USA, Washington DC
The US Department of Energy
has selected six cost-shared research and development projects that
will aid in alternate hydrogen production and greater hydrogen
utilization. Included in the projects is one to be facilitated by the
Hythane Company, comparing a heavy duty natural gas engine with two
others, one modified for a hydrogen compressed natural gas blend (HCNG)
and the other modified for straight hydrogen operation.
· Hythane Company, of Colorado, will work with
Hydrogen Components Inc., also of Colorado., and the Engines and Energy
Conversion Laboratory at Colorado State University (Fort Collins,
Colo.) on the project aimed at acquiring three identical heavy-duty,
spark-ignited natural gas engines and subjecting them to stationary
testing. Two of the engines will be modified, one for operation on
Hythane® (a hydrogen and natural gas mixture) and one for pure hydrogen
operation. The modified engines will be optimized for emissions,
efficiency, and power relative to the natural gas baseline, using the
experience and intellectual property of the project team. All three
engines will undergo durability testing to demonstrate their long-term
performance. (DOE share: $2,481,935; industry share: $1,068,309;
project duration: 36 months)
Other projects to receive funding include:
· Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (Rochester
Hills, Mich.) Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. will develop a low-cost
method to convert small (less than 25 horsepower) gasoline internal
combustion engines to run on hydrogen fuel, while maintaining
performance and durability equivalent to the unmodified gasoline
engine. There is a huge potential worldwide market for reliable,
low-cost small engines with near-zero emissions in stationary and
mobile applications including two- and three-wheeled vehicles, lawn and
garden care equipment, and small back-up generator sets. (DOE share:
$1,200,000; industry share: $514,288; project duration: 27 months)
· Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation
(Phoenix, Ariz.) Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation will
partner with Roush Industries (Livonia, Mich.), Argonne National
Laboratory (Chicago, Ill.), and Sacré-Davey Innovations (North
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), to evaluate the durability of a
proven hydrogen internal combustion engine design using both
accelerated aging tests under laboratory conditions (maximum power and
torque for 300 hours) and field tests in diverse fleets (24,000 miles
and 1,100 hours of operation per vehicle). Results of the durability
evaluation will be compared to current gasoline internal combustion
engine standards, and recommendations to reduce durability risk factors
will be developed. (DOE share: $1,323,271; industry share: $567,117;
project duration: 29 months)
· Iowa State University (Ames, Iowa) The objective
of this project is to develop a process that will convert syngas from
coal into ethanol and then transform the ethanol into hydrogen.
Investigators will first synthesize, characterize, and evaluate
mesoporous manganese silicate mixed oxide materials supports for
rhodium nanocatalysts. They will then construct and demonstrate two
reactor systems: one for producing synthetic liquid fuel from a
simulated syngas stream and one for evaluating ethanol reformability.
The data gathered will be used to analyze the process and provide a
preliminary economic evaluation. (DOE share: $2,750,000; industry
share: $690,614; project duration: 36 months)
The total value of the six projects is nearly $18 million dollars, with
DOE providing $12.9 million and industry partners contributing more
than $4.9 million. The DOE says the industry cost-share of almost 28
percent indicates industry's commitment to these advanced technologies,
and suggests strong future support for their commercialization and
adoption.
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