikely to be optimum.
Input is requested to define the operating and cost requirements for the early market fuel cell applications discussed above. The information will be used by the DOE in a preliminary assessment and determination of the storage system performance requirements and to guide necessary R&D work for advanced storage options for these applications.
For more information, review the DOE EERE document, Request for Information on performance and cost requirements for fuel storage subsystems for early-market fuel cell applications.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).