INL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Science

INL’s Hydrogen Initiative

Continued on back

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

INL 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 firstgeneration integrated fuel

processor for producing

hydrogen-rich gas from NATO76 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. INL 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, INL 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. INL

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

This initiative addresses scientific and engineering issues where advancements must

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

portfolio of research and applied engineering capabilities and projects and its significant

operations infrastructure – to address this historic priority – as it focuses on hydrogen production, separation, storage and use.

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

undergoing testing at INL.
INL RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Continued from front

05-GA50193-15

both electricity and high

temperature heat to the

electrolyzer. Greater efficiency

is realized as a 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 INL 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

INL 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 INL-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 INL 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, INL is involved in the

conceptual design of an

integrated nuclear reactor/

Sulfur-Iodine cycle for hydrogen production. INL 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, INL 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

INL has worked 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 by

product formed in the hydrogen

For more information

generation step. INL is working

on borohydride regeneration

with DOE funding.

Carbon Materials

INL has worked 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, lowcost, 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 INL 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

INL include dynamometer,

closed track, emissions, and

fleet operations testing along

with data collection, analysis

and dissemination.

Technical and

Management Contact:

John Kolts

208-526-2235

John.Kolts@inl.gov

2

INL is a U.S. Department of

Energy national laboratory

operated by Battelle Energy

Alliance