Advanced Renewable Hydrogen Production

1
Advanced Renewable Hydrogen Production Working
Group
Future Directions for Hydrogen Energy Research
and Education NSF Workshop
Helena L. Chum, ChairBrian Castelli,
Coordinator June 28, 2004
2
Overview

• Identifies some broad areas to be discussed
• Working Group to confirm these and identify
  others
• All participants to bring in RD recommendations
  from their knowledge of the field and also from
  the various meetings on research directions that
  took place 2002-2004.
• From these recommendations, the Working Group
  will identify specific recommendations for NSF of
  science and engineering RD research that
  supports these areas.

3
Breakout Program Questions

• What advanced renewable energy technologies
  should we include as relevant production sources
  for hydrogen production and what are their
  relative merits?
• What are the critical science and engineering
  areas that must be addressed in both the short
  and longer term for advanced renewable hydrogen
  production?
• What role can terrestrial or aquatic carbon
  sequestration play in hydrogen production and
  what areas are prime candidates for further RD
  efforts?
• What direction should the NSF research agenda
  take in order to ensure that the pathways to
  advanced hydrogen production is logically pursued
  and intelligently implemented?

4
Breakout Areas 2-430 p.m.
Area 1 Biological and Bioinspired Systems, and
Artificial PhotosynthesisDr. Maria Ghirardi
(10 minutes) Biological, bioinspired systems
review of gaps and recommendations
(confirmed) Professor Thomas Moore (10 min)
Photophysics gaps and recommendations
(requested) Questions/Discussion (25 minutes)
Area 2. Electrochemistry, Photoelectrochemistry,
Chemical Catalysis Dr. John Turner (10 min)
Electrolysis and Photoelectrochemistry gaps and
recommendations (confirmed) Questions/Discussion
(15 minutes) Area 3. Possible transitional
strategies - Biomass conversion, engineering,
and biological carbon sequestrationDon Ehrbach
(5 min) biomass RD needs and recommendations(req
uested)Professor Bruce Logan (7 min) new
engineering concepts Helena Chum (7 min) carbon
sequestration science gaps and recommendations
(confirmed)Questions/Discussion (20 minutes)
5
Breakout 430 530 p.m.

• Identifying and prioritizing RD needed to pursue
  critical research gaps in advanced hydrogen
  production.
• Preparations for next days summary
• Session summary
• The Chair will summarize key issue areas/research
  gaps that have emerged from the preceding
  discussions and lay the foundation for the RD
  plan based on the Working group discussions.
• The Chair will also charge each member of the
  panel to come prepared for finalizing
  (tweaking) the plan during the first hour-long
  session the following day.

6
Prior Workshops Summaries

• Basic Research Needs for a Hydrogen Economy, 2003
• AFSOR Workshop on BioHydrogen, Moleculaar
  Biomimetic Systems, and Artificial Photosynthesis
  for H2 Production, 2003
• NRCs The Hydrogen Economy Opportunities, Costs,
  Barriers and RD Needs 2004
• DOE Hydrogen, Fuel Cell, and Infrastructure
  Program Plan/ Vision/Roadmap
• LBNL Workshop (Security added to previous
  efforts) 2004
• Biomass RD Opportunities 2002

7
Messages

• Enormous gap between present state-of-the-art
  capabilities and requirements that will allow
  hydrogen to be competitive with todays energy
  technologies
• production 9M tons ? 40M tons (vehicles)
• storage 4.4 MJ/L (10K psi gas) ? 9.72 MJ/L
• fuel cells 3000/kW ? 35/kW (gasoline engine)
• Enormous RD efforts will be required
• Simple improvements of todays technologies
• will not meet requirements
• Technical barriers can be overcome only with high
  risk/high payoff basic research
• Research is highly interdisciplinary, requiring
  chemistry, materials science, physics, biology,
  engineering, nanoscience, computational science
• Basic and applied research should couple
  seamlessly

http//www.sc.doe.gov/bes/ hydrogen.pdf
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Priority Research Areas in Hydrogen Production
Fossil Fuel Reforming Molecular level
understanding of catalytic mechanisms, nanoscale
catalyst design, high temperature gas
separation Solar Photoelectrochemistry/Photocatal
ysis Light harvesting, charge transport,
chemical assemblies, bandgap engineering,
interfacial chemistry, catalysis and
photocatalysis, organic semiconductors, theory
and modeling, and stability Bio- and
Bio-inspired H2 Production Microbes component
redox enzymes, nanostructured 2D 3D
hydrogen/oxygen catalysis, sensing, and energy
transduction, engineer robust biological and
biomimetic H2 production systems Nuclear and
Solar Thermal Hydrogen Thermodynamic data and
modeling for thermochemical cycle (TC), high
temperature materials membranes, TC heat
exchanger materials, gas separation, improved
catalysts
Ni surface-alloyed with Au to reduce carbon
poisoning
Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Synthetic Catalysts for Water Oxidation and
Hydrogen Activation
9
LBNLWorkshop
LBN
Building a better H2 producer
Building a new chromosome based on genome
sequences
Maximizing conversion to H2
Maximizing renewable resource utilization
10
LBN
Roadmap to an H2 super-producer
Genetic circuit repository
Synthetic microbial core
Computational microbial design lab
Bio-Fab Lab
Functional genomics core
Protein complex core
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
Chromosome engineering
(Keasling/Arkin LDRD)
Building a platform host
Gene expression engineering
Cell wall engineering
Maximizing host robustness
Basic understanding of cellulosome
(Martin LDRD)
Renewable resource utilization
Cellulosome in new organism
Engineer high-flux carbon metabolism
Identify and clone hydrogen pathways
High-rate hydrogen production
Eliminate undesirable reactions
Maximizing conversion efficiencies
Production conditions
LBNL Workshop
11
Minimum Carbon Paths to Hydrogen
Renewable Energy H2O

• Solar
• Wind

Electricity
Electrolysis
Hydrogen
12
Low/No Carbon Paths to Hydrogenand Other
Bio-Refinery Products
Renewable Energy Stored in Plants
Sea Water
Fresh Water
Land
Crops
Trees
From Plankton to Fish
Fiber
Food
Feed
Chemical Raw Materials
Construction Materials


Energy resources
Residues
Hydrogen or other Gaseous or Liquid Fuels
13
DOE/EERE Hydrogen Production Team

• Arlene Anderson - Distributed Reforming (Natural
  Gas, Liquid Fuels)
• Roxanne Danz Overall Feedstock/Production/Delive
  ry Strategy and Analysis and Direct Water
  Splitting Using Photolytic Processes
• Matt Kauffman - Electrolysis and Electricity
  Infrastructure Integration
• Mark Paster - Hydrogen Production with Biomass
  and Hydrogen Delivery
• Pete Devlin - Team Leader

14
Production Objectives
Research and develop low-cost, highly efficient
hydrogen production technologies from diverse,
domestic sources, including fossil and renewable
sources.

• By 2010 Complete Research to Achieve
• 1.50/kg hydrogen (delivered, untaxed) for
  distributed production from natural gas and/or
  liquid fuels.
• 2.85/kg with distributed/central electrolysis.
• 2.90/kg hydrogen at the plant gate from biomass
  pyrolysis.
• 4/kg hydrogen at the plant gate for a
  solar-driven thermochemical water splitting
  cycle.
• By 2015 Demonstrate
• Engineering-scale biological system producing H2
  at a plant-gate cost of 10/kg projected to
  commercial scale.
• Direct PEC water splitting with a plant-gate H2
  production cost of 5/kg projected to commercial
  scale.

15
Delivery Objectives
Develop hydrogen fuel delivery technologies that
enable the introduction and long-term viability
of hydrogen as an energy carrier for
transportation and stationary power.

• By 2006, define a cost-effective and
  energy-efficient hydrogen fuel delivery
  infrastructure for the introduction and long-term
  use of hydrogen for transportation and stationary
  power.
• By 2015, reduce the total cost of hydrogen fuel
  delivery to lt1.00/kg.

16
Production and Delivery RD Approach

• Work with industry partners to identify technical
  issues, establish mutual goals, and evaluate
  progress
• Focus on high risk production and delivery RD
• Near and long term pathways
• Central and distributed technologies
• Structure research to encompass diverse energy
  feedstocks and sources including natural gas,
  liquid fuels, solar, wind and biomass
• Execute projects under cost-shared agreements
• Measure progress regularly in a peer reviewed
  process

17
DOE-BES Sponsored Workshop on Basic Research for
Hydrogen Production, Storage and Use
Walter J. Stevens Director Chemical Sciences,
Geosciences, and Biosciences Division Office of
Basic Energy Sciences
Workshop dates May 13-15, 2003 A follow-on
workshop to BESAC-sponsored workshop on Basic
Research Needs to Assure a Secure Energy Future
18
Hydrogen Production Panel
Current Status, Challenges and Opportunities
Status Steam-reforming of Oil and Natural Gas
produces 9M tons H2/yr expandable to 40M tons/yr
needed for transportation, given better
catalysts. Requires CO2 sequestration to meet
fundamental goals of H2 economy. Alternative
energy resources and conversion technologies
Coal cheap lower H2 yield/C more
contaminants RD needed for process development,
gas separations, catalysis, impurity
removal. Solar widely distributed
carbon-neutral low energy density.
PV/electrolysis current standard 15 efficient
- needs 0.03 of land area to serve
transportation. Nuclear abundant
carbon-neutral long development cycle.
Intermediate goals better CATALYSTS and better
materials for fossil and biomass conversion
processes. Long term goals more efficient,
cheaper, more durable solar conversion processes
Development of nuclear resources reduce
dependence on noble metal catalysis.
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Hydrogen Production Panel
Fossil Fuel Reforming

• Scientific Challenges
• Improved catalysts (e.g. lower T water-gas shift
  reaction desulfurization catalysts) - more
  active, more specific, more stable, less
  susceptible to poisoning/fouling
• Improved gas separations (e.g. membranes more
  robust and selective)
• Opportunities
• Combinatorial synthesis, analysis of catalysts
• Integrated experimental and computational
  approaches to understand/control
• active sites at atomic level
• catalytic mechanisms
• catalyst design on the nano-scale

20
Hydrogen Production Panel
Nuclear and solar thermal hydrogen

• Scientific Challenges and Opportunities
• Cost/efficiency (duty cycle) for solar
  thermochemical (TC)
• Separations and materials performance
• H2 from direct thermolysis (gt2500oC) and
  radiolysis are interesting but speculative
• Priority Research Areas
• Thermodynamic data and modeling for TC
• High temperature materials in oxidizing
  environments at 900oC
• - Solid oxide materials and membranes
• - TC heat exchanger materials
• High temperature gas separation
• Improved catalysts

21
Hydrogen Production Panel
Solar PV/PEC/photocatalysis

• Scientific Challenges and Opportunities
• Integrate light harvesting, charge separation and
  transport, charge transfer (fuel formation) and
  stability into working systems
• Design and assembly of 2-D and 3-D systems
• Priority Research Areas
• Light harvesting - absorption of full solar
  spectrum, efficiency
• Charge transport - effect of structure, energy
  loss mechanisms, charge separation
• Composite assemblies
• - Organic/inorganic/polymer hybrid chemical
  systems
• - Effects of nanostructure and surface area

22
Hydrogen Production Panel
Bio- and bio-inspired H2 production

• Findings Scientific Challenges and
  Opportunities
• Identify microbes component redox enzymes,
  proteins, cofactors, regulatory pathways for
  producing/metabolizing H2 and other fuels (CO,
  CH4,)
• Efficiently interface biomimetic redox catalysts
  into complex 2D, 3D structures for
  hydrogen/oxygen catalysis, sensing, and energy
  transduction
• Findings Priority Research Areas
• Biomimetic catalysts for hydrogen processing
• Exploiting biodiversity for novel biocatalysts
  and determining mechanisms of assembly
• Coupling electrode materials to light-driven
  catalytic water oxidation, hydrogen production
  components
• Biomimetic nanostructures to organize catalytic
  functions of water oxidation and hydrogen
  production

23
Advanced Biological Techniques
Environmental Sampling Microbial Communities
Applications Algae Ponds
Microalgae production facility of Cyanotech, Inc.
in Kona, Hawaii.
Source Frank Dazzo, Center for Microbial
Ecology, Michigan State University
Artificial Chromosome Minimum Genome
Source Smith et al., IBEA
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Crosscut Issues

• Catalysis
• Membranes and Separations
• Nanostructured / Novel Materials
• Sensors, Characterization and Measurement
  Techniques
• Theory, Modeling, and Simulation (TMS)
• Safety

25
Synthetic Biology (LBNL Mtg)

• De novo design of biological entities
• Enzymes
• Biomaterials
• Metabolic pathways
• Genetic control systems
• Signal transduction pathways
• Need the ability to write a blueprint

26
Why do we need synthetic biology? (LBNL Mtg)

• Synthesis of complicated molecules not found in
  nature
• Designer enzymes
• Designer cells with designer enzymes or existing
  enzymes
• New materials
• Designer soft biomaterials for tissue/organ
  growth drug delivery
• Designer hard biomaterials for micro- and
  nanofabrication processes, microelectronics,
  membranes, and catalytic surfaces
• Chem/Bio threat detection and decontamination
• New hydrolytic reactions
• New metabolic pathways for complete degradation
• New cells that will swim to the threat and
  decontaminate it
• Energy production
• Production of hydrogen or ethanol
• Efficient conversion of waste into energy
• Conversion of sunlight into hydrogen

27
Identifying Scientific frontiers

• Computational biology to build on existing trends
• Genomics
• Structural biology
• Better understanding of complex systems
• Metabolic engineering of biochemical and
  regulatory pathways
• Develop specific tools for renewable biomaterials
  and bioenergy
• Integrating biomass supply with ecological and
  economic models
• Merging nanotechnologies with biological systems
• Robotics and automated systems in cropping and
  processing systems

Biomass Partnerships Workshop, 2002
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Key scientific and technological challenges

• Plant Science
• Genetic engineering of cell wall
• Bioinformatics/plant genome database mining
• Crop and tree production
• Forest sustainability
• Crop/soil productivity
• Phytoremediation
• Durability and performance of biomaterials
• Characterization
• Reduce degradation

Biomass Partnerships Workshop, 2002
29
Key scientific and technological challenges

• Environmental
• Carbon sequestration
• Durable goods and products (i.e. engineered
  soils)
• Water resource synergies
• Supply engineering (harvest, collection,
  transport)
• Designer plants (similar to microorganisms)
• The new biorefinery
• Flexible thermochemical processing
• Optimization for maximum value
• Use of small diameter trees
• Advance membrane technologies (improve
  separations)

Biomass Partnerships Workshop, 2002
30
Key scientific and technological challenges

• Environmental
• Carbon sequestration
• Durable goods and products (i.e. engineered
  soils)
• Water resource synergies
• Supply engineering (harvest, collection,
  transport)
• Designer plants (similar to microorganisms)
• The new biorefinery
• Flexible thermochemical processing
• Optimization for maximum value
• Use of small diameter trees
• Advance membrane technologies (improve
  separations)

Biomass Partnerships Workshop, 2002
31
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