ENGR 101/HUM 200: Technology and Society

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ENGR 101/HUM 200 Technology and Society

• October 25, 2005

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Agenda

• The Hydrogen Economy
• Innovative Designs (video segment)
• Hand back exams

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Hydrogen Fuel v. Hydrogen Economy

• Changes in energy sources have broad economic
  consequences
• Energy is a key input into our economy
• The current worldwide economy is dominated by
  fossil fuels
• Energy fuels economic growth
• Infrastructure is shaped by energy needs
• Energy is infrastructure

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Replace or Enable?

• Replacement technology
• Replaces an existing product
• Electric vs. gas light
• New product must cost less
• Enabling technology
• Provides a new capability
• Airplanes and flight
• Cost not as important
• Consider the technology for Make it Better

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Fuel Cells Replace and Enable

• Energy efficiency is about replacing a technology
• Providing environmental protections (whether or
  not in response to regulations) is about enabling
  a technology

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Hydrogen Replaces and Enables

• If it increases efficiency of ICEs, that is
  replacement
• If it creates a decentralized energy
  infrastructure, that is enabling

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Hydrogen Economy

• Network of three functional steps
• Production
• Storage
• Use
• But where does hydrogen come from?
• Lots of it, but not in the right form for use as
  a fuel
• Not just a fuel, but an infrastructure

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Challenges Posed by H.E.

• Competitive production
• Distribution
• Storage
• Safety

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Why Hydrogen?

• Need replacement for fossil fuels
• Energy independence, pricing, worldwide stores
• Environmental regulations (Clean Air Act, CAs
  zero emission standards)
• Hydrogen is viewed as clean, renewable energy
  source
• Hydrogen is also an energy carrier for renewable
  energy sources (stores, moves, and delivers
  energy in a usable form to consumers)

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Some economic drivers

• Automobile manufacturers looking for good fuel
  match for fuel cell technology
• Governor of California initiated Hydrogen Highway
  Project
• 150-200 stations along state highways
• 500K each
• One step in chicken-egg dilemma

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Where does hydrogen come from?

• Introduction of hydrogen as an energy source for
  fuel cells doesnt necessarily mean no use of
  fossil fuels
• Hydrogen is produced from
• natural gas, coal, gasoline, methanol, or biomass
  through the application of heat (reforming)
• from bacteria or algae through photosynthesis
• using electricity or sunlight to split water
  into hydrogen and oxygen.

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Fossil Fuels

• Not renewable
• Reserves will eventually run out
• Some debate on when modes of extraction becoming
  more complex, more expensive
• Prices are rising even now
• By 2050, there will be a 50 increase in energy
  use worldwide
• Population growth
• Industrialization of developing countries

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Current Energy Sources

• Oil supplies 40 of the worlds energy needs
• Oil accounts for 90 of energy used for
  transportation
• Cars trucks produce 10 of carbon dioxide
  emissions in the US
• Power plants produce more than 40 of carbon
  dioxide in US

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Fuel Cells and Hydrogen

• Hydrogen fuel should not be confused with fuel
  cell technology
• In order to use hydrogen as a fuel, it still
  needs to be liberated from somewhere, and that
  takes energy
• Hydrogen fuel can be used to power ICEs as well
  as fuel cells
• Fuel cells are more efficient than either ICEs or
  batteries (can be constantly replenished open v
  closed system)
• ICE standards of longevity 15 years or 170K
  miles
• Current PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel
  cells 2000 hours

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Fuel Cells in development

• Fuel cells as batteries for consumer electronics
• Canons announcement 10/25 that it has developed
  fuel cells to replace conventional batteries for
  digital cameras and printers in 3 years
• Have to find way to provide consumers with fuel

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Some work being done at UW

• http//depts.washington.edu/fuelcell/Info/FAQ/FAQ.
  htm
• http//faculty.washington.edu/stuve/uwess/uwess.ht
  m
• http//faculty.washington.edu/cooperjs/Definitions
  /design_for_environment.htm
• http//faculty.washington.edu/cooperjs/Definitions
  /life_cycle_assessment.htm
• Life cycle assessment is a protocol to assess
  the environmental, economic, and social impacts
  of an industrial system

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What Interrupts the Optimistic Narrative?

• Hydrogen fuel burns clean but hydrogen fuel
  production is dirty
• Hydrogen is not an energy source like oil, coal,
  wind or sun but an energy carrier like
  electricity or gasoline
• But, the only byproduct from burning hydrogen in
  an ICE or a fuel cell is water

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Likely Early Adopter Industries

• For hydrogen as a fuel
• Not cars
• Difficulty manufacturing in advance of sufficient
  consumer demand
• Fuel companies unlikely to invest in
  infrastructure (filling stations) till a critical
  mass of cars
• For fuel cells
• Battery replacements
• Infrastructure elements that are looking for
  decentralization

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Some Public Policy Issues

• Infrastructure for developing countries
• A hydrogen economy would democratize energy
  generation so that all nations can have equal
  access to the benefits of electricity. The
  Futurist
• Values
• Shift required for an energy policy that promotes
  energy independence based on diverse sources of
  cleaner energy, combined with tough emission
  standards, and conservation effort
• Safety
• Hindenberg misconception hydrogen fires not
  easily detectable (odorless, colorless gas)

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Next class

• Guest lecture Prof John Kramlich
• Read The Diamond Age