Toshiba completes solar-powered hydrogen production/storage system at hotel

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.japantoday.com/category/technology/view/toshiba-completes-solar-powered-hydrogen-productionstorage-system-at-hotel

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Toshiba completes solar-powered hydrogen production/storage system at hotel[/font]

By Shinichi Kato, Nikkei BP CleanTech Institute

Technology Mar. 27, 2016 - 06:00AM JST

[font size=3]TOKYO — Toshiba Corp says its “H2One” stand-alone hydrogen energy supply system has been completed in the “Henna (Weird) Hotel,” a hotel run by Huis Ten Bosch Co Ltd in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture.



The Henna Hotel is known for its robot reception staff and is located in an area adjacent to the Huis Ten Bosch theme park. The H2One was introduced in the “West Arm” building, which was constructed in the second construction phase.

The H2One is a CO2-free stand-alone hydrogen energy supply system that is based on Toshiba’s unique hydrogen EMS (energy management system) and uses renewable energy and hydrogen to stably supply electricity. It consists of a solar power generation system, storage battery, hydrogen production equipment, hydrogen storage alloy tank and pure hydrogen fuel cell.

In summer, when there are long hours of sunlight, surplus solar electricity is used to electrolyze water with the hydrogen production equipment, and the produced hydrogen is stored in the tank. In winter, the stored hydrogen is used to generate electricity with the pure hydrogen fuel cell. As a result, one hotel building (12 rooms) can be powered by using only water and solar power throughout the year.

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[nationalize the fed]

1. ^

Toshiba and Japan are leading the way to clean green hydrogen.

H2One, an Independent Energy Supply System Utilizing Renewable Energy and Hydrogen

The US could have led this field but the neo cons thought bombing and invading the rest of the world was more important.

[NickB79]

2. All that for only 12 hotel rooms?

A grid storage battery like this one from MIT could power far more rooms with a comparable footprint: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/600962/new-grid-storage-technology-helps-integrate-renewables/

Once again, hydrogen supporters embrace the more complicated, less efficient, more expensive option.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. Apples are much better than oranges

Here’s the description of the Duke system described by MIT:

… Combining the two using smart electronics enables the system to efficiently handle power demand over periods ranging from seconds to several hours. …

Here’s the description of the Toshiba system:

…

In summer, when there are long hours of sunlight, surplus solar electricity is used to electrolyze water with the hydrogen production equipment, and the produced hydrogen is stored in the tank. In winter, the stored hydrogen is used to generate electricity with the pure hydrogen fuel cell. As a result, one hotel building (12 rooms) can be powered by using only water and solar power throughout the year.

…

[kristopher]

4. Horse apples?

The article seems to say the system only has 1.8 MWh of storage capacity so the language you are pointing to, while ambiguous, probably relates simply to using it "throughout the year" and is not a statement that it is designed for load shifting across seasons.
No?

The MIT system is scaleable and I'm sure it could duplicate that capability easily. The question is what the comparative sunshine-to-outlet cost of the two systems might be.

Care to take bets on which one is less expensive?

[OKIsItJustMe]

5. And what is the capacity of the Duke system?

https://www.duke-energy.com/news/releases/2013020701.asp

…

At the Rankin Substation, a 402-kilowatt/282-kilowatt-hour sodium nickel chloride battery system is being used to smooth out large minute-by-minute peaks and valleys in production from a nearby 1.2-megawatt solar facility at a local industrial complex.

…

Let’s see… 1.8 MWh -vs- 0.282 MWh…

[kristopher]

11. That system - like all battery systems - is scaleable.

I am flabbergasted that you'd choose to create such obviously false talking points. You know better.

[OKIsItJustMe]

15. Are you implying that a fuel cell system is not scaleable?

Is this something unique to batteries?

[kristopher]

16. Review the thread

As you well know, the size of the system was in the context of the preposterous implication that it's intended to accomplish seasonal load shifting.

The article seems to say the system only has 1.8 MWh of storage capacity so the language you are pointing to, while ambiguous, probably relates simply to using it "throughout the year" and is not a statement that it is designed for load shifting across seasons.

You have really jumped the shark.

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. “not a statement that it is designed for load shifting across seasons.”

https://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2015_10/pr0701.htm

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Toshiba Wins Order to Supply Independent Hydrogen Energy Supply System to Kyushu Resort[/font]

[font size=4]“H2One™” at Huis Ten Bosch Theme Park[/font]

7 Oct, 2015

[font size=3]TOKYO— Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has received an order from Huis Ten Bosch, Co., Ltd., the operator of a Holland-themed resort in Nagasaki, Kyushu, for the independent hydrogen energy supply system “H2One™”, designed as Resort Model. This system will supply electricity for the Phase-2 building of its Hennna Hotel that is scheduled to open in March 2016. This is Toshiba’s first commercial delivery of its independent hydrogen energy supply system.

The H2One™, designed as Resort Model is expected to be used for areas where energy infrastructure is inadequate, or where hotel operators want to minimize their environmental footprint. By making full use of renewable energy and hydrogen-powered fuel cells, H2One™ designed as Resort Model offers CO2-free, environmentally friendly solution that can produce all the energy needed by hotels and other resort facilities.

Long hours of sunshine allow photovoltaic generation to provide more than enough electricity to power the Henna Hotel’s Phase 2 building during summer, and this installed system will use surplus power to electrolyze water and produce hydrogen. The hydrogen will be stored in a tank, ready for use on demand, and in winter it will be used to power fuel cells that generate electricity and warm water. The H2One™ designed as Resort Model has enough capacity to supply Henna Hotel’s Phase 2 with electricity throughout the year.

The H2One™, designed as Resort Model is also equipped with the new hydrogen tank that contains a hydrogen storage alloy supporting much improved high-density storage. The new tank is less than one-tenth of the size of the conventional model it replaces, and suitable for use even in small spaces.

…[/font][/font]

https://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2016_03/pr1402.htm

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Toshiba H2One™ Hydrogen Based Autonomous Energy Supply System Now Providing Power to a Kyushu Resort Hotel[/font]

[font size=4]Using Renewable Energy, H2One™ Supplies Electricity All Year Round[/font]

14 Mar, 2016

[font size=3]TOKYO—Toshiba Corporation(TOKYO:6502) today announced that H2One™, Toshiba’s hydrogen based autonomous energy supply system, which integrates renewable energy generation and uses hydrogen as a fuel for power generation, has entered operation in the Phase-2 building of the Hennna Hotel, at the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Nagasaki, Kyushu.

H2One™ integrates a photovoltaic power generation system with batteries for storing output power, a hydrogen-producing water electrolysis unit, hydrogen storage alloy tank, and a hydrogen fuel cell unit. In the Resort Model version of H2OneTM installed at Henna Hotel, this configuration delivers a CO2-free, environmentally friendly solution for hotels and other resort facilities.

Toshiba’s unique hydrogen EMS (Energy Management System) is an optimum technology that aligns a number of energy paths to ensure that intermittent power generation satisfies energy demand. The long hours of summer sunshine of Kyushu, the third largest and southernmost of Japan’s main islands, allow H2One™ photovoltaic energy system to generate enough renewable energy to meet all the requirements of the 12 rooms in the Henna Hotel’s Phase 2, and additional power to electrolyze water and produce hydrogen. The hydrogen is stored in the system’s integrated tank, ready for use on demand, and in winter powers fuel cells that generate electricity and warm water. The H2One’s™ capacity is sufficient enough to supply Henn na Hotel’s Phase 2 with electricity all year round.

The H2One™ installed at Henna Hotel deploys a hydrogen storage tank made with a new hydrogen storage alloy that achieves much improved high-density storage. The tank is less than one-tenth the size of the conventional model it replaces, and suitable for use even in small spaces.

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It sure reads like they are using excess solar capacity in the Summer to generate hydrogen for use in the Winter.

[dumbcat]

9. It sure sounds like

it is designed to load shift across seasons.

Though with only 12 rooms and some energy efficiency it may be feasible.

[OKIsItJustMe]

10. Yeah… check out this other (smaller) model

https://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2015_04/pr2001.htm

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Toshiba Begins Operation of Independent Energy Supply System Utilizing Renewable Energy and Hydrogen[/font]

[font size=4]Approx. one-week’s supply of electricity and hot water for 300 people using CO2-free hydrogen energy[/font]

20 Apr, 2015
[center]

[/center]
[font size=3]TOKYO— Toshiba Corporation (Tokyo: 6502) today announced the start of demonstration operation of H2One, an independent energy supply system based on renewable energy and use of hydrogen as a fuel for power generation. Kawasaki City and Toshiba have installed the system at the Kawasaki Marien public facility and Higashi-Ogishima-Naka Park in the Kawasaki Port area.

H2One combines photovoltaic installations, storage batteries, hydrogen-producing water electrolysis equipment, hydrogen and water tanks, and fuel cells. Electricity generated from the photovoltaic installations is used to electrolyze water and produce hydrogen, which is then stored in tanks and used in fuel cells that produce electricity and hot water.

Since H2One uses only sunlight and water for fuel, it can independently provide electricity and hot water in times of emergency, even when lifelines are cut. Kawasaki Marien and Higashi-Ogishima-Naka Park, a municipal facility to promote Kawasaki Port, is a designated emergency evacuation area. In times of disaster, H2One will use stored hydrogen to provide an estimated 300 evacuees to the site with electricity and hot water for about one week. The H2One system is housed in a container, and can be transported to disaster-hit areas on trailers.

In normal, non-emergency operation, H2One’s hydrogen energy management system is used to contribute to peak shift, which reduces demand for mains power at times of high demand, through optimized control of hydrogen production, power generation and storage. Toshiba is working to enhance its hydrogen storage capabilities to realize a self-contained solution of local energy production for local consumption.

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[dumbcat]

17. I like the concept

I am not a big fan of hydrogen just for hydrogen's sake. Too many problems in some applications. But this system looks like it might be a nice system integration model. Someone must have done the performance/cost trade-off for the H2 storage/fuel cell subsystem against straight battery storage and seen some advantages to the melding of the two. I'd like to dig in more and see what their design criteria was and the cost/performance trade-offs.

It's interesting to me at present as I am working on a concept for an independent mid term (1-2 week) power source for an Emergency Operations Center for our City/County. I may end up contacting Toshiba.

[kristopher]

20. If you go with renewable generation you'll require appx. 3X the input generation

...in order to make up for the low round trip efficiency of the system. The price of solar and wind are declining, but increasing the size of the array or turbine by nearly 300% is usually a deal killer.

If, as is more likely, the system is designed around fossil fuels then the options become:
Buy reserve power from the grid and keep the H2 tank topped off with the type of system in the OP or;

have a standby reserve of fossil fuels to run through replace the electrolyzer in the OP with a the reformer that you'll use to process the fossil fuel into H2 for a fuel cell feedstock.

That will be compared to either a standard diesel generator or a micro gas turbine in terms of money and environmental impact.

[nationalize the fed]

21. You may want to contact this person as well

Mike Strizki was the subject of a 2008 Scientific American article called

Inside the Solar-Hydrogen House: No More Power Bills--Ever

A New Jersey resident generates and stores all the power he needs with solar panels and hydrogen
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hydrogen-house/

He's done the work, and his hydrogen house is still working like it did in 2008, but the entire system is cheaper because Solar panels and electrolyzers are cheaper. He stores hydrogen in old propane tanks.

His website: http://hydrogenhouseproject.org/

[OKIsItJustMe]

23. It's not a new concept

https://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/pdfs/27079.pdf

[font face=Serif]September 1999 • NREL/TP-570-27079

[font size=5]Survey of the Economics of Hydrogen Technologies[/font]

[font size=3]…[/font]

[font size=4]Hydrogen Storage Technologies[/font]

[font size=3]Use of hydrogen as an energy carrier requires that it be stored and transmitted. The primary methods for hydrogen storage are compressed gas, liquefied hydrogen, metal hydride, and carbon-based systems. Most of these systems may be used either for stationary applications or for onboard vehicle storage. Long term (i.e., ~ 100 days), seasonal storage of hydrogen is generally in the form of chemical hydrides. In the following section, each hydrogen storage technology will be evaluated as a stationary system and where applicable, onboard use will be discussed. The stationary systems, except chemical hydrides, will be evaluated for both 1-day and 30-day storage periods. All capital costs are expressed in $/GJ of annual throughput.

…[/font]

[font size=4]Chemical Hydrides[/font]

[font size=3]Chemical hydrides constitute another method for storing hydrogen, primarily for seasonal storage (i.e., > 100 days). Seasonal storage would be an option for countries such as Canada that have a surplus of hydropower during the summer, but an energy deficit during the winter (Newson et al. 1998). Numerous chemical hydrogen carriers, including methanol, ammonia, and methyl-cyclohexane, have been proposed. Use of a chemical system is advantageous because the transport and storage infrastructure is already in place, the technology is commercial, and liquid storage and handling are easier.

Newson et al. (1998) analyzed seasonal storage using a methylcyclohexane-toluene-hydrogen (MTH) storage system. This analysis assumes that the capital cost for a single day of storage with this system would be $1,400/GJ, dropping to $15/GJ at 100 days. This significant drop is because the dehydrogenation plant is the same size whether the storage is daily or seasonal (Newson et al. 1998). Thus, a tremendous economy of scale can be realized.

…[/font][/font]

This analysis (obviously) predates recent technological advances…

[kristopher]

12. No it doesn't and you know it.

It only "reads like they are using excess solar capacity in the Summer to generate hydrogen for use in the Winter" if you have no idea at all how storage systems work or if you are trying to deceive people.

[dumbcat]

18. I don't know it

and I am sort of familiar with energy storage systems. And I am not trying to deceive people (unlike some appear to be.)

But you and I have disagreed before. I'm not really surprised.

[kristopher]

19. Then I'm happy to have helped ...

you learn more about energy storage systems.

Sit down and do a back of the envelop estimate of the amount of energy required to be stored for seasonal load shifting and then price that by the megawatt/hour price of the medium.

[OKIsItJustMe]

7. Hydrogen or batteries for grid storage? A net energy analysis

http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C4EE04041D

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Hydrogen or batteries for grid storage? A net energy analysis[/font]

Matthew A. Pellow,*a Christopher J. M. Emmott,bc Charles J. Barnhartd and Sally M. Bensonaef

Energy Environ. Sci., 2015,8, 1938-1952

DOI: 10.1039/C4EE04041D
Received 22 Dec 2014, Accepted 08 Apr 2015
First published online 08 Apr 2015
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.


[font size=3]Energy storage is a promising approach to address the challenge of intermittent generation from renewables on the electric grid. In this work, we evaluate energy storage with a regenerative hydrogen fuel cell (RHFC) using net energy analysis. We examine the most widely installed RHFC configuration, containing an alkaline water electrolyzer and a PEM fuel cell. To compare RHFC's to other storage technologies, we use two energy return ratios: the electrical energy stored on invested (ESOIe) ratio (the ratio of electrical energy returned by the device over its lifetime to the electrical-equivalent energy required to build the device) and the overall energy efficiency (the ratio of electrical energy returned by the device over its lifetime to total lifetime electrical-equivalent energy input into the system). In our reference scenario, the RHFC system has an ESOIe ratio of 59, more favorable than the best battery technology available today (Li-ion, ESOIe = 35). (In the reference scenario RHFC, the alkaline electrolyzer is 70% efficient and has a stack lifetime of 100 000 h; the PEM fuel cell is 47% efficient and has a stack lifetime of 10 000 h; and the round-trip efficiency is 30%.) The ESOIe ratio of storage in hydrogen exceeds that of batteries because of the low energy cost of the materials required to store compressed hydrogen, and the high energy cost of the materials required to store electric charge in a battery. However, the low round-trip efficiency of a RHFC energy storage system results in very high energy costs during operation, and a much lower overall energy efficiency than lithium ion batteries (0.30 for RHFC, vs. 0.83 for lithium ion batteries). RHFC's represent an attractive investment of manufacturing energy to provide storage. On the other hand, their round-trip efficiency must improve dramatically before they can offer the same overall energy efficiency as batteries, which have round-trip efficiencies of 75–90%. One application of energy storage that illustrates the tradeoff between these different aspects of energy performance is capturing overgeneration (spilled power) for later use during times of peak output from renewables. We quantify the relative energetic benefit of adding different types of energy storage to a renewable generating facility using |EROI|grid. Even with 30% round-trip efficiency, RHFC storage achieves the same |EROI|grid as batteries when storing overgeneration from wind turbines, because its high ESOIe ratio and the high EROI of wind generation offset the low round-trip efficiency.

[hr][font size=4]Broader context[/font]

The rapid increase in electricity generation from wind and solar is a promising step toward decarbonizing the electricity sector. Because wind and solar generation are highly intermittent, energy storage will likely be key to their continued expansion. A wide variety of technology options are available for electric energy storage. One is a regenerative hydrogen fuel cell (RHFC) system that converts electricity to hydrogen by water electrolysis, stores the hydrogen, and later provides it to a fuel cell to generate electric power. RHFC systems are already operating in several dozen locations. In this net energy analysis, we compare the quantity of energy dispatched from the system over its lifetime to the energy required to build the device. We find that, for the same quantity of manufacturing energy input, hydrogen storage provides more energy dispatched from storage than does a typical lithium ion battery over the lifetime of the facility. On the other hand, energy storage in hydrogen has a much lower round-trip efficiency than batteries, resulting in significant energy losses during operation. Even at its present-day round-trip efficiency of 30%, however, it can provide the same overall energy benefit as batteries when storing overgeneration from wind farms.
[hr]
…

[font size=4]5 Conclusion[/font]

Energy storage in hydrogen is a technically feasible option for grid-scale storage, and is already in pilot demonstrations. Because of its low round-trip efficiency, it may be overlooked in spite of its potential advantages, such as high energy density and low rate of self-discharge. In order to examine the potential benefits and drawbacks of hydrogen as a grid-scale energy storage technology, we apply net energy analysis to a representative hypothetical regenerative hydrogen fuel cell (RHFC) system. We introduce and apply a method to determine the energy stored on invested (ESOIe) ratio of a reference case RHFC system.

We find that the reference case RHFC system has a higher ESOIe ratio than lithium ion battery storage. This indicates that the hydrogen storage system makes more efficient use of manufacturing energy inputs to provide energy storage. One reason for this is that the steel used to fabricate a compressed hydrogen storage cylinder is less energetically costly, per unit of stored energy, than the materials that store electric charge in a battery (electrode paste, electrolyte, and separator). However, lithium ion batteries remain energetically preferable when considering the operation of the system, as well as its manufacture, due to their higher round-trip efficiency (90%). This is reflected in the overall energy efficiencies of the two storage technologies: the overall energy efficiency of a typical lithium ion battery system is 0.83, compared to 0.30 for the reference case RHFC system. This highlights that in spite of its relatively efficient use of manufacturing energy inputs, the round-trip efficiency of a RHFC system must increase before it can provide the same total energy benefit as other storage technologies. Higher RHFC round-trip efficiency relies on improved electrolyzer and fuel cell performance.

When storing overgeneration from wind turbines, energy storage in hydrogen provides an energy return similar to batteries, in spite of its lower round-trip efficiency. The aggregate EROI of wind generation augmented with RHFC storage is equal to that of the same wind facility augmented with lithium ion battery storage, when up to 25% of the electricity output passes through the storage system. For spilled power from solar photovoltaics, storage in hydrogen provides an EROI that is slightly higher than curtailment, though lower than batteries. As with other storage technologies, energy storage in hydrogen coupled to wind generation provides an overall EROI that is well above the EROI of fossil electricity generation.

…[/font][/font]

[kristopher]

13. "...the round-trip efficiency of a RHFC system must increase..."

, lithium ion batteries remain energetically preferable when considering the operation of the system, as well as its manufacture, due to their higher round-trip efficiency (90%). This is reflected in the overall energy efficiencies of the two storage technologies: the overall energy efficiency of a typical lithium ion battery system is 0.83, compared to 0.30 for the reference case RHFC system. This highlights that in spite of its relatively efficient use of manufacturing energy inputs, the round-trip efficiency of a RHFC system must increase before it can provide the same total energy benefit as other storage technologies. Higher RHFC round-trip efficiency relies on improved electrolyzer and fuel cell performance.

[OKIsItJustMe]

8. For some reason NASA thinks regenerative fuel cells make sense

(Stupid rocket scientists. That’s why they had to fake the moon landing!)

http://www.nasa.gov/content/regenerative-fuel-cells-energy-storage-systems-being-developed-for-space-applications

[font face=Serif]April 12, 2013

[font size=5]Regenerative Fuel Cells, Energy Storage Systems Being Developed for Space Applications[/font]

Thomas Valdez, senior member, engineering staff and Fuel Cell Group lead at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, speaks on Regenerative Fuel Cells, Energy Storage Systems for Space Applications as part of the Von Kármán Lecture on April 11, 2013.
Credits: NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Television

[font size=3]During a live talk on fuel cell applications in space, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Thomas Valdez described development of regenerative fuel cell systems at NASA as part of the Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series on April 11, 2013. His talk provides an introduction to fuel cells and regenerative fuel cell systems, discussing how their increased storage capacity can be used in future NASA missions to the moon, near-Earth asteroids and Mars.

A recent thrust in the development of regenerative fuel cell systems has been led by NASA. Regenerative fuel cell systems provide energy storage at a scale that is larger than what is practical with advanced batteries.

In a regenerative fuel cell system, energy storage is achieved via the electrolysis of water to hydrogen and oxygen gas during the storage phase. Consumption of gases then occurs during the energy generation phase, with the subsequent generation of water.

It is envisioned that the energy for the electrolysis of water be supplied via solar power. The regenerative fuel cell systems can be used to power robots, mobility systems, and human habitats. This talk will provide an introduction of fuel cells and regenerative fuel cell systems and highlight the features of this technology for enabling future NASA missions to the moon, near-Earth asteroids and Mars.

Last Updated: July 31, 2015
Editor: Bob Granath[/font][/font]

[kristopher]

14. Because purified water is such an abundant resource in space?

[NNadir]

22. The fact that something so trivial can even evoke comment, demonstrates in 2016...

...how absolutely useless the solar industry actually is.

If, after 50 years of cheering for the failed expensive and toxic solar industry had been meaningful, these kinds of systems would evoke the same response as building a new Walmart would evoke.

Mentioning it is almost as telling as the many posts we had here at Democratic Underground many years ago about the stupid and useless hydrogen from wind project at Utsira in Norway.

That also was supposed to relevant to something other than a fantasy. Like Utsira, more coal and gas will be burned to run computers to discuss it on the internet than the entire energy output that the system will produce.

Have a nice day tomorrow.