A Metal Hydride As A Means Of Energy

Storage In A Canal Boat Alex Bevan, David Book, Andreas Züttel and Rex Harris,

Department of Metallurgy and Materials

University of Birmingham, UK and EMPA, Switzerland

Alex Bevan & Rex Harris

7th February 2012

Structure of Talk

Background to the project

The boat design

Converting the boat

Details of the system

Preliminary operational data

Future developments

Conclusions

Why a canal boat ?

Water based transport is inherently efficient

High speeds are not required

The weight and volume of the hydrogen store

are small fractions of the total weight and

volume of the vessel

The weight and volume of the store can be

compensated by the removal of existing ballast

and diesel engine

The canal boat also offered an ideal

opportunity to incorporate not only

hydrogen/ fuel cell technology but also

NdFeB permanent magnet systems.

Thus the project covered the two main

areas of research of the Birmingham

group.

Also the canal runs through the heart

of the University campus

From the 1760s onwards, a large network of

canals were built across Birmingham and the

Black Country, to transport raw materials and

finished goods.

By the 1820s an extensive canal system had

been constructed; Birmingham is often

described as having more miles of canals than

Venice. Nationwide today there still exists

2,000 miles of canal network which is primary

used for the leisure industry.

Canals in Birmingham (UK)

Boat Schematic

Solid-state

Hydrogen Store

1kW PEM

Fuel Cell

‘Brushed’

Motor

Lead-Acid

Batteries

Sealed

bulkhead

wall

Seating and Passenger Area

16 m length

H2 sensor =

Ventilation = Drive-by-wire

propeller

Weight ~12 tonnes

PEM

1kW

FUEL CELL

NdFeB

Steering motor

(Brushless)

Rudder

Converting the boat

• 8 large cylinders, each containing 30 kg of metal hydride power.

• Gives about 4 kg of hydrogen.

• Operating pressure is < 10 bar

PEM Fuel Cell Batteries & Motor

www.hydrogen.bham.ac.uk

Propulsion unit

Why use a PM-Electric motor?

BrushedDC

Induction PM SR

SpecificTorque

13.5 7.4 23.7 6.4

RelativeWeight

2100 50 25 40

Efficiency 78% 84% 90% 85%

RelativeCost

2100 100 150 150

Cost and Performance Comparison

Comments: •Highly influenced by size ( particularly torque and

efficiency figures)

•Costs based on potential costs rather than current

1- Torque per unit stator

volume (kNm/m3) 2- Brushed DC machine = 100 3- Overall efficiency of motor

and power electronics

Source: J.G. West - IEE Power Division

Colloquium Digest 1993/080

Original engine

Two cylinder diesel internal combustion engine

Drive belt

Motor

Propeller

shaft

Permanent Magnet Drive Motor

Motor housing

Permanent magnets

Motor windings

& commutator

The motor is designed by the Lynch motor company based on a

brushed 4 quadrant axial flux motor, giving a power output of 10 kW

or 13 hp with a max efficiency of 89%

Hydrogen is also used in the

manufacture of the magnets

There is also the possibility of

using hydrogen to recycle the

magnets after use.

Possible Recycling Routes for

NdFeB-type Magnets

Scrap

Magnets

HD / Degas HDDR

LPPS

Zn Coating

Polymer Bonded

Magnets

Hot Pressed

Magnets

Blend with

Fresh Powder

Sintered

Magnets

The steering system also employs

NdFeB magnets

Steer By Wire Actuator Joystick

Actuator

Tiller

Hydrogen Storage

Andreas Züttel, Switzerland, 6/22/2014 2

6

HYDROGEN ABSORPTION IN METALS

Hydrogen & metal Physisorption Chemisorption

Subsurface hydrogen Solid solution (a-phase) Hydride (b-phase)

Pressure composition isotherms

• where α- & β-phases co-exist, a plateau occurs

• plateau pressure is temperature dependent

Andreas Züttel, Switzerland, 6/22/2014 2

8

HYDROGEN DENSITY

Ref: A. Züttel, “Materials for hydrogen storage”, materialstoday, Septemper (2003), pp. 18-27

Hcov H-

H2

Characterisation of storage

alloy

TiMn2-Based alloy used

Prepared and crushed to 0-10mm

Ti0.93Zr0.05(Mn0.73V0.22Fe0.04)2

Composition

TiMn-Based alloy after cycling

(30 cycles)

Particle size reduced to ~30um

A very important characteristic

for the material is its ability to be

cycled with out loss of capacity

or kinetics

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

0 0.5 1 1.5 2

wt%

Pre

ss

ure

(m

ba

r)

Cycling storage materials

Cycling system, based on a

volumetric system which is

equipped with automated valves

allowing pressure cycling of the

alloy and PCT measurement.

Room temperature PCT

measurement on boat

alloy

Cycling behavior in normal

industrial grade hydrogen

Cycling of Ti0.93Zr0.05(Mn0.73V0.22Fe0.04)2

Pressure cycling

between 20 and 1 bar

No noticeable change

in cyclic behaviour

was noticed up to

600 cycles

Cycling performance

Store Design

Valve

Filter and manifold

Fuel

cell Gas

distribution

Hydride store design

Modular design

incorporating 6

horizontal stainless steel

tubes per module with a

water cooling/ heating

jacket

Moto

r

Ti0.93Zr0.05(Mn0.73V0.22Fe0.04)2

Heat exchanger

Water pump (1)

Water pump (2)

Water filter

Heat exchange with canal water

Heat exchanger

Canal

water in

Water pump (1) Filter

Water pump (2)

Expansion

tank

Canal

water out

Hydride

modules

Antifreeze

Canal temperature

16°C September

13°C October

8°C December

3°C January

Hydrogen Recharging Hydrogen charging vs. time

Procedure 1) Connect exterior hydrogen

supply at 20Bar

2) Manually open a number of

valves

3) Follow computer controlled

filling procedure

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Time (Hours)

Hyd

rog

en

Flo

we

d (

Ltr

s)

Static water With water cooling flow

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Time (Hours)

Wate

r te

mp

era

ture

(C

els

ius)

Static water With water cooling flow

Hydrogen Charging: Large scale

The stored hydrogen is used to

power a PEM fuel cell

Air

Air + Water

Hydrogen

Hydrogen

+ -

Anode Cathode

Membrane

Electrical Load

H2 2 H+ + 2 e- O2+ 4H+ + 4e- 2H2O

Electron Flow

Proton Flow

Anode Reaction Cathode Reaction

PEM Fuel Cell

The Air cooled 1kW Reli-On PEM fuel cell

with 8 removable modules

Do we need a hybrid system?

Why batteries?

Provide a power source for the fuel cell to start up

Require peak currents higher that current fuel cell capacity

Can cope with variable electrical loads

Need somewhere to dump electrical loads (back emf)

Security, providing no loss of motive power for potential

fuel cell/ hydrogen store problems

Require battery power for long tunnels, as it might be

necessary for the fuel cell to be shut down to prevent venting

of hydrogen into tunnel

Initial running trials

Some well known faces on the

Ross Barlow

Dame Ellen MacArthur Bill Giles O.B.E

Speed, distance Vs. Motor Performance

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

14.00

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Speed (kph)

Mo

tor

po

wer

(kW

)

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5

Speed (kph)

Bo

at

ran

ge (

km

)

Battery power

Battery power + Hydrogen store

Based on 2.5kgs of hydrogen

Some important questions to be answered:

• What is the lifetime of the hydride store?

• How do the hydrogen charging and discharging kinetics

vary with cycle numbers?

• What is the lifetime of the PEM fuel cell?

• How does the performance of the fuel cell vary with time?

• What are the real costs of converting the boat to a

hybrid/electric system?

• What is the cost of “green” hydrogen?

It is possible to “up-scale” this

technology

A very large scale marine

application for metal hydride/ PEM/

PM motor.

A large scale marine application also using a PM motor, a

PEM fuel cell and metal hydride store

HDW, Shipyard/ Germany

In this case storing around

one tonne of hydrogen in 50

tonnes of metal hydide

Why call the boat the

Ross Barlow ?

In memory of Ross Barlow. PhD student in the Hydrogen Materials Group,

Metallurgy and Materials. 1st November 1979 - 13th March 2005

Ross Barlow was a postgraduate student

who worked on the Protium project in the

early stages of its development. He was

an enthusiastic supporter of all things

sustainable. Tragically, he died in a hang

gliding accident in March 2005 at the age

of 25. With the strong support of his

family we named the boat after him, as a

lasting tribute to a remarkable young man.

Other Hydride

Applications

Uninterruptible/ remote power

supplies

Fuel cell

Control system

Hybrid Fuel cell battery power

supply for remote equipment.

Control system designed using

microcontrollers to monitor

battery voltage, current usage

and control fuel cell to optimise

battery recharging and extend

running duration of equipment.

Store designed with an AB5

material, packed with a thermal

ballast material.

Hydrogen reggae

26th February 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1pnNErpu-I

Hydrogen BBQ

Hydrogen recovery

Bio-Reactor

Hydride Store

Drying column

Chiller

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25

Temperature (C)

Pre

ss

ure

(m

ba

r)

Absorption

Desorption

LaNi5-Based

material

Cooling jacket

Cooling In

Cooling Out

Filter

Isolation valve Isolation valve

Gas

In/Out Purge line

Store design, loaded with LaNi5 based material

Cooled to -3ºC for absorption, warmed to 12ºC for desorption

High pressure storage

Applications – High pressure hydride Hybrid hydrogen storage vessel

Carbon fibre or Aluminium

(depending on pressure)

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

wt%

Pre

ss

ure

(m

ba

r) -5C

0C

10C

20C

30C

Developing new Ti-V-Mn based alloys

• Hydrogen capacity (wt%) similar to state-of-the-art

• Can operate at high pressures

• Reduced hysteresis

• Indication that they are easier to activate

Metal Hydride Compressor

Two stage design with independent water cooling/ heating for each stage

Development of a hydride compressor

Applications

Hydrogen filling stations

Boosting hydrogen pressure from electrolysers

Hydrogen recovery (possibly deuterium)

Delivering hydrogen at a pressure beyond that

commercially available for lab scale applications

Possible advantages compared to a

mechanical compressor

Higher efficiency

Low noise

Higher reliability due to fewer moving parts

Extremely high purity hydrogen can be

delivered

High delivery pressures are possible

The long term sustainable solution

Electrolysis

The splitting of H2O using an electrolyser

- The purified water is split into oxygen and hydrogen by electrolysis using electricity generated from a biomass reactor.

Vents

Stacks

H2/O2

Electrolyser

Production of hydrogen through electrolysis with clean electricity

Hydrogen from Renewables

Load Matching

• Energy storage is needed (to balance varying supply with varying demand)

S u r p lu s D e f i c i t

Power

Time

Demand

RE Supply

Storage

Hydrogen

Flywheels

Super capacitors

Batteries

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

0 0.5 1 1.5 2

wt%

Pre

ss

ure

(m

ba

r)

Hydrogen

Fuel station of the future

Thank you for your attention

Acknowledgments

Advantage West Midlands

Beacon Energy Ltd

Black Country Housing Association

BOC Ltd

British Waterways

Bryte Energy

EMPA Switzerland

European Commission

Less Common Metals

Martineau Johnson

Proto Systems

SHEC/EPSRC

Solar Boat Company

Tempus

TRW Birmingham

University of Birmingham

University of Sheffield

and the following individuals:

Mr Michael Rawlinson

Mr John McConnell

Mrs Jane Tyler

Professor Rex Harris

Professor Ian Dillamore

David Book, Lydia Pickering, Allan Walton, Dan

Reed, John Turner, Malik Degri and Rex Harris

Some final thoughts…

60 million people in the UK

produce more CO2 than the 472

million living in Egypt, Nigeria,

Pakistan and Vietnam combined

The people who came before us didn’t

know about climate change and the

ones who come after us will be

powerless to stop it. Frannay Armstrong

Film: The Age of Stupid

A final sobering statistic…

From the start and finish of this

talk the world has consumed

around 2.4 million barrels of oil