H2Tech - Q3 2022 - 8

TECHNOLOGY SPOTLIGHT
TRANSPORTATION
H2
-electric propulsion nacelle for H2
aircraft design
H3 Dynamics has successfully completed the world's first fully-integrated
H2-electric propulsion aircraft nacelle, the core-enabling power solution for
propulsion of future H2 aircraft designs.
In the future, a distributed H2-electric propulsion architecture could fly 19,
80 or even more than 100 passengers, allowing airlines to cover medium- and
long-haul routes more than 2,500 km (1,553 m) beyond the short-haul flight
distances targeted by emerging battery-based aircraft.
Instead of a single centralized H2
fuel cell system, H3 Dynamics distributes
multiple integrated powertrains incorporating batteries, fuel cells, H2
storage and
smaller electric motors across the wings. This means the size of each fuel cell
system, hybrid battery pack and heat management challenges all become smaller,
making systems more manageable and safer.
In 2018, H3 Dynamics filed international patents for full-scale distributed H2
propulsion and announced plans for " Element One, " a visionary H2 aircraft that
applies this technology. The completion of the propulsion nacelle marks a key
milestone for H3 Dynamics and the H2
aviation industry at large, which has gained
much traction since.
According to H3 Dynamics, this is the world's first working propulsion system
capable of being distributed on the wings of new zero-emissions aircraft.
H3 Dynamics has been working in conjunction with the realities of safety
certification timelines and entering the market with lower risk, reduced weight
unmanned platforms, progressing step by step towards heavier cargo and
manned platforms.
The new H2
propulsion systems will begin flight tests in France.
HYDROGEN
PRODUCTION
Purdue Northwest's process to
turn food waste into sustainable
H2
closer to licensing
The Purdue Research Foundation
has completed a licensing agreement
with an international energy company
for the commercialization of a new
process discovered at Purdue University
Northwest (PNW) for the biological
production of H2
from food waste.
This new process uses food waste
to biologically produce H2 that can be
used as a sustainable energy source
for producing electricity, as well as
for chemical and industrial processes
or as a transportation fuel.
According to Robert Kramer,
professor of Physics at PNW and
principal investigator for the research,
more than 30% of all food, amounting
to $48 B, is wasted in the U.S. each
year. That waste could be used in the
developed process to create H2
.
The research team has received
POWER GENERATION
WEC group testing H2
as fuel for power generation
WEC Energy Group is leading a pilot
project to test H2 as a fuel source for
power generation. The company will
test co-firing H2
with natural gas at
one of its power generation plants in
Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.S.).
This is one of the first H2
power pilot
programs of its kind in the U.S.
WEC Energy Group has set some
of the most aggressive environmental
goals in the energy industry, including
net-zero carbon emissions from electric
generation by 2050 and net-zero
methane emissions from natural gas
distribution by the end of 2030.
WEC is assuming a lead role in
8 Q3 2022 | H2-Tech.com
testing H2 in modern natural gas-fueled
generation units. According to WEC,
as more renewable energy is brought
online, it must be ensured the lights
can be kept on when the sun is not
shining and the wind is not blowing.
The potential of adding H2
as a clean
generating fuel to WEC's fleet of
dispatchable plants is an important
bridge to a bright, sustainable future.
During the pilot project, H2
and
natural gas will be mixed to a 25%/75%
blend to power one of the generating
units that serves customers of Upper
Michigan Energy Resources, a WEC
Energy Group subsidiary. The units
use a technology known as RICE-
reciprocating internal combustion
engines. The engines were manufactured
by technology company Wärtsilä.
WEC Energy Group is partnering
five grants from the U.S. Department
of Energy and the Purdue Research
Foundation totaling approximately
$800,000 over the last 8 yr to develop
the science and technology that led to
this process. Two patents have been
issued for this effort and a third patent
is in the final stages of approval. Over
the next 9 mos, a scale-up test will be
conducted. Based upon the results, it is
anticipated that construction could start
on the first commercial prototype within
one year.
H2
is light, storable, transportable,
energy-dense and produces no direct
emissions of pollutants or greenhouse
gases. Unlike fossil fuels, combustion of
H2
also has
production
does not produce carbon dioxide or
oxides of nitrogen and sulfur. H2
a higher energy yield than hydrocarbons,
according to the research team.
Currently, annual global H2
is approximately 70 MMt, with natural gas
as the primary source for this production.
The process developed at Purdue uses
what would otherwise be wasted food
to produce H2
biologically.
with the Electric Power Research
Institute, which will lead the technical
implementation of the project and share
results to further educate the energy
industry about how to successfully use
H2
for power generation to support
reducing carbon emissions.
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