Harnessing the Power of
Hydrogen
LAUREN PAWLING
STEVE REINAUER
JOSH OLZINSKI
NISARG JOSHI
Objectives
 What is hydrogen power?
 How does it work?
 What are hydrogen power’s goals?
 What are the problems presented by hydrogen
power?
 What are the benefits of hydrogen power?
 How sustainable and reliable is hydrogen?
 Overall effectiveness of hydrogen
Hydrogen Power: What is it?
 H is one of most common chemicals on earth and
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can be extracted from multiple sources
Hydrogen is not a fuel…it is a way of storing and
transporting energy
Similar to a battery
First was used for space crafts
In order to use hydrogen energy, it must first be
made

Extracting hydrogen from fossil fuels or using electricity to
split water
Hydrogen Power: How it works
Simply works through
the exchange of H+
ions between the
catalysts from the
stored hyrdogen
The electrons cannot
pass and create an
electric flow
This electric flow
creates energy
Ideal Goal for Hydrogen
 Use renewable energy sources as means to
generate hydrogen power
 If fossil fuels are still used for hydrogen
production, use method to get rid of carbon
dioxide
 All cars be run on hydrogen
 Create hydrogen power infrastructure
 Produce large amounts of hydrogen to pump into
infrastructure
Hydrogen Economy
 If hydrogen economy actually came into place, there
would be a way to distribute hydrogen power
anywhere

Infrastructure (piping)
One large production/distribution center
Infrastructure
Distribute to homes/work places
Evidence Supporting Hydrogen Power
 Hydrogen can produce up to 3x as much energy as
natural gas
 9 million metric tons hydrogen / year

Enough to power 20-30 million cars or 5-8 million homes
 While in use, hydrogen emits no carbon dioxide,
only in production
 Can be generated from water as waste and solar
energy: both inexhaustible energies
 Drivers using it can save money through hydrogen
fuel over a long period of time
Evidence Supporting Hydrogen Power
 Water is MAIN byproduct
 Weighs less than hydrocarbons
 Has a greater output than hydrocarbons
 Burns faster and at a much lower temperature than
hydrocarbons
 Large and growing industry

2004: 50 million metric tons were produced globally
 Growing by 10% annually
 Low carbon hydrogen power is possible…
Evidence Opposing Hydrogen Power
 Requires an input of energy just to create hydrogen
 Hydrogen is not readily available
 Hydrogen is normally a gas
hard to handle
 More dangerous than other substances

Needs to be checked periodically
 Hydrogen has been called the “least efficient and
most expensive possible replacement for gasoline
(petrol) in terms of reducing greenhouse gases”
 Very costly
Evidence Opposing Hydrogen Power
 Extreme Cost
 Right now only 4% of
production is being used
from electrolysis
 Rest is from fossil fuels
 Hydrogen uses fossil fuels
in production and in
return, creates
greenhouse gases
 Experts agree that
hydrogen can be
unpredictable

Example: Hindenburg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hin
denburg_burning.jpg
Evidence Opposing Hydrogen Power
 Hard to store
 Hydrogen can react with metals it’s stored in and cause leaks
 Need to be able to produce at least ten times more in
order for hydrogen powered vehicles to be normal
 AND this needs to be done in an efficient and
environmentally friendly way which is the problem
 Morita, an analyst says that hydrogen is “not suitable
for onboard storage” http://sitemaker.umich.edu/section4group1/hydrogen_p
ower
Hydrogen Run Vehicles
 Very clean and efficient
 Can become cost efficient
over a long period of time
 In hydrogen internal
combustion engine
vehicles, the hydrogen is
combusted in same way as
traditional engines
 In fuel cell conversion
engines, the hydrogen is
reacted with water to form
electricity, using that to be
power an electric traction
motor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydro
gen_economy
Environmental Concerns
 Fossil fuel reforming (a way
of hydrogen production)
leads to the increase of
carbon dioxide
 Electrolysis also leads to
increase of carbon dioxide
 Possibility of formation of
free radicals in stratosphere


Hydrogen gas leaks out slowly
(significant amounts could be
harmful)
Free radicals would lead to
ozone depletion
“ Using dirty energy to
make clean energy doesn’t
solve the problem-it just
moves it around”
 Improper burning of
hydrogen produces highly
polluting nitrous oxides
Safety Concerns
 Hydrogen is not simply
flammable, it creates
explosions
 Hydrogen has the highest
explosives with air other
than acetylene
 Pure hydrogen-oxygen
flames burn in UV rays that
are nearly invisible to
humans
 Hydrogen is odorless

Detected through flame
detector
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_eco
nomy
Social Laws/Political Problems
 Many hydrogen codes
and standards for
hydrogen fuel cell
vehicles, stationary fuel
cell applications and
portable fuel cell
applications
 In order to
commercialize hydrogen
power, advocates want to
change laws to make it
easier to distribute to a
wide area
 Trying to change
building codes and
quality control processes
to save money through
the federal and state
government
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_economy
Any Laws Preventing Hydrogen Power?
 Standard for the
Installation of stationary
fuel cell power systems

From National Fire
Protection Association
 Hard to use hydrogen in
areas that are closed


 Many laws concerning
safety of hydrogen
 World’s First Higher
Educational Programme in
Hydrogen safety


European Commission trying
to educate every day people
Trying to make hydrogen
power safer by educating

Example: tunnels
Extremely explosive and
dangerous
Certain laws explain where
hydrogen power can/cannot
be used
Hydrogen Production
Enhanced in Developed
Areas
 Largely produced in
California, Louisiana,
and Texas
 Globally Iceland and
China are large
producers
 Continue to produce in
areas that have
developed renewable
resources
Development in New
Areas
 Possible but expensive
 In order to reduce
carbon emissions,
plants are being
produced in areas that
can feed renewable
energies into the plants

Need hydrogen plant in
addition to plant for
energy source
U.S. Hydrogen Production
https://apps3.eere.energy.gov/ba/pba/analysis_database/docs/image/hydrogen
_production_by_volume.gif
Japan's Hydrogen
Community
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl
Iceland’s Geothermal
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl
Technical Impediments in Development and
Deployment
 Production, Storage,
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and Delivery
Uses a great deal of energy
to isolate hydrogen from
natural compounds
Energy also used to
package hydrogen gas
Loses energy when
converting to usable energy
Only about 25% of energy
is left for use after
production
Possibilities to Overcome Impediments
 Figure out better ways to
produce

Improving existing processes
such as steam methane
production, multi-fuel
gasification, and electrolysis
 New ways to store
hydrogen power

None of current storage
devices satisfy current needs
 New ways to deliver
hydrogen power

If a complete infrastructure
comes into play, the
distribution will be overcome
Sustainability of Hydrogen Power
 Hydrogen is sustainable
 As long as energy is able to be produced from hydrogen, the
hydrogen is very near an inexhaustible source

Electrolysis of water
 But this requires an input of energy
 Most commonly energy comes from fossil fuels
 Sometimes solar, geothermal, wind, biomass, nuclear (very small
percentage)
 Fossil fuels are the cheapest ($9.50 vs $1 per gallons of gasoline
equivalent)
 Until completely weaned off of fossil fuels, hydrogen power
will always have some dependence upon fossil fuels, therefore
always nearing depletion
 Hydrogen has the ability to be truly sustainable

Not quite there
Truth or Consequences?
 Construction of world’s
first “emission-free”
hydrogen power plant
 Will use wind and solar
energy to split water
apart into hydrogen and
oxygen
 BUT permitting process
is not quite complete and
building has yet to begin
Conclusion
 Hydrogen power has many
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benefits but appears to have too
many loose ends to be a great
answer to current energy demands
High cost
No real loss of greenhouse gases
Unpredictable and highly
explosive
Benefits don’t outweigh the
disadvantages
Right now no energy storage
scheme or infrastructure in place
Hydrogen has ability to be a great
source of energy in the future but
there are multiple points that need
to be fixed in order to maximize
use and efficiency and overall
reduce the hazards related to it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_economy