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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.

Hydrogen refueling stations require high capital investment, with compression and storage comprising more than half of the installed cost of refueling equipment. Refueling station configurations and operation strategies can reduce capital investment while improving equipment utilization. Argonne National Laboratory developed a refueling model to evaluate the impact of various refueling compression and storage configurations and tube trailer operating strategies on the cost of hydrogen refueling. The modeling results revealed that a number of strategies can be employed to reduce fueling costs. Proper sizing of the high-pressure buffer storage reduces the compression requirement considerably, thus reducing refueling costs. Employing a tube trailer to initially fill the vehicle's tank also reduces the compression and storage requirements, further reducing refueling costs. Reducing the cut-off pressure of the tube trailer for initial vehicle fills can also significantly reduce the refueling costs. Finally, increasing the trailer's return pressure can cut refueling costs, especially for delivery distances less than 100 km, and in early markets, when refueling stations will be grossly underutilized.

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.

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) has made significant progress in hydrogen and fuel cell technology advancement and cost reduction. With the rollouts of fuel-cell vehicles by major automotive manufacturers underway, enabling technologies for the widespread production of affordable, renewable, low carbon footprint hydrogen becomes increasingly important. FCTO’s Hydrogen Production Program supports a broad range of H2 production pathways, ranging from nearer-term to longer term technologies. Advanced water splitting (AWS), including electrolysis, photoelectrochecmical and thermochemical routes, is one of the more versatile pathways and can play a significant role. A general overview of FCTO’s H2 Production Program with a focus on advanced water splitting technologies will be provided. Fundamental materials challenges remain which limit conversion efficiency and durability of AWS H2 production pathways, therefore limiting large-scale technoeconomic viability. Expensive materials are commonly required. Innovations are needed in the development of functional materials and interfaces which address the thermodynamic and kinetic limitations to performance and lifetime at the macro-, meso- and nano-scales. Catalytic advances, especially with respect to low- and non-platinum group metal (pgm) hydrogen and oxygen evolution catalyst materials in both acidic and basic environments, are needed for low temperature electrolysis operation. Examples of ongoing electrolysis and photoelectrochemical R&D will be discussed.

Research and development investments by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office have contributed to significant technological advancements leading to the cost reductions witnessed in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies over the past decade. The long-anticipated rollouts of fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) by major automotive manufacturers over the next several years provide clear evidence of this progress. At this tipping point when FCEVs are just entering the market, continued cost reductions sustained by ongoing scientific advances remain critical. Consumer acceptance will hinge not only on affordable cars, but also on the widespread availability of low-cost hydrogen. In the near term, hydrogen demand for early FCEV markets can be supplied through standard reforming of natural gas and biomass feedstocks. Emerging commercial technologies based on water electrolysis can also contribute. In the DOE’s longer term vision, a significant penetration of FCEVs into transportation markets coupled with an industrial-scale supply of renewable hydrogen could help the U.S. achieve its clean-energy and environmental goals. The continued development of enabling technologies for the widespread and affordable production, delivery, storage and utilization of renewable hydrogen is essential. Materials costs as well as system-level performance and durability issues all contribute to the cost barriers in these technologies. Quantifying these barriers and tying them to specific scientific and engineering metrics provides a powerful tool toward achieving needed performance enhancements and cost reductions. In the hydrogen and fuel cell space, DOE utilizes technoeconomic analyses to quantify key materials- and system-level cost drivers over a broad technology portfolio including fuel cells, hydrogen storage and compression, and hydrogen production by electrolytic, solar-thermochemical and photoelectrochemical water splitting, among others. In these technologies, the ultimate technical and economic viability can be linked to capital and operations costs, which are in turn impacted by fundamental materials properties, including thermodynamic and kinetic limitations. As discussed in this talk, technoeconomic sensitivity studies are invaluable in linking technology-dependent cost reduction targets with specific scientific and engineering metrics and goals. They also provide vital information for establishing research priorities for addressing the key cost drivers across all hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Opportunities to exploit research synergies among these technologies in cross-cutting functionalities such as catalysis and separations will also be discussed.

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