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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.

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At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

ARM West Antarctic Radiation Experiment

The National Science Foundation provided Antarctic logistical support to the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility from October 2015 through May 2017. Specific support included commercial and military cargo transportation, site preparation and facilities installation at McMurdo Station and at the WAIS Divide field camp in West Antarctica, power and data transmission, and personnel support. NSF provided continuous facility operation in McMurdo from November 2015 through decommissioning in January 2017, and at WAIS Divide during the 2015-2016 austral summer research season, from November 2015 through January 2016.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Self-Assembly of Virus Particle Based Materials for Hydrogen Catalysis

Viruses are sophisticated protein-based containers and their self-assembly from a small number of subunits into symmetrical, monodisperse architectures has inspired the work performed under this award. We have taken advantage of the robust self-assembly of the bacteriophage P22 for the encapsulation of enzymatic cargo materials and studied their activity in energy harvesting systems. The large internal cavity of the P22 is ideal for high-capacity loading of enzymes resulting in very high local catalyst concentrations. We have exploited the self-assembly properties of the bacteriophage P22 system for the packaging of a number of different enzymes, including a [NiFe] hydrogenase as well as enzymes capable of butanol biosynthesis, to create active and stable individual “nano-reactors”. Individual viral capsid-based nanoreactors are also ideal building blocks for the construction of higher order assemblies. We have demonstrated the construction of ordered 3-D arrays from active nanoparticle building blocks to form materials with collective behavior and properties beyond those of the individual particles and capable of catalyzing multi-step reactions. The successful implementation of the work performed under this DOE grant provides us with a great deal of knowledge about directed self-assembly at multiple lengthscales for the development of bioinspired catalytic materials for energy harvesting.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2020

Zero Emission Drayage Trucks Demonstration (ZECT 1) (Final Report)

The objective of this project was to develop and demonstrate zero emission capable heavy-duty electric truck technologies in real world drayage operations and assess its technical feasibility to support demanding drayage duty cycles. Further objectives of the project included the promotion and acceleration of market adoption of electric truck technologies in cargo transport operations, by engaging trucking fleets and end users in demonstrating ad experiencing these technologies first-hand. The project realized the development and demonstration of two battery-electric and two battery-electric hybrid platforms that advanced the technologies and demonstrated proof of concept.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Primer on the Cost of Marine Fuels Compliant with IMO 2020 Rule

This report aims to provide information for owners and operators of U.S. ocean-going marine cargo vessels on the cost of different approaches to compliance with the IMO mandate to reduce the sulfur content of marine fuels (outside emission control areas) to no more than 0.5%. The IMO 2020 rule came into effect on January 1, 2020. The report discusses a suite of options for compliance including low-sulfur petroleum-based fuels and alternative fuels. Since fuel prices are a primary factor in determining the cost of the various alternatives, the document also includes a discussion of the main drivers of marine fuel prices. The cost analysis compares the average annual costs (capital and fuel) out to 2050 of each compliance approach under alternative scenarios regarding fuel prices, policy, and technology innovation. The cost calculations focus on representative U.S. fleet vessels for containership and tanker types. Even though the analysis focuses on average cost of approaches to comply with IMO 2020, the comparison of approaches also acknowledges other benefits or risks including fuel price risk and the contribution of the approach to achieving other potential environmental performance objectives or regulations.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2021

Sea ice evolution along the Northern Sea Route and implications for trans-Arctic shipping from 2021 through 2060

Arctic surface temperatures warmed at twice the global average in the second half of the 20 th century due to Arctic amplification (AA), a phenomenon predominantly caused by regional polar changes, like the melting of perennial sea ice and reduced sea ice extent (leading to more solar radiation being absorbed by the ocean surface as opposed to being reflected back to space by the ice surface). AA is projected to reach a factor of three even if the climate is stabilized by the mid 21 st century by reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In all emissions scenarios, AA is projected to lead to temperature changes at least 2.4 times larger than global mean surface temperature changes occurring between 2070 and 2100. The ice-albedo feedback, which occurs when the polar-marine surface absorbs more radiation as highly reflective sea ice melts, is reversible such that the premise of a runaway process is no longer accepted as a realistic possibility. No matter what actions are taken to reduce CO 2 concentrations in the atmosphere from now on, two different methods of predicting an ice-free Arctic suggest that perennial sea ice will mostly disappear in September by the year 2050. If there is no reduction in anthropogenic CO 2 and methane emissions, that scenario could occur sooner than 2030. Defining Arctic navigability as safe and economic passage of Polar Class 7 cargo ships without need of an escorting icebreaker, no single trans Arctic ship route will be navigable year-round in the first half of the 21 st century, including in the strong emission scenarios. However, seasonal trans-Arctic navigability will increase this century. An estimate on the number of days per year that the Northern See Route (NSR) will be navigable in the future is beyond the scope of this report. Along Northern Sea Routes 5 and 6, which run close to the Russian coast and Yamal LNG plant, an ARC 7 ice class LNG tanker, the equivalent of a Polar Class 3 (PC3) vessel, will be at low risk in December through April at some point during the current decade. May will continue to entail some risk (more than April) along relatively short segments of these routes through the end of the next decade (2030-2039). Come June, snow rapidly melts away, and thereafter the underlying sea ice begins becomes thinner and less concentrated, greatly reducing risk. However, neither path is desirable for ARC 7 tankers due to shallow bathymetry in Sannikov Strait, and a more desirable path for these ships passes to the north of the New Siberian Islands (route 20, discussed further below). Conventional LNG tankers (i.e., non-ice-strengthened vessels according to the IMO classification), without icebreaker escorts, will continue to encounter dangerous or impassable conditions along many sections of the NSR through the end of this decade for many months of the year. Through 2039, these conventional tankers will be able to operate safely along NSR 6 from August through October. By 2040-2049, the span of safe operation increases to August through November, and by 2050-2059 it increases to July through November, assuming a northward deviation to avoid the Sannikov Strait.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Bamboo Bio-composite Truck/Trailer Decking

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world. Massively productive, bamboo will maintain that productivity with limited inputs and minimal management resulting in predictable volume and operating margins and with low overhead. The goal of this project was to develop a bamboo bio-composite trailer decking product that replaces apitong, is lighter weight, stronger and luminescent. The collaboration partners, Fontaine, Resource Fiber and IACMI, worked closely to develop the bamboo bio-composite decking to Fontaine Trailer’s (end-user) specifications. The various technological objectives were (a) To conduct a comprehensive Design of Experiments study for bamboo composites to understand the structure-property relationships for different resin composites and bamboo forms (strips, woven, bulk etc); (b) To establish the nail pull out characteristics of trailer deck geometry bamboo composite form. The nail pull out is a critical test in trailer decks; (c) To design, process and prototype select number of trailer decking planks for Fontaine evaluation; and (d) To conduct life cycle analysis to conduct energy calculations from the various conversion steps of the bamboo from crop to product. The project meets DOE/IACMI metrics of reduced embodied energy, lightweighting and lowering the cost of the end product. It also offers a green solution to a value-added application, i.e. trailer decking. The development goals and benefits of bamboo composite decking included: A. Decreased weight when compared to Apitong and Gen 1, thereby reducing operating costs and petroleum usage due to increased miles per gallon. B. Flexibility to allow camber design into trailers. C. Luminescence to increase safety during low light and dark conditions. D. Composite material to maximize use of bamboo bio-composites as substitute for petroleum-based composites. E. Embedded layer(s) of conditioned bamboo for added strength and stability. F. Improved safety over Apitong by temporary cargo indentation in planks for better stability. G. Cradle-to-cradle design so end-of-life becomes beginning-of-life for other products. Resource Fiber’s bamboo biocomposite trailer decking passed nail pullout tests as compared to apitong (incumbent), was lighter weight than apitong, and used less embodied energy particularly when bamboo is sourced domestically. The planks were optimized in the lab setting to the extent possible and successfully installed on the trailer at Fontaine for field testing. Despite the process not being fully optimized due to through-heat and tooling limitations within the budget constraints, the prototype decking withstood 400 cycles of reverse fatigue loading of a 107,000 lb Caterpillar 349F which was extreme conditions of field testing by Fontaine Trailer. Resource Fiber plans to outsource production of a next round of planks with a commercial pultrusion processor, then to do a re-test with Fontaine Trailers. Tooling specific to the part is required. Long-term commercial plans are to continue outsourcing production while supplying bamboo fiber and mats. Commercial markets include heavy haul trailers, military trailers, and decking for marine, industrial and residential use.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

ENG 572 Interim Report

Sandia National Laboratories is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) founded in 1949 with the mission of developing and testing the non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons. Sandia has since been involved with numerous projects to support the Department of Defense’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). One such set of projects has been implementing over-the-road transportation security enhancements. Under this program, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has worked to develop interface compatibility modifications for existing shipping configurations. This summer I will be working with a line of trailers that have been used to transport high asset cargo. These vehicles have successfully traveled millions of miles without any accidents over the course of 15 years. The primary motivation for the work that I will complete this summer is to provide support for existing electronic communication technologies implemented at SNL. As part of an ongoing project to implement modifications to a trailer system, I will focus primarily on the characterization and testing of thermal electric coolers (TEC). Within the scope of the trailer project, these devices provide temperature control for lasers used on optical communication boards (OCB).

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Maritime Fuel Cell Generator Project [FY2018]

Fuel costs and emissions in maritime ports are an opportunity for transportation energy efficiency improvement and emissions reduction efforts. Ocean-going vessels, harbor craft, and cargo handling equipment are still major contributors to air pollution in and around ports. Diesel engine costs continually increase as tighter criteria pollutant regulations come into effect and will continue to do so with expected introduction of carbon emission regulations. Diesel fuel costs will also continue to rise as requirements for cleaner fuels are imposed. Both aspects will increase the cost of diesel-based power generation on the vessel and on shore. Although fuel cells have been used in many successful applications, they have not been technically or commercially validated in the port environment. One opportunity to do so was identified in Honolulu Harbor at the Young Brothers Ltd. wharf. At this facility, barges sail regularly to and from neighboring islands and containerized diesel generators provide power for the reefers while on the dock and on the barge during transport, nearly always at part load. Due to inherent efficiency characteristics of fuel cells and diesel generators, switching to a hydrogen fuel cell power generator was found to have potential emissions and cost savings. Deployment in Hawaii showed the unit needed greater reliability in the start-up sequence, as well as an improved interface to the end-user, thereby presenting opportunities for repairing/upgrading the unit for deployment in another locale. In FY2018, the unit was repaired and upgraded based on the Hawaii experience, and another deployment site was identified for another 6-month deployment of the 100 kW MarFC.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2022

Self-Sensing Fiber Reinforced Composite (CRADA Final Report)

The project aimed to demonstrate a scalable coating process to adhere nanoparticles to the surface of fibers and fabricate composites with in-situ damage detection abilities and simultaneous mechanical performance enhancements. Carbon fiber (CF) composites have the inherent problem of hiding damage within the structure with no visual indications on the surface. Therefore, a technique to monitor for damage or excessive stress on the composite is necessary to ensure its safety and avoid catastrophic failure. This capability will be desired in future transportation vehicle designs, such as in cargo and surveillance drones developed by Dronesat, LLC, (Dronesat) who was the industrial partner on this project.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hydrogen for Maritime Applications

The maritime industry is investigating a number of fuel options for reducing emissions, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), biofuels, and electrical drive systems powered by batteries and/or hydrogen-fueled fuel cells. Hydrogen-fueled ships offer the potential to significantly reduce, if not eliminate, regulated and unregulated pollutants in maritime applications. Argonne National Laboratory conducted preliminary comparisons of the total cost of ownership (TCO) of several classes of ships to determine how fuel cell technology compares to the current diesel technology, what advancements are needed for hydrogen fuel cell technology to be competitive in the future, and what applications may be appropriate for introducing fuel cells into the maritime industry. These studies included feeder container ships, harbor tugboats, river pushboats, and auto/passenger ferries. For this study, TCO was defined to include the cost of fuel, propulsion system, and fuel storage system, the levelized cost of propulsion/auxiliary engines, and the cost of annual maintenance and consumables. It did not include the cost of the vessel frame or other components, aside from the propulsion system, that the fuel cell and diesel ships have in common. A 10% internal rate of return (IRR) was applied to the initial capital investment and an installation cost factor of 20% was applied to the capital cost. The capital cost of each component (e.g., engine, fuel tank, motor, etc.) was amortized over a period of 20 years, except for the fuel cell system, which was amortized over 6 or 10 years depending on ship class. The initial comparisons for container ships indicate that fuel costs are by far the dominant contributor to the TCO. With the current low cost of low-sulfur marine gasoil (LSMGO) and relatively high cost of hydrogen, it is difficult for hydrogen to compete with LSMGO in container ship applications. The large energy demand for container ships also favors the use of the higher volumetric energy density LSMGO fuel, especially for longer voyages. The space required to store enough hydrogen for the same journey is larger than that needed to store diesel fuels and can reduce the available cargo carrying and revenue generating space available on the ship.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2022

Port of New York and New Jersey Drayage Electrification Analysis

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) evaluated the potential for drayage electrification in the Port of New York and New Jersey (PoNYNJ), with a focus on operators: Harbor Freight Transport (HF), Safeway Trucking (SWT), and International Motor Freight Inc (IMF). This report summarizes the data collection and electrification evaluation of all three drayage operators, includes detailed operational data, and identifies the performance requirements for battery electric tractors (BETs) and corresponding infrastructure operated within the context of PoNYNJ drayage operation. This report also details a methodology to evaluate opportunities, strategies, and challenges associated with future expansions of BETs in meeting PANYNJ emissions goals. The Port Authority has established a goal of achieving Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050 across all facilities, including from tenant and stakeholder sources such as drayage trucks. NREL used real-world performance data collected on the three PoNYNJ drayage operations, along with modeling and analysis tools to compare BET to diesel trucks. From March to July 2021, NREL collected 1Hz vehicle and engine data from 46 drayage trucks at the three operators totaling nearly 121,000 miles of operation, providing enough information to assess vehicle operations for electrification potential. A Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator (FASTSim) electric truck powertrain model was validated using PoNYNJ data and scenarios were run to evaluate drayage truck electrification requirements over the real-world cycles. The first scenario examined BET viability with minimal changes to existing operations. This assumes the trucks charge when stopped for two hours or longer, have a functional battery size of 375 kWh, and can charge at 270 kilowatts (kW) average which are the specification of the commercially available Freightliner eCascadia. The second scenario looked at what operational, charging infrastructure, and BET technology changes would be needed to fully electrify. Finally, detailed analysis was run on charging rate structure to understand operational costs to the fleets. The studied drayage trucks averaged 5.1 MPG, spent roughly 9% of their energy at idle, and drove an average of 140 miles per day with a maximum daily distance of 573 miles. The FASTSim model results indicate a comparable BET would use 417 kWh of energy per day on average accounting for cargo weight, which is close to the full usable capacity of the eCascadia currently available on the market. Based on the daily average operating data, partial fleet electrification is possible with current technology. However, some specific days of operation would require over 1,600 kWh of energy due to longer distances traveled by the trucks and more intense operation. Trucks used for long distance and intense operation cannot be readily electrified with current technology without operational changes. Full adoption of BETs could reduce CO 2 emissions from these fleets by roughly 75% today, eliminating 76 metric tons of CO 2 (MTCO 2 ) per vehicle each year, which equates to 24,100 MTCO 2 per year for all three operators. Commercially available direct current fast chargers (DCFC) have charge rates up to 350 kW. Based on the average daily modeled energy use for each operator, current industrial rate structures, and the assumption of 350 kW peak charging, full drayage electrification would increase electricity consumption. In addition, peak demand usage would increase with unmanaged charging along with cost of electricity having a direct impact on cost per mile for electric vehicles. The resulting cost per mile for BETs along with comparable cost per mile for conventional diesel trucks are also examined at $\$$4.00 per gallon of diesel. It will be important for PANYNJ and the drayage operators within the PoNYNJ to consider these load impacts to their existing electrical infrastructure and devise operational strategies that avoid coincident charging of vehicles to mitigate demand charges. Despite these electricity cost increases, savings from reductions in diesel consumption will help offset the costs of this increased electricity consumption. However, prices of both electricity and diesel are subject to change based on various factors meaning the realized savings will vary over time. This shows BETs could be cost-competitive on an energy cost per mile basis for all scenarios while diesel is above $\$$3.00/gal. Further, if diesel prices dropped to the 15-year low of $2.33/gal, it would still be cost competitive to operate the EVs with electricity costs of 16.3 ¢/kWh or less.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Large-scale Hydrogen Storage – Risk Assessment Seattle City Light and Port of Seattle [Abstract]

This CRADA presents the strategy that Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) will take to support Seattle City Light (SCL), and the Port of Seattle (Port) in performing a risk assessment of large-scale hydrogen storage. Risk assessment is often used to ensure that adequate measures are taken to protect workers and the public, the environment, infrastructure, and assets. A detailed risk assessment can also be used to direct funding and upgrades, to specific components and sub-systems in order to mitigate risks to the larger system. In this way risk assessments are often employed as a part of a larger risk management strategy, with the goal of minimizing the occurrence of hazards and to identify means to limit their consequences. Risk assessment is often used to engage and inform regulators, and to communicate how specific regulations are being met. However, it is important to note that the proposed work is not intended for SCL and the Port to use in order to gain regulatory acceptance for their proposed activities. The work performed as a part of this effort will be a preliminary risk assessment for early-stage component and system designs and should be considered research and development (R&D). As such, the proposed work will be performed to a quality level and design maturity consistent with R&D and is not considered appropriate for final safety analysis and regulatory compliance purposes. Previous and on-going work at SCL and the Port demonstrated the utility of deploying hydrogen systems at the Port. The deployment of hydrogen at the Port is a part of a larger vision of using hydrogen to address a range of issues for SCL and the Port. These include large-scale fueling of MD/HD vehicles, cargo-handling equipment (CHE), and harbor vessels to reduce emissions; support of adjacent LD vehicles; support of critical port operations during extreme events (i.e., resiliency); deferral of more capital- and time-intensive electrical distribution system upgrades while still supporting evolving port operations and decarbonization efforts; facilitating electrification by establishing energy storage as a grid resource, starting at strategic port locations; creation of a flexible market resource that can be used by SCL to generate revenue via arbitrage; support of planned future maritime operations that involve heavy use of hydrogen for ocean-going vessels; and future end-use applications involving natural gas pipeline hydrogen injection. Ultimately, the success of these activities is underpinned by the deployed storage capacity. Large-scale deployment of hydrogen systems will require hydrogen storage at a scale that has not been demonstrated. In addition, the ideal location for such multi-use systems is near the end user which will often necessitate deploying into urban and/or industrial areas. A detailed risk assessment using the Port as a test case is necessary to ensure the deployment of large-scale hydrogen is successful. Many technologies have been proposed for hydrogen storage; however, these technologies need to be analyzed as they apply to an actual site. The physical infrastructure and hydrogen use cases for the Port will be analyzed, and a risk assessment for compressed hydrogen, liquified hydrogen, and Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) storage will be performed. These risk assessments will be useful for understanding how each of these technologies would perform in terms of facility and public safety. The operating states of the proposed hydrogen systems at the Port will be analyzed and incorporated into the storage risk assessment. Scalability will also be analyzed to understand how future port uses would affect the overall risk assessment. Finally, using the risk assessment as a tool to inform engagement and to gain stakeholder acceptance will be explored.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2021

Interfacing Atmospheric Flow Tube to Ion Mobility Spectrometry: FY 2021 Final Report

An atmospheric flow tube (AFT) provides extended ion-molecule reaction times of 2-3 seconds compared to milliseconds in typical mass spectrometers. This results in several orders of magnitude enhanced sensitivity allowing for vapor detection at the parts-per-quadrillion levels when an AFT is coupled to a mass spectrometer (MS). The goal of this project was to demonstrate the feasibility of integrating an AFT ionization source to a more portable ion mobility spectrometer (IMS). This project was successful in integrating AFT to IMS, as shown in Figure ES.1. The PNNL team demonstrated measurable ion signal from an AFT-IMS with a Faraday plate detector. Reasonable ion signals were detectable at low flow rates approaching 1 m/s. This is close to the flow rates used with the AFT-MS, which has demonstrated parts-per-quadrillion vapor detection. Vapor detection enables non-contact detection of a variety of illicit substances for various applications including cargo screening, mail sorting facilities, and checkpoints. With further improvements to enhance detection, AFT-IMS has the potential to allow ultra-trace vapor detection in a more portable device.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Live-Cell Quantum Dot-Based Tracking of Plant & Microbial Extracellular Vesicles

All cellular organisms examined to date release various types of small vesicles called extracellular vesicles (EVs). They were originally thought to be unimportant, but research into EVs as carriers of key messages for communication within large, multicellular organisms or between interacting organisms has gained interest in many different scientific areas of study. Recently, it was discovered that both plants and their pathogenic fungi generate EVs and they are important vehicles for sending plant signals to thwart invasion by fungal pathogens, and in response, fungi use EVs to help evade plant defenses. This project aimed to develop new ways to visualize EVs and their potential nucleic acid cargo isolated from the crop plant, sorghum. We adapted a click chemistry-based method for making quantum dot-based RNA sensors, which will be a useful tool for others studying small RNAs. These sensors were not used detect RNA in sorghum EVs because unlike EVs from Arabidopsis, sorghum EVs were not enriched for specific small RNAs. This interesting difference shifted the project in an exciting direction, which focused on comparing EV proteomes. Our study discovered that greater than 60% of Arabidopsis EV proteins were also found in the sorghum EV proteome, revealing a partial conservation between a eudicot and monocot plant. These studies have raised new, fundamental questions on the conserved function of EVs in plants.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Dynamic structural determinants in bacterial microcompartment shells

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are polyhedral structures that segregate enzymatic cargo from the cytosol via encapsulation within a protein shell. Unlike other biological polyhedra, such as viral capsids and encapsulins, BMC shells can exhibit a highly advantageous structural and functional plasticity, conforming to a variety of anabolic (CO 2 fixation in carboxysomes) and catabolic (nutrient assimilation in metabolosomes) roles. Consequently, understanding the subunit properties and associated protein–protein interaction processes that guide shell assembly and function is a necessary step to fully harness BMCs as modular, biotechnological nanomachines. Here, we describe the recent insights into the dynamics of structural features of the key BMC domain (Pfam00936)-containing proteins, which serve as a structural template for BMC-H and BMC-T shell building blocks.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Port Electrification Handbook: A reference to aid U.S. port energy transitions

Port electrification can take many forms, such as electrifying cargo handling equipment or deploying a microgrid to power critical port infrastructure. To help evaluate the growing challenge of increased electrification and its impacts on the system, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed this Port Electrification Handbook with support from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity’s Microgrids R&D [research and development] program. The goals of this handbook are the following: (1) Help port operators and planners evaluate different electrification technologies; (2) Explain how these technologies could aid and impact ports and surrounding communities; and (3) Provide step-by-step considerations for port electrification.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Assessment of Materials-Based Options for On-Board Hydrogen Storage for Rail Applications

The objective of this project was to evaluate material- and chemical-based solutions for hydrogen storage in rail applications as an alternative to high-pressure hydrogen gas and liquid hydrogen. Three use cases were assessed: yard switchers, long-haul locomotives, and tenders. Four storage options were considered: metal hydrides, nanoporous sorbents, liquid organic hydrogen carriers, and ammonia, using 700 bar compressed hydrogen as a benchmark. The results suggest that metal hydrides, currently the most mature of these options, have the highest potential. Storage in tenders is the most likely use case to be successful, with long-haul locomotives the least likely due to the required storage capacities and weight and volume constraints. Overall, the results are relevant for high-impact regions, such as the South Coast Air Quality Management District, for which an economical vehicular hydrogen storage system with minimal impact on cargo capacity could accelerate adoption of fuel cell electric locomotives. The results obtained here will contribute to the development of technical storage targets for rail applications that can guide future research. Moreover, the knowledge generated by this project will assist in development of material-based storage for stationary applications such as microgrids and backup power for data centers.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2023

Assessment of tank designs for hydrogen storage on heavy duty vehicles using metal hydrides

The objective of this project was to evaluate material-based hydrogen storage solutions as a replacement for high-pressure hydrogen gas or liquid hydrogen on Class 7 or 8 tractor fuel cell electric vehicles. The project focused on low-density main-group hydrides, a well-known class of materials for hydrogen storage. Prior research has considered metal amides as storage materials for light-duty vehicles but not for heavy-duty applications. The project established the basis for further development of storage systems of this type for heavy duty vehicles (HDV). Systems analysis of an HDV storage system comprised of a tank and associated balance of plant (piping, coolant tubes, burner) was performed to determine the usable hydrogen capacity. A composite storage material comprised of a metal hydride mixed with a high thermal-conductivity carbon is predicted to have a usable hydrogen volumetric capacity comparable to or exceeding that of 700 bar pressurized hydrogen gas. The gravimetric capacity of this material is also predicted to be competitive with pressurized gas, particularly if costly carbon fiber composite Type III or Type IV tanks are excluded. The storage system design parameters and material properties served as inputs to a second model that simulates fuel cell operation in conjunction with the storage system during an HDV drive cycle. The results show that sufficient hydrogen pressure can be produced to operate a Class 8 HDV, yielding a range of ~480 miles. These results are particularly relevant for high-impact regions, such as the South Coast Air Quality Management District, for which an economical vehicular hydrogen storage system with minimal impact on cargo capacity could accelerate adoption of heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles. An additional benefit is that knowledge generated by this project can assist in development of material-based storage for stationary applications such as microgrids and backup power for data centers.

08 HYDROGEN↗