Search

The rollout of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) requires the initial deployment of an adequate network of hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs). Such deployment has proven to be challenging because of the high initial capital investment, the risk associated with such an investment, and the underutilization of HRSs in early FCEV markets. Because the compression system at an HRS represents about half of the station's initial capital cost, novel concepts that would reduce the cost of compression are needed. Argonne National Laboratory with support from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) has evaluated the potential for delivering hydrogen in high-pressure tube-trailers as a way of reducing HRS compression and capital costs. This paper describes a consolidation strategy for a high-pressure (250-bar) tube-trailer capable of reducing the compression cost at an HRS by about 60% and the station's initial capital investment by about 40%. The consolidation of tube-trailers at pressures higher than 250 bar (e.g., 500 bar) can offer even greater HRS cost-reduction benefits. For a typical hourly fueling-demand profile and for a given compression capacity, consolidating hydrogen within the pressure vessels of a tube-trailer can triple the station's capacity for fueling FCEVs. The high-pressure tube-trailer consolidation concept could play a major role in enabling the early, widespread deployment of HRSs because it lowers the required HRS capital investment and distributes the investment risk among the market segments of hydrogen production, delivery, and refueling.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Fuel Cell Technologies Program (FCT) has made significant progress in fuel cell technology advancement and cost reduction, highlighted by reducing the cost of automotive fuel cells by more than 80% since 2002. Research and development of enabling technologies for the widespread production of affordable renewable hydrogen remains a challenge. In response, FCT worked with the federal Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee to assemble an Expert Panel on Hydrogen Production, comprised of leading experts from industry, academia and national laboratories, to evaluate the current status and future prospects for viable hydrogen production technologies. Key emphases were on current reforming and electrolytic processes in near-term hydrogen markets and the need to transition to industrial-scale renewable hydrogen production for the longer term. Central to the long term vision are the solar-to-hydrogen conversion technologies, including the photoelectrochemical, biological, thermochemical and integrated solar-electrolysis routes.

More than 9 million metric tons of hydrogen are produced annually in the United States. The majority of the infrastructure is dedicated to supplying hydrogen to the petroleum refining and ammonia manufacturing industries. However, the hydrogen refueling infrastructure in the United States is in its early market phase for fueling hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The hydrogen refueling infrastructure includes the production and delivery of hydrogen, which includes packaging, distributing, storage, and dispensing of hydrogen. Currently, the majority of the hydrogen infrastructure development activities is in the state of California, primarily to support the deployment of FCEVs and meet the 1.5 million zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) sales target by 2025. In this chapter, we discuss the various initiatives, deployment strategies, and marketing strategies being actively pursued in the United States to enable commercialization of FCEVs. The current technologies, processes, and associated challenges of the storage, packaging, transport, and dispensing operations are discussed.