Quantitative analysis of a successful public hydrogen station

Abstract

IntroductionGlobal climate change, air quality concerns, and the geopolitical and economic instability associated with petroleum fuel are driving manufacturers, and society, to find alternatives to gasoline and diesel powered automobiles. Hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles offer a potential solution to all three major problems because hydrogen can be generated and consumed with little or no carbon footprint, pollutant emissions, or oil usage. The California Hydrogen Highway was the first large-scale governmental foray into the provision of hydrogen infrastructure and provided the needed refueling capacity for early vehicle deployment programs [1]. Thanks in part to the efforts of California and the availability of fueling stations, automakers have made remarkable advances in fuel cell vehicle development and are projecting commercialization in the 2015 timeframe [2]. As this deadline approaches, attention turns to establish a sufficient refueling infrastructure for early consumers. This reality is reinforced by the California Energy Commission's allocation of $22 million for hydrogen station funding for 2010, and another $14 million designated for 2011 [3]. A significant and globally researched part of this potential infrastructure rollout is fueling station placement [4e7]. The initial California Hydrogen Highway plan envisioned wellspaced fueling stations positioned along major transportation corridors [1]. Current planning for initial commercialization focuses on a "cluster" approach whereby several stations are clustered around the geographic fuel cell vehicle deployment regions [8,9]. An early cluster is developing in Orange County, California centered on the existing University of California (UC) Irvine station that will include a Shell Hydrogen station in Newport Beach that is undergoing initial fueling trials as of December 2011, Available online at www.sciencedirect.com journal h om epa ge: www.elsev ier.com/locate/he i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 3 7 ( 2 0 1 2 ) 1 2 7 3 1 e1 2 7 4 0

Dynamic Analysis of a Self-Sustainable Renewable Hydrogen Fueling Station

“…Hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles are receiving increased attention and automakers have made remarkable advances in fuel cell vehicle development and are projecting initial commercialization in the 2015 timeframe [1]. Currently there are a total of 58 hydrogen fueling stations in the U.S. including private stations, most of which are constructed to support demonstration and research projects that will provide important insights as hydrogen vehicles begin to penetrate the market.…”

“…However, some recent analyses have addressed related topics. Brown et al [1] describe a successful public hydrogen fueling station in UC Irvine, that has robustly and safely dispensed 25,000 kg of fuel over the course of 5 years. The average hydrogen consumption is 0.7 kg/car/day and the net station electric use is 5.18 kWh/kg.…”

Dynamic operation and feasibility study of a self-sustainable hydrogen fueling station using renewable energy sources

“…However, the costs of hydrogen produced by the self-sustainable hydrogen fueling station simulated in this study using the lower end costs of Table 7 lead to$6.71/kg-H 2 for the wind powered station and $9.14/kg-H 2 for the solar powered station. Note that these hydrogen costs are comparable to the cost of hydrogen dispensed at the current UCI hydrogen fueling station ($14.94/kg-H 2 ) [1]. Note also, that the selfsustainable hydrogen fueling station produces and dispenses the hydrogen without any additional cost for transporting the hydrogen, or compressing and dispensing the hydrogen.…”

“…In this transition, hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles are playing important roles. Automakers have made remarkable advances in the development of fuel cell vehicles and are projecting initial commercialization in the 2015e2017 timeframe [1]. As a promising alternative fuel for transportation, hydrogen enables electric vehicle operation with rapid fueling, long range, and large vehicle zero emissions features, which cannot be provided by any other zero-emissions transportation technology [2e4].…”

“…Brown et al [1] presented a successful public hydrogen fueling station at the University of California, Irvine, that has robustly and safely dispensed 25,000 kg of fuel over the course of 5 years. The average hydrogen consumption is 0.7 kg/car/ day and the net station electric use is 5.18 kWh/kg.…”