Air Products has set up a wastewater treatment plant in Orange County USA that produces hydrogen, electricity and heat from municipal wastewater. This is the first technology application of its kind in the world and seeks to lead the way with sustainable (and affordable) hydrogen production.

The facility will produce enough hydrogen to fuel between 25 and 50 fuel cells vehicles each day in addition to providing 250 kilowatts of electricity.

The process for producing the hydrogen involves holding the wastewater in tanks until methane gas is produced. This gas is then captured and reformed to make hydrogen that is pure enough to be used in fuel cell vehicles.

Probably the most interesting part about this process is that the feedstock does not necessarily have to be sewage. Air Products’ has identified a number of other potential feedstock’s such as agricultural, food, and brewery wastes and landfill gas which can make use of the same process.

Moreover, Air Products boldy states that “If all of these available streams were converted to hydrogen, it could support fueling up to 200 million fuel cell vehicles in the U.S. with hydrogen and point to sustainable energy independence.”

You can read more about this story in Air Products’ press release here.

Here is the transcript from the interview I had in April. I thought it was worth posting just for reference purposes, as it's always interesting to look back a few years down the line and see if the predictions have actually come true!

HydroKevin: What is your vision for the hydrogen highway system that is just now starting to be built in the UK?

Andrew: My vision for the hydrogen highway system is that it will provide a benchmark for future generations of transport, just as the very first motorways did for the car. It will enable those in close proximity to  test, hire and purchase hydrogen driven vehicles, and those further afield to witness an inspiring change to the way in which we use and  store energy. Perhaps most importantly, it will prove that hydrogen is a workable solution to diminishing fossil fuel resources and environmental challenges.

HydroKevin: Who do you see as the major players in building the hydrogen highway system?

Andrew: This is an interesting question as it is shaped partly by the way in which the highway system is being funded. One example of this would be the numerous competitions held by the Technology Strategy Board (you can  visit their website at http://www.innovateuk.org/). The light-touch approach with incentives for small and medium sized technology companies is likely to bring some new competitors to the marketplace. Many of these companies are university spin-outs, meaning that they are full of  new ideas and technological innovations that have yet to reach the  mainstream.

I also see a role for the larger energy companies, but I believe that they are likely to come along much later down the line once the initial financial risks have been reduced.

At the moment my shortlist of major players would be:

•Revolve Technologies – because of their ability to retrofit existing ICE vehicles •ITM Power – because of their revolutionary HFuel unit and the reduced cost of producing hydrogen

•Air Products – because they already have a foot-hold in a number of Hydrogen projects in the UK. These include developing the hydrogen refueling infrastructure for London buses and the refueling station at Loughborough University

•Glamorgan University – because they are next to the M4 and are already investing in a hydrogen engine test facility.

HydroKevin: What is your website’s goal in delivering this news to the United Kingdom and the rest of the world?

Andrew: My website’s goal is to inspire people about how hydrogen can be used in the real world to solve many of our fuel and energy storage problems. By providing a centralised point for contacts, information and resources in the UK I hope that people will come together and promote hydrogen on a wider scale.

In September 2010 the installed capacity of wind power in the UK was over 5 GigaWatts (number taken from renewableUK energy website:  http://www.bwea.com/statistics/).
However, much of the energy generated by wind power fails to be utilised.  The issue behind this waste is two-fold: an inadequate connection to the National Grid and high energy production when demand is low.

Due to the National Grid’s centralised nature it is not yet fully optimised to receive large amounts of energy from remote sites (these tend to be the locations where most wind power comes from). However, this is a factor that is likely to be addressed in coming years as the need for renewable energy increases.

The second major problem that has been facing wind farms is that the power generation can be both intermittent and unpredictable. The obvious solution to this problem is to store the excess energy and save it until it is needed later. The less obvious part is which energy storage method to choose, as reflected in a statement made by the House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs in their Fourth Report, November 2008:

"A breakthrough in cost-effective electricity storage technology would help solve the problem of intermittency and remove a major stumbling block to wider use of renewable energy in the longer term. However, no evidence we received persuaded us that advances in storage technology would become available in time materially to affect the UK's generating requirements up to 2020. We recommend that the Government should as a matter of urgency encourage more research, development and demonstration in energy storage technologies."

It is interesting to note how accurately this statement reflects the current status quo. The only large-scale storage of energy that is presently being performed is through elevated reservoirs, such as Festiniog and Dinorwig in North Wales. Water is pumped from the lower reservoir to the higher reservoir when surplus energy is being generated. When the energy is later required, the water is then released back to the lower reservoir through a series of turbines to recover some of the power. This method is very primitive, costly and difficult to facilitate: you have to have the correct geographical aspects (in this situation 2 lakes, one higher than the other), plenty of money and be close to the original energy source.

The next commonly proposed option is the use of batteries, but this idea is misleading from the very beginning. Yes, the energy will be stored cleanly and will instantly be on tap when required, but at the same time you have to consider where the batteries came from in the first place. They are full of unpleasant chemicals which have to be mined and processed. They are dependent on finite resources such as lithium and this again makes them prohibitively expensive. Add to that the disposal costs and they are a complete non-contender.

Finally you have the underdog: hydrogen. Probably the most misunderstood energy storage medium that receives little consideration. For many, the word hydrogen conjures up little more than images of a blimp catching fire, but the science behind this technology is incredibly sound. During periods of surplus energy generation, an electrolyser can be used to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen is then stored in a pressurised container until it is needed. When the energy is later required, the hydrogen is passed back through a fuel cell to create both water and electricity.

So, the question you’re asking now is, why aren’t we using this technology? Until recently, electrolysers and fuel cells were items consigned purely to the science lab. This made them prohibitively expensive and unappealing to energy companies. However, recent interest from the automotive industry has kick-started a whole new wave of hydrogen commercialisation and research. The car manufacturers need this technology to work so that they can reduce vehicle emissions to meet future targets. This has led to improved efficiencies, production line scale-ups and innovation. Although hydrogen technology is not yet mass-market, it is beginning to head in that direction. This has significantly improved the economic viability of connecting a wind farm to a hydrogen energy storage system. Coupled to that are the additional advantages that hydrogen has to offer, which are:

• On-site generation
• No geographic requirements
• No harmful emissions

Indeed, the House of Lords may see a marked improvement in energy storage mechanisms well before their perceived target of 2020.

I have been keeping a close eye on Air Products over the last few months as they have been quietly beavering away at a number of different infrastructure projects. Their portfolio ranges from small scale refuelling (such as the refueller at Loughborough University) to large scale renewable energy plants. It is indeed the latter item which has caught my eye recently - with plans to build a new 49MW renewable energy plant in the Tees Valley.

The proposed scheme, to be located at the Reclamation Pond site (adjacent to the North Tees Chemical Complex) near Billingham, will generate renewable electricity for up to 50,000 homes in the North East. It is anticipated that the scheme will create up to 50 permanent jobs and 500-700 jobs during its three-year construction period. The project is currently awaiting planning approval from the local council.

So how does this project relate to hydrogen? - Well the plant also has the potential to generate renewable hydrogen for mobile and stationary energy applications. It is being considered for a demonstration of Waste2Tricity’s fuel cell technology. The Waste2Tricity process involves heating landfill materials to over 5000 degrees Celsius using plasma torches. This produces a syngas composed of hydrogen and carbon monoxide which can then be passed back to a fuel cell to generate electricity or stored for use by other applications later. In the past the gases produced had been burned in an internal combustion engine (ICE) to make electricity. Waste2Tricity are hoping that by adding an alkaline fuel cell to this process 60% more electricity can be produced than by using an ICE.

You can find out more about Waste2Tricity on their website here: http://waste2tricity.com/

The other recent Air Products item which caught my eye was the announcement of plans to install the country’s first mobile hydrogen fuelling station with dual-pressure fuelling capability. The unit that they have announced will have 700-bar hydrogen fuelling capability and be based in Millbrook Proving Ground. It will also be the UK’s only mobile hydrogen station capable of refuelling buses (provided by a Transport for London initiative).

Interestingly this development sounds very similar to ITM Power's HFuel unit, although the technical specifications are pretty thin on the ground at the moment. You can view the Air Products press release, dated 12th July 2010, here: http://www.airproducts.co.uk/news/2010-07-12.htm