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Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) Hydrogen Programs
Overview
HNEI brings together people from a wide range of disciplines and different types of
organizations to tackle the urgent and complex sustainable energy needs of the state and
the nation. Analysis, research, engineering, economics, and policy are integrated to
develop technology, strategies and policies that will have significant positive impact on
the energy mix.
HNEI was established in 1974 to coordinate and undertake the development of natural
energy resources for Hawaii. An HNEI strategic plan developed in 2005 called for the
institution to be the UH and State focal point for multidisciplinary research and education
on the energy supply for Hawaii. In recognition of its significant contributions, the
Hawaii State Legislature established HNEI in statute (ACT 253) in 2007 and expanded
its mandate to explicitly include coordination with state and federal agencies; and the
demonstration and deployment of efficient end-use technologies including those that
address peak electric demand issues.
In executing its mission, HNEI has assumed a pivotal role within the state to reduce
Hawaii’s dependence on fossil fuels, serving as the implementing organization for several
large, high-visibility public-private partnerships to develop, deploy and demonstrate
renewable energy systems. HNEI works closely with federal funding agencies, industry,
the State Energy Office, State legislators, and the congressional delegation; regularly
participating in high level coordination meetings.
While HNEI’s responsibilities go beyond traditional academic research, playing a
significant role in public-private partnerships and supporting analysis for state energy
policy, we have also maintained our strong core research effort. HNEI conducts programs
in the areas of Alternative Fuels; Renewable Power Generation Technologies; Energy
Efficiency; Electrochemical Power Systems; and Systems Integration/Energy Security.
Figure 1: HNEI Activities
HNEI’s activities can be grouped into five core functions; Research & Development,
Technical Validation & Implementation, Analysis & Modeling, Education & Training,
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and State Energy & Policy Support. As illustrated in the schematic, these functions are
inter-related, and overlap by design, in order to maximize collaboration and leverage
resources.
Act 253 also established the Energy Systems Development Special Fund (ESDSF) and
directed that it be managed by HNEI, but it went unfunded until 2010, when ACT 73
established a barrel tax and authorized that 10 cents of the tax on each barrel be deposited
into the ESDSF. UH/HNEI access to those funds was delayed until June 2011. That fall,
in collaboration with the State Energy Coordinator, HNEI developed an expenditure plan
to maximize the value of these funds to meet near term needs and opportunities within
the state. HNEI initiated actions on all but one of the original items. In 2012, HNEI, again
in collaboration with DBEDT, expanded the project portfolio to include additional high
priority projects.
HNEI’s Hydrogen Program:
Hydrogen Infrastructure
HNEI is working with a range of partners to develop, test, demonstrate and evaluate
hydrogen infrastructure in support of fuel cell electric vehicles. Hydrogen infrastructure
is the system that produces, compresses, stores, delivers, and dispenses hydrogen for an
end-use transportation application. The ultimate challenge for introducing hydrogen in
the transportation sector is to reduce the cost of hydrogen dispensed at the nozzle. In
order to displace fossil fuels hydrogen must be economically competitive with other
transportation fueling options. Light-duty vehicles such as cars have largely been
designed to use high pressure (700 bar) onboard hydrogen storage systems while heavyduty vehicles such as buses, use lower pressure (350 bar) storage systems. HNEI has been
working on several major projects that address these infrastructure challenges. Our dual
pressure hydrogen fueling station at Marine Corps Base Hawaii is demonstrating a stateof-the-art, dual pressure 350/700 bar fueling dispenser to fuel General Motors Equinox
fuel cell electric vehicles. Our project based at the Natural Energy Laboratory Hawaii
Authority (NELHA) is testing the viability, durability, and performance of an electrolyzer
to potentially regulate grid frequency and produce transportation hydrogen. This has the
potential to add bigger amounts of intermittent renewables such as solar and wind on the
grid while at the same time offsetting hydrogen cost by providing an ancillary service for
grid regulation that has a monetary value. Our Hawaii Volcanoes National Park project
demonstrates the use of 350 bar hydrogen dispensing for fuel cell electric buses.
Hydrogen delivery from a central hydrogen production plant utilizing hydrogen transport
trailers (HHT) is being investigated using our fleet of four HHTs. In non-technical areas,
HNEI is supporting state policy makers by developing hydrogen implementation plans,
and making recommendations for new policy to support the introduction of hydrogen
infrastructure.
Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i (MCBH) Hydrogen Fueling Station at Kaneohe Bay:
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) leased and deployed five General Motors
(GM) Equinox Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) at MCBH to enable the US
Navy/Marine Corps to conduct technical evaluations and gain experience in the
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operation of FCEVs utilizing direct hydrogen fuel. HNEI signed an MOA with
MCBH Hawaii to provide high pressure refueling infrastructure in support of this
work. The station has been commissioned and fueled its first vehicle on November
19th, 2015.
Figure 5: MCBH Dual Pressure “Fast Fill” Hydrogen Station
Hydrogen Energy System as a Grid Management Tool: In a joint USDOE-DOD
project HNEI is developing hydrogen production infrastructure at the Natural
Energy Laboratory Hawaii Authority (NELHA) on the Island of Hawai‘i. The
project objectives include dynamic operation of an electrolyzer to demonstrate its
potential to provide frequency control in support of additional renewable generation,
and to provide fuel for two transportation demonstration projects. In August 2015
HNEI completed seven months of system commissioning and dynamic testing at
Powertech Labs facilities in Vancouver. After completing some design changes
identified during the test program, the system will be delivered to Hawaii and
installed at the NELHA. The hydrogen produced at NELHA will be used to support a
County of Hawaii Mass transit Agency fuel cell electric shuttle bus based in Kona,
and two fuel cell electric shuttle buses based at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The hydrogen systems are projected to be fully operational by mid-2016.
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Figure 2: Grid Hydrogen Project on the Island of Hawaii
Figure 3: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Fuel Cell Electric Bus
Hydrogen Fueling Tube Trailers: HNEI is purchasing three (3) hydrogen transport
trailers for the supply of hydrogen produced at NELHA to support fuel cell electric
shuttle buses operated at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and the Island of Hawaii
Mass transportation Agency. Each of the trailers carry over 100 kilograms of
hydrogen at a pressure of 450 bar (6,600 psi). The trailers support the development of
critical hydrogen delivery infrastructure on the Island of Hawaii. The trailers will be
delivered in early 2016 with the hydrogen energy system equipment.
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Figure 4: Hydrogen Transport Trailers
Solar Fuels – Photo Electro Chemical Production of Hydrogen
Research is being performed to develop new materials and new device structures for
the photo electrical chemical production of hydrogen from the sun. The team at HNEI
engineered advanced thin film semiconductors for solar-powered hydrogen
production. In this process, a thin film solar absorber is immersed into an aqueous
solution and uses sunlight energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. This
process requires materials with specific optical and electrochemical properties in
order to generate hydrogen efficiently and durably. Three important material classes
with high potential for solar-powered water splitting were investigated in this project:
metal oxides, chalcopyrites and amorphous silicon carbides.
Hydrogen Gas Separation
HNEI researchers are performing an experimental investigation of pressure swing
adsorption for separating hydrogen from pipelined synthetic natural gas and from
product gas from the HNEI fluidized bed gasification system.
Alternative Fuels
Alternative fuels, for both transportation and power generation, are an important
component of Hawaii’s efforts to reduce its dependence on imported petroleum.
HNEI conducts research, testing and evaluation, supporting the development of
alternative fuels including biomass and biofuels, hydrogen, and solar fuels, and
methane hydrates. HNEI also conducts analysis and planning to assess the potential
for alternative fuels, including the use of LNG to meet Hawaii energy needs.
Alternative Fuel Assessments
In support of Hawaii's Clean Energy Initiative, HNEI continues to conduct a wide
range of assessments for various alternative fuels including biomass and biofuels,
hydrogen, and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
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Biomass and Fuel Processing (Gasification)
Biomass from agricultural, silvicultural, and urban sources can be used as the starting
material to produce electricity, fuels, and higher value products. Chemical and fuel
properties of these materials can vary significantly. Processing can serve to reduce
variability and improve properties for a targeted end use application. Processes under
investigation include biomass fractionation and thermochemical conversion of
biomass to intermediate products. Research in gasification focuses on producing
liquid fuels from synthesis gas. This spans the spectrum of biomass energy
conversion including pretreatment, conversion processes, and downstream
processing.
The Hawaii Sustainable Energy Research Facility
The Hawaii Sustainable Energy Research Facility (HiSERF) was established in 2003
in partnership with HECO, United Technologies Fuel Cells, and the Office of Naval
Research. HNEI conducts research, development, testing, and modeling of fuel cell
and battery technologies ranging from materials and single cells to complete systems.
The primary purpose of these efforts is to help understand their performance and
durability for a wide range of applications including commercial vehicles, unmanned
aerial and undersea vehicles, and in the case of batteries, to provide ancillary support
services for the electrical grids.
Figure 6: The Hawaii Sustainable Energy Research Facility
Fuel Cells
HNEI’s fuel cell research is focused on the development and testing of proton
exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells for commercial and defense applications,
including unmanned aerial and undersea vehicles. Current research and development
is focused on understanding the impacts of fuel and airborne contaminants on the
performance and lifetime of component materials, single cells, stacks, and small fuel
cell systems. Ongoing field studies include the modification of fuel cell buses to
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operate in harsh environments with
testing taking place in a high sulfur,
volcanic environment. Researchers in this
laboratory have developed many
innovative chemical and electrochemical
characterization techniques to separate
and quantify performance losses and to
elucidate mechanisms controlling
reactant and product transport and fuel
cell degradation. An equation-based,
object-oriented fuel cell model library
developed by HNEI and Georgia Tech is
being used to understand the spatial
effects of contaminants at the cell and
system level. Some of these techniques
are now being applied to test battery packs and gain additional insights into the
operation of battery energy storage systems. Current topics extend to derivative
technologies including helium reclamation from hydrogen rocket process streams
using a fuel cell to separate the helium and hydrogen. HNEI was part of the team led
by the Naval Research Laboratory that developed and flew an unmanned plane for
over 24 hours on 500 grams of hydrogen. HNEI continues to support NRL
development of fuel cell technology for unmanned vehicles.
Battery Technology
HNEI researchers research, test
and model battery technology to
further understand their
performance and durability for
use in electric vehicles (EVs), for
renewable energy storage
applications and ancillary service
to the grid, and as components of
power systems for unmanned
vehicles. The effort is conducted
in two laboratories: the
Electrochemical Power Systems
Laboratory (EPSL) and HiSERF.
Researchers at EPSL conduct
basic and applied research,
testing and modeling to develop advanced battery system diagnostic and prognostic
capabilities seeking to develop better protocols for management of batteries and
battery charging for a variety of applications. Researchers at HiSERF investigate
mechanisms controlling battery degradation in technologies of near term interest for
grid ancillary services and for electric vehicles. This work supports HNEI’s grid-scale
battery deployments (See Grid Integration: Testing and Demonstration) and work to
enable the integration of EV into the grid (See Transportation).
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