Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “HYDROGEN FUEL”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 181 records · Page 10

Small High Endurance Aircraft Technology (sHEAT) - Application of Solid-State Hydrogen Storage to Extend Flight Time of sUAS

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) proposed a study to The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) to investigate the possibility of extending the flight time of small-scale Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) using aluminum hydride (AlH 3 or alane) to power a hydrogen fuel cell. Alane is a solid-state hydrogen storage material with greater volumetric energy density than compressed hydrogen and much greater energy density than lithium batteries. UAVs typically use lithium-polymer and lithium-ion batteries for flight, but lithium batteries have not provided a substantial increase in flight time or range since their wide acceptance in the unmanned aircraft market. Several DHS agencies would benefit greatly from extended flight times and ranges for UAS platforms, so experimenting with new types of power sources could provide significant improvement in these important areas of research for DHS S&T.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Hydrogen Considerations Tree: Executive Deck [Slides]

The Hydrogen Considerations Tree is designed to enhance the understanding and capabilities of U.S. Agency for International Development Missions and country partners, empowering them to make informed decisions regarding potential support for hydrogen and its derivatives, such as e-fuels, hydrogen carriers, or ammonia, within their respective nations. Moreover, the Considerations Tree is designed to provide fundamental and applied information for the identification of deployment, regulation, policy priorities for hydrogen technologies in the context of each country or region. Key topics are organized into a "considerations tree," enabling stakeholders to systematically and holistically address technical, regulatory, economic, environmental, social, and analytical questions.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Renewable Electrolysis System Development (Final Report)

Renewable hydrogen is becoming globally recognized as a key component required for de-carbonization of our energy system, both as a medium for capture of excess renewable energy sources, vehicle refueling, and as an intermediate for multiple industrial processes. Hydrogen production, via low-temperature electrolysis, is a flexible grid-friendly, clean energy carrying intermediate that enables fast ramp and de-ramp rates as naturally varying solar, wind, and storage systems become a larger percentage of the electricity mix. Analysis shows that by 2050, employing renewable hydrogen at scale can decrease total U.S. CO 2 emissions by about half relative to business as usual, critical to achieving >80% greenhouse gas reduction targets. Energy storage systems help commercial customers reduce their electric bills by storing energy from the grid or from renewable electricity sources when energy is inexpensive, then using that stored energy when demand and prices are high. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis is one of the few technologies that can produce hydrogen with zero carbon emissions at relevant scale (hundreds of MWs) in the near term. NREL's research has shown that electrolyzers are fast and flexible enough to participate in energy and ancillary service markets that can help stabilize the grid. In 2015, Proton OnSite (now NEL Hydrogen) introduced the M-series electrolyzer platform, the world's first megawatt PEM electrolyzer for the global energy storage market, offering a carbon-free source of hydrogen fuel or process gas. In addition, the ability to sell the hydrogen into a high value application like vehicle (e.g., light- and heavy-duty and material handling) fueling allows for a layering of revenue streams that creates better business cases for hydrogen energy storage systems (HES). The ability to provide multiple value streams from the fast-responding controllable electrolyzer will have a direct impact on the net cost of hydrogen.

08 HYDROGEN↗

A completely precious metal–free alkaline fuel cell with enhanced performance using a carbon-coated nickel anode

Significance We present a groundbreaking advance in completely nonprecious hydrogen fuel cell technologies achieving a record power density of 200 mW/cm 2 with Ni@CN x anode and Co−Mn cathode. The 2-nm CN x coating weakens the O-binding energy, which effectively mitigates the undesirable surface oxidation during hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) polarization, leading to a stable fuel cell operation for Ni@CN x over 100 h at 200 mA/cm 2 , superior to a Ni nanoparticle counterpart. Ni@CNx exhibited a dramatically enhanced tolerance to CO relative to Pt/C, enabling the use of hydrogen gas with trace amounts of CO, critical for practical applications. The complete removal of precious metals in fuel cells lowers the catalyst cost to virtually negligible levels and marks a milestone for practical alkaline fuel cells.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Fuel cells for single-aisle regional aircraft: System configuration, performance and cost

A hydrogen fuel cell propelled electric aircraft can compete with incumbent turbofan technologies for single-aisle regional aircraft by coupling design of stack, air handling, thermal management, propulsion, and airframe to optimize performance. The stack operates at 95°C to facilitate heat rejection during take-off and below 75°C during cruise to extend lifetime and is oversized to satisfy power requirements at end of life. A multi-stage turbocompressor with a compression ratio >10 is selected to reach high stack power density at 11,300-m cruise altitude. The propulsion system is configured to accommodate air handling within the core duct, an inclined heat exchanger in the outer duct to limit the nacelle size, and variable area nozzles to independently control mass flows through the core and bypass ducts. The airframe is modified for maximum lift coefficient and longer balanced field length for dramatically reduced thrust during take-off, and the fuselage is stretched by 20% to store liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ). Modularization of power systems promotes safety in one engine inoperative scenarios and allows reaching specific power metrics for stack, balance-of-plant and fuel cell system (FCS), necessary for acceptable take-off weight. In conclusion, cost parity requires increase in FCS lifetime, LH 2 cost reduction, and improved FCS specific power.

Catalyst durability↗

Smart Composite Pressure Vessels (SCPV) with Integrated Health Monitoring

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is promoting and developing more energy efficient and environmentally friendly technologies that will enable America to use less petroleum. Hydrogen fuel cells – which directly convert the chemical energy in hydrogen to electricity with only water and heat as byproducts – are a very attractive solution that can enable this to happen. To date, DOE's efforts have culminated in commercial demonstration of on-board vehicular hydrogen storage systems that can allow for a driving range of greater than 300 miles. This requires storing 5 Kgs of hydrogen onboard a light vehicle. In order to store this quantity of hydrogen, the hydrogen gas needs to be stored in a composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV) at a very high internal pressure. The objective of the program was to demonstrate continuous and predictable health-monitoring of composite pressure vessels. A higher confidence in the operational safety of the vessels will lead to reduced burst factor of safety imposed by regulatory standards and hence will help reduce the structural wall thickness that drives the cost of the vessel. Highly optimized Type III (metal lined) and Type IV (polymer lined) COPVs that are manufactured using filament winding process have been designed and qualified for the above mentioned application. However, the main structural component of the COPVs is carbon fiber and the high cost of carbon fiber composite in a pressure vessel is a primary challenge in reducing the cost of gaseous hydrogen storage. Continuous and remote monitoring of structural health of the COPVs as well as optimization of the strength translation of carbon fibers have the potential to allow for reduced factor of safety, thereby reduced amount of carbon and associated cost of the vessel. In the current program, the project team including Steelhead Composites (SHC), University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), Teijin Carbon America, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and LUNA designed, fabricated, and tested smart composite pressure vessels with integrated sensors. Iterative loops of design and testing using coupons, subscale STEB vessels and full size vessels proved that a new generation of high performance carbon fiber can be used for efficient design of Type 3 vessels for H2 storage. Novel analysis techniques were developed to predict the initiation and propagation of interlaminar damage inside the composite shell due to impact damage, a real threat in practical operation. Such an analysis scheme is typically not used in tank design but is an essential tool for health monitoring of composite vessels. Remote sensing of the key signatures of the tank’s operating parameters such as pressure, acceleration and humidity was demonstrated using a unique device that can wirelessly transmit and stream the data to a remote server. Fiber optic sensors were successfully integrated during fabrication of the tanks. These sensors provide a wealth of information regarding the structural health of the vessel when it is subsequently pressurized or subjected to impact damage. Excellent correlation was demonstrated between the fiber optic sensor and mechanical strain gage data, and between the measurements and analytical predictions.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Sustainable hydrogen manufacturing via renewable-integrated intensified process for refueling stations

The widescale consumer adoption of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (HFCEVs) is currently hindered by the high cost of small-scale hydrogen generation and the lack of extensive hydrogen refueling infrastructure. Natural gas-based hydrogen is cheaper when produced in large volumes but is also associated with high CO 2 emissions. To counter these challenges, we propose a hybrid approach where both natural gas and renewables are integrated in a synergistic manner using a dynamic process intensification technology that can be deployed on-site for meeting local demands of refueling stations. The technology is based on sorption enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR) that utilizes a combination of reaction with in-situ CO 2 adsorption for enhancing process modularity, productivity and efficiency thereby outperforming conventional SMR at small scale. We develop a mixed integer linear programming (MILP)-based optimization framework for simultaneous design and scheduling of the SE-SMR process. The simultaneous optimization provides a synergistic combination whereby the renewables allow sustainable hydrogen manufacturing and the dynamic SE-SMR allows optimal use of the intermittency of the renewables. The U.S. nationwide analysis indicates that for futuristic renewable prices and a hydrogen production capacity of 2 ton/day, hydrogen can be produced at 50% less cost compared to the current cost of small-scale hydrogen generation. Finally, the city-wise analysis with varying hydrogen demand shows that even with just 5% HFCEV market penetration level, hydrogen production cost less than $3/kg can be obtained at small scales across the United States with even cheaper hydrogen for large cities.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Performance and cost of fuel cells for urban air mobility

Several companies are developing enabling elements of urban air mobility (UAM) for air taxis, including prototypes of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles. These prototypes incorporate electric and hybrid powertrains for multi-rotor and tilt-rotor crafts. Many eVTOLS are using batteries for propulsion and charging them rapidly between the flights or swapping them for slow charging overnight. Rapid charging degrades the battery cycle life while swapping requires multiple batteries and charging stations. This study has conducted a technoeconomic evaluation of the eVTOL air taxis with alternate powertrains using hydrogen fuel cell systems being developed for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles. We consider performance metrics such as fuel cell engine power, weight, and durability; hydrogen consumption and weight of storage system; and maximum take-off weight. The metrics for economic evaluation are capital cost, operating and maintenance cost, fuel cost, and the total cost of ownership (TCO). In this work, we compare the performance and TCO of battery, fuel cell and fuel cell – battery hybrid powertrains for multi-rotor and tilt-rotor crafts. We show that fuel cells are the only viable concept for powering multi-rotor eVTOLs on an urban scenario that requires 60-mile range, and hybrid fuel cells are superior to batteries as powertrains for tiltrotor eVTOLs

08 HYDROGEN↗

High-temperature low-humidity proton exchange membrane with “stream-reservoir” ionic channels for high-power-density fuel cells

The perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) proton exchange membrane (PEM) is the key component for hydrogen fuel cells (FCs). We used in situ synchrotron scattering to investigate the PEM morphology evolution and found a “stream-reservoir” morphology, which enables efficient proton transport. The short-side-chain (SSC) PFSA PEM is fabricated under the guidance of morphology optimization, which delivered a proton conductivity of 193 milliSiemens per centimeter [95% relativity humidity (RH)] and 40 milliSiemens per centimeter (40% RH) at 80°C. The improved glass transition temperature, water permeability, and mechanical strength enable high-temperature low-humidity FC applications. Performance improvement by 82.3% at 110°C and 25% RH is obtained for SSC-PFSA PEM FCs compared to Nafion polymer PEM devices. The insights in chain conformation, packing mechanism, crystallization, and phase separation of PFSAs build up the structure-property relationship. In addition, SSC-PFSA PEM is ideal for high-temperature low-humidity FCs that are needed urgently for high-power-density and heavy-duty applications.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Low-Cost Intermediate-Temperature Fuel-Flexible Protonic-Ceramic Fuel Cell and Stack

Large, centralized power plants are currently the most efficient way to convert fuels such as natural gas to electricity. Fuel cells, however, could become highly efficient generators across a range of sizes from tens of watts to megawatts. In particular, fuel cells with an electrical efficiency of 50% could displace small generators of 25 kilowatts (kW) or less in applications such as remote power, telecommunications, and residential cogeneration. Current 25 kW natural gas generators employing internal combustion engines are typically only 25-30% efficient and expensive to maintain. Furthermore, fuel cells could provide valuable services to the grid, such as the ability to ramp power up or down in response to load conditions. While there are different types of fuel cells, each with their strengths and weaknesses, fuel cells generally are very expensive. For example, lower temperature fuel cells can be started up quickly, but require highly pure hydrogen fuel and expensive catalysts. High-temperature fuel cells can operate on a range of fuels, but they have costly system components and can degrade rapidly.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Microstructural Engineering and Accelerated Test Method Development to Achieve Low Cost, High Performance Solutions for Hydrogen Storage and Delivery

This project made advancements in developing lower cost steel alloys with novel microstructural design for use in hydrogen refueling infrastructure such as storage, compressors, and dispensing components, and utilizing accelerated test methods to efficiently evaluate variations in alloy and microstructure design. The project specifically sought to design alloys with lower nickel contents to reduce alloy cost, which was accomplished through substituting manganese for nickel along with other alloy additions to control deformation characteristics known to be important for hydrogen embrittlement resistance. Through Mn substitutions for nickel, austenitic and duplex austenite-ferrite steels were successfully developed with lower cost than currently available commercial stainless steel products that are employed for hydrogen refueling infrastructure. The steels were processed to achieve comparable strength and toughness in hydrogen environments as the commercially available steels containing high Ni contents. To evaluate mechanical performance in hydrogen, a testing methodology was employed to compare ubiquitous laboratory testing using electrochemical hydrogen charging in a liquid electrolyte to less accessible high pressure gaseous testing. While the application of these steels is in high pressure gaseous environments, the electrochemical hydrogen charging tests produced comparable results. Additionally, the Los Alamos Neutron Scatting Center enabled characterization of deformation mechanisms of the steel alloys in the presence of hydrogen, which has been associated with steel alloy characteristics associated with hydrogen embrittlement. Finally, a fracture mechanics based test bed model was developed to predict the influence of hydrogen gas pressure and fatigue conditions on fatigue lifetimes of pressure vessel steels. Together, these developments can be employed to enable lower cost hydrogen fueling infrastructure and more reliable prediction of steel alloy components in hydrogen service conditions. In particular, the newly alloys have the potential to replace stainless steels, having demonstrated comparable performance at substantially reduced cost.

08 HYDROGEN↗

The NREL Sensor Laboratory: Status and Future Directions for Hydrogen Detection

The NREL Hydrogen Sensor Laboratory was commissioned in 2010 as a resource for the national and international hydrogen community to ensure the availability and proper use of hydrogen sensors. Since then, the Sensor Laboratory has provided unbiased verification of hydrogen sensor performance for sensor developers, end-users, and regulatory agencies and has also provided active support for numerous code and standards development organizations. Although sensor performance assessment remains a core capability, the mission of the NREL Sensor Laboratory has expanded toward a more holistic approach regarding the role of hydrogen detection and its implementation strategy for both assurance of facility safety as well as for process control applications. Active monitoring for detection of unintended releases has been identified by the NFPA 2 Storage Task Group as a viable approach for improving facility safety and lowering setbacks. The current research program for the Sensor Laboratory addresses both conventional and advanced developing detection strategies in response to the emerging large-scale markets, such as those envisioned by H2@Scale. These emerging hydrogen applications may require alternative detection strategies that supplement and may ultimately supplant the use of traditional sensors for monitoring hydrogen releases. Research focus areas for the NREL Sensor Laboratory now encompasses the characterization of released hydrogen behavior to optimize detection strategies for both indoor and outdoor applications, advanced methods of hydrogen leak detection such as hydrogen wide area monitoring approaches for large scale and distributed applications, the incorporation of active monitoring as a risk reduction strategy to improve safety at hydrogen facilities, and continuing support of hydrogen safety codes and standards. In addition to assurance of safety, detection will be critical for process control applications, such as hydrogen fuel quality verification for fuel cell vehicle applications and for monitoring and controlling of hydrogen-natural gas blend composition.

codes and standards↗

Feasibility and Qualitative Risk Assessment of Fuel Cell Electric Bus Use for Emergency Backup Power for Airport Applications

Airports rely on robust backup power systems to maintain critical operations during emergencies. This paper investigates the feasibility of using hydrogen fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) as emergency backup power sources, focusing on their technical specifications, operational challenges, and associated risks. Using Portland International Airport as a case study, the analysis evaluates the power output and hydrogen consumption of New Flyer’s 40’ Xcelsior Charge fuel cell buses, to provide power for key airport systems. Additionally, the paper explores the design and layout of how FCEBs can be connected to airport facilities, and addresses safety considerations, hydrogen supply logistics, and electrical compatibility. While FCEBs present significant advantages in terms of sustainability and resilience, their implementation requires careful planning, infrastructure investment, and adherence to safety standards. This research provides actionable insights for airport stakeholders seeking to transition to hydrogen-based backup power system.

08 HYDROGEN↗

SAE Government-Industry - Heavy-Duty Policy: Panel Discussion (G203)

Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are 21% of US transportation greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a major source of air pollution. In this talk to present some results exploring how the total cost of driving (TCD) of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), including battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (EVs and FCEVs), could evolve under alternative scenarios. Results show that with continued improvements in vehicles and fuels, ZEVs can rapidly become viable, potentially reaching TCD parity or better compared to diesel vehicles by 2035 for all market segments. For heavy long-haul trucks, EVs become competitive on a TCD basis at charging costs below $0.18/kWh, while FCEVs become competitive on a TCD basis at hydrogen costs below $5/kg. A full transition to ZEV sales by 2035 results in 65% emissions reductions by 2050 compared to 2019 without supportive policies. Incentives such as the Inflation Reduction Act vehicle purchase credits further accelerate ZEV TCD competitiveness with major adoption opportunities over the next five years.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSI↗

Development of dispensing hardware for safe fueling of heavy duty vehicles

The development of safe dispensing equipment for the fueling of heavy duty (HD) vehicles is critical to the expansion of this newly and quickly expanding market. This paper discusses the development of a HD dispenser and nozzles assembly (nozzle, hose, breakaway) for these new, larger vehicles where flow rates are more than double compared to light duty (LD) vehicles. This equipment must operate at nominal pressures of 700 bar, -40o C gas temperature, and average flow rate of 5-10 kg/min at a high throughput commercial hydrogen fueling station without leaking hydrogen. The project surveyed HD vehicle manufacturers, station developers, and component suppliers to determine the basic specifications of the dispensing equipment and nozzle assembly. The team also examined existing codes and standards to determine necessary changes to accommodate HD components. From this information, the team developed a set of specifications which will be used to design the dispensing equipment. In order to meet these goals, the team performed computational fluid dynamic, pressure modelling, and temperature analysis in order to determine the necessary parameters to meet existing safety standards modified for HD fueling. The team also considered user, operational, and maintenance requirements, such as freeze lock which has been an issue which prevents the removal of the nozzle from LD vehicles. The team also performed a failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to identify the possible failures in the design. The dispenser and nozzle assembly will be tested separately, and then installed on an innovative, HD fueling station which will use a HD vehicle simulator to test the entire system.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Development of High Capacity Energy Storage Materials

Hydrogen fuel cells have the potential to offer energy and power density advantages over lithium ion batteries in automotive and portable power applications when paired with an appropriate hydrogen storage system. Development of the ideal hydrogen storage material has been immensely sought after but plagued by limitations present in each type of material. These limitations typically include nonidealistic operational temperatures, low capacities, excessive costs, lack of reversibility, or evolution of impurities which irreversibly damage fuel cell performance. Many complex metal hydrides possess suitable hydrogen capacities but unfortunately suffer from impurity release. In order to address this problem, our team has explored in-situ catalyst doping of alkali metal amides to demonstrate methodologies to reduce ammonia release. The incorporation of iridium metal in lithium amide significantly reduces the ammonia release and decomposes the ammonia to provide additional hydrogen. Furthermore, we demonstrate, for the first time, high resistance of low temperature fuel cells to ammonia in comparison with typical proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The utilization of these two approaches in tandem provides a novel pathway for the development and implementation of high capacity energy storage materials for fuel cell applications.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Understanding Transient Combustion Phenomena in Low-NO x Gas Turbines

The goal of this work was to understand, quantify, and eventually predict combustion instability during operational transients in low-NO x gas turbine combustors. Transient operation is defined as a mode where one or more key operating parameters, including equivalence ratio, fuel composition, or fuel splitting between nozzles in a combustor, are varying in time. The timescale over which this variation occurs will be referred to as the transient timescale, the magnitude of the change in the transient parameter will be referred to as the transient amplitude, and the direction of the variation will be referred to as the transient direction. Transients occur regularly in power generation gas turbine operation. For example, load-following gas turbines vary load to meet power demands while accounting for variation in unsteady grid contributors like wind and solar power. Operators achieve this by varying equivalence ratio and fuel splitting inside the combustors to produce more or less power. Another example of transient operation is during fuel-switching operations, a particular issue for turbines operating with syngas fuels in a co-generation facility. In this case, the composition of the fuel stream may vary in time either as a result of fluctuations in the pipeline, or in the case of a co-generation plant, variations in feedstock or gasification processes. This fluctuation in fuel composition can have significant implications for combustion processes, particularly with high-hydrogen fuels. A small number of studies have investigated transient behavior in gas turbine combustors, particularly in the context of flame blow-off; here, investigators have typically focused on issues of transient amplitude, though without the depth and physics-based experimental design that is proposed in this program. To our knowledge, there have been no studies that have quantified the impact of the transient timescale on combustion. The work helped us understand the impact of several types of transients on combustion stability. Both static and dynamic combustion stability will be considered. The transients will be quantified using their amplitude, direction, and timescale, and we will consider transients in equivalence ratio, fuel composition, and fuel splitting. There were two main objectives of this work: 1. Provide a fundamental understanding of combustion stability during transient operation using data obtained from a number of high-speed diagnostic techniques on experimental configurations that capture important gas turbine combustor features and operating conditions. This goal was met in conjunction with our industrial partner, GE Global Research, with whom we worked closely throughout the program. 2. Develop a stability prediction framework that will allow for the prediction, and possible control, of instabilities as a function of the transient amplitude, direction, and timescale. This input/output model should be physics-based and allow for screening of operating conditions and prediction of unstable behavior at the end of a transient by monitoring combustor health and precursor signals during operation.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Computational design of high entropy alloy coating for hydrogen turbine applications

This project aims to develop novel high entropy alloy (HEA)-based coatings to protect critical components in hydrogen-fueled turbine power system. The HEA-coatings will demonstrate superior performance in hydrogen combustion environment to commercial NiCoCrAlY coating in current natural gas turbine system. The HEA coating facilitates the formation of a protective scale of alpha-alumina to slow down the inward diffusion of oxidizing species and the outward diffusion of metal elements, and possesses ultrahigh corrosion and spallation resistance to prolong the service lifetime of critical components in hydrogen turbine power system. Aimed to accelerate the discovery of novel HEA coating compositions, high throughput computational modeling including CALPHAD and density functional theory and machine learning are performed to predict phase stability, oxygen permeability, oxidation rate constant, coefficient of thermal expansion, and mechanical properties. Based on the modeling and machine learning prediction, experimental validation is performed. Preliminary results will be presented and approaches to minimize oxidation will be discussed.

alloy design↗