Hydrogen Fuel Power Technology from Renewable Sources

A group of US NASA scientists are currently developing a fuelling facility that runs on solar and wind power, and which will be used to fill up hydrogen-powered buses.  The scientists’ aim is not simply to demonstrate a zero-emission fuel, but also to create the hydrogen itself without generating any associated CO2 output.

The NASA-run Glenn Research Center (located in Cleveland, US) is at the forefront of this renewable energy technology venture.  In terms of the mechanism behind the technology, windmills and photovoltaic cells will start things off.  The wind and solar energy harnessed by these will be drawn upon to operate a so-called ‘electrolyser’ - a device capable of decompounding water into hydrogen and oxygen.  The hydrogen will then be employed to power a fleet of modified buses.

Explaining the process to Discovery News, energy consultant Paul Prokopius stated: “What we're proposing is to give a full-scale demonstration of taking renewable energy off of a wind machine or photovoltaic grid, using that energy to power a water electrolyser to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen and then use that hydrogen as a fuel in a fuel cell-powered vehicle.”

Hydrogen Fuel for Buses

The anticipated cost of the hydrogen-fuel-for-buses venture is anything up to $10 million – an amount that corporate sponsorship is being sought to cover.

Glenn Research Center is working on a 12 month timescale for the system’s launch.  By this time – May 2010 – the first adapted bus, which United Technologies is constructing, should be ready to receive the fuel. 

This bus, according to Prokopius, will be “...a full-size transit bus that will operate just like the rest of the regional transit agency's buses in the city [of Cleveland]”. 

To look at, the modified bus will differ from conventional fuel powered models in having a water discharge from its exhaust – nothing else.

Wind and Solar Energy

The fuelling facility will be sited within Cleveland’s Great Lakes Science Center, which lies on the bank of Lake Eerie.  The centre already has wind and solar energy collectors in situ, while Lake Eerie itself will provide the water supply.

“The idea is that you'd stimulate jobs for the community by folks learning how to build these devices, how to operate them and also what you could use hydrogen for”, Glenn Research Center programme manager Valerie Lyons stated, adding: “Maybe people would make forklifts and other small vehicles that run off hydrogen, or convert gasoline-powered cars.”

“There are a lot of things that could stimulate the economy, with different types of jobs spinning off from the hydrogen economy.”