This one-of-a-kind diesel reformer for hydrogen production is

undergoing testing at the INEEL. 

Hydrogen Portfolio 

The INEEL’s portfolio includes projects for the 

production, separation, storage and use of hydrogen. 

Aspects of each of these elements are highlighted in 

the following paragraphs. 

Researching Production and 

Purification

Currently, most hydrogen is produced by steam 

reforming of methane in large centralized facilities. 

This hydrogen production is conducted very 

efficiently and on a large scale. Future hydrogen 

production technologies will enable local and 

regional production and distribution systems. In the 

long-term, hydrogen will have to be produced 

without releasing carbon dioxide, and by using feed 

sources that don’t depend on volatile suppliers. 

Diesel Reformer— The INEEL is participating 

with SOFCo EFS in its 500 kWe Integrated Fuel 

Processor (IFP) Program, which is part of the Ship 

Service Fuel Cell Program of the U.S. Navy, to 

design, fabricate and test a first-generation 

integrated fuel processor for producing hydrogenrich gas from NATO-76 fuel. The IFP purifies the 

hydrogen to the quality needed for proton exchange 

membrane (PEM) fuel cell operation. The process 

uses SOFCo EFS’s autothermal reforming 

technology, and when completed, will provide clean 

electric power on board Navy ships as part of their 

fuel cell electric power generation system. 

Renewable Energy— Hydrogen can also be 

produced using renewable energy. One method 

involves biomass gasification. The INEEL is 

working with a Salt Lake City business – Emery 

Energy – on their unique gasifier concept that 

integrates features of entrained flow and fixed-bed 

gasifiers. 

Nuclear Energy— The current growth in 

hydrogen demand is already sufficient to justify the 

development of new, environmentally responsible 

methods to produce hydrogen using nuclear energy. 

As the transportation sector is revolutionized, the 

worldwide demand for hydrogen could eventually 

rival that for electricity. As the lead laboratory for 

DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and 

Technology, the INEEL is ideally 

positioned for assuming a major role in the 

development of technologies for the production of 

hydrogen using nuclear energy. The advantages of 

using nuclear energy for hydrogen production 

include decreased or no carbon dioxide emissions, 

and independence from imported fossil fuels. The 

INEEL has projects investigating the two most 

promising methods of using nuclear energy for 

hydrogen production – high temperature electrolysis, 

and thermochemical cycles for splitting water into 

hydrogen and oxygen. 

High Temperature Electrolysis

The overall efficiency of electrolysis is increased 

considerably by performing it at high temperatures. 

In this process, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) 

technology will be used with the SOFC unit 

operated in reverse as an electrolyzer. A new 

generation of nuclear reactor, the Very High 

Temperature Reactor (VHTR), will eventually 

supply both electricity and high temperature heat to 

the electrolyzer. Greater efficiency is realized as a 

INEEL Hydrogen Initiative 

This initiative addresses scientific and engineering issues where advancements must 

be made to realize the potential benefits of a hydrogen economy. It uses the INEEL’s 

research and applied engineering capabilities – and its significant operations 

infrastructure – to address this historic priority. 
Initiative Lead and 

Technical Point of 

Contact 

Ray Anderson 

Phone - 208-526-1623 

E-mail - anderp@inel.gov

Management Contact 

Bruce Reynolds 

Phone - 208-526-1992 

E-mail - reynba@inel.gov 

significant fraction of the energy input to the 

electrolyzer is supplied as thermal rather than 

electrical energy. Also, the use of higher 

temperatures for electrical generation results in a 

greater efficiency of the electrical generation step. 

This project for which Ceramatec, a developer of 

SOFC technology, is a subcontractor to INEEL is 

supported by the Office of Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and 

Infrastructure Technologies of the Department of 

Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy. 

Thermochemical Cycles

The INEEL has initiated an internally funded project 

to address technical barriers to the engineering 

demonstration of thermochemical cycles for splitting 

water into hydrogen and oxygen. A number of water 

splitting cycles have been proposed but these have 

been demonstrated only at the laboratory scale. All 

of the cycles require a source of energy – generally 

significant heat. There are a number of engineering 

barriers that must be addressed before watersplitting processes can be demonstrated on a large 

scale. This INEEL-funded project includes tasks to 

identify materials that can withstand the high 

temperatures and corrosive conditions required in 

many of the thermochemical cycles, develop 

efficient separation methods for complex chemical 

mixtures, improve kinetics, and improve the 

efficiency of electrochemical steps included in some 

of the cycles. It is envisioned that in the 2015 time 

frame, a VHTR could be operating at the INEEL 

site, integrated with the operation of two or more 

hydrogen production processes – presumably high 

temperature electrolysis and one or more 

thermochemical water splitting cycles. In another 

project, as a subcontractor to General Atomics, the 

INEEL is involved in the conceptual design of an 

integrated nuclear reactor/Sulfur-Iodine cycle for 

hydrogen production. The INEEL along with other 

national labs is currently working with the DOE 

Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology 

on an R&D plan that will lead to the eventual 

demonstration of hydrogen production using nuclear 

energy. 

Membrane Separation— In a project funded by 

DOE Fossil Energy, INEEL along with team lead 

ITN Energy Systems (Wheat Ridge, CO) and other 

team members are working to develop a unique 

composite membrane structure for high temperature 

hydrogen separation. 

Researching Storage 

Impermeable Composite Tank Liner— The 

INEEL is working with partner Quantum 

Technologies and the University of California at Los 

Angeles on an innovative concept for an 

electrochemically active liner for conformable 

composite hydrogen storage tanks to resolve the 

problem of hydrogen permeation.

Sodium Borohydride Regeneration— An 

aqueous solution of sodium borohydride allows a 

safe and convenient means of providing a source of 

hydrogen on board a vehicle. Millenium Cell, Inc. 

has developed technology for release of gaseous 

hydrogen from the borohydride solution. The 

missing link for this technology is an economical 

method for the regeneration of borohydride from the 

borate byproduct formed in the hydrogen generation 

step. INEEL is working on borohydride regeneration 

with DOE funding. 

Carbon Materials— The INEEL is working on 

advanced carbon materials (intercalated graphite) to 

increase the amount of hydrogen that can be stored 

on a vehicle, since the interior volume of the 

graphite is made available for hydrogen adsorption. 

Researching Hydrogen 

Infrastructure and Use

Fuel Cell Fabrication— A Bechtel-sponsored 

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) development project 

has designed a revolutionary, low-cost, planar SOFC 

“stack.” The structural framework of this fuel cell 

stack is largely provided by a unique nickelaluminide (NiAl) bipolar plate make by combustion 

synthesis. The electrodes can operate at high 

temperatures without oxidation of the bipolar plate. 

Vehicle Fueling and Testing— The hydrogen 

fueling station and vehicle testing activities being 

evaluated by the INEEL are supported by the DOE 

EERE Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity. 

Objectives include evaluating the safety and 

reliability of operating vehicles on hydrogen and 

blended hydrogen fuels, and evaluating the 

vehicle/infrastructure interface. Partners include 

Arizona Public Service (APS) and Electric 

Transportation Applications Corp. Hydrogen vehicle 

activities managed by the INEEL include 

dynamometer, closed track, emissions, and fleet 

operations testing along with data collection, 

analysis and dissemination. 

Hydrogen Initiative