BLOG-H (using a Battolyser to produce LOw cost Green Hydrogen)

今年早些时候，英国政府与其他许多国家一样，制定了氢战略计划。这相当于到2030年低碳制氢5GW的目标。目前，最常见的氢气生产途径是蒸汽甲烷重整。氢也可以通过电解生产，电解主要有四种类型：碱性、PEM、阴离子交换膜和固体氧化物。阴离子交换膜目前的寿命小于5000小时，固体氧化物电解槽的电池堆资本成本超过1500英镑/kWe。碱性电解槽更便宜，电池堆成本为200英镑/kWe，PEM接近300英镑/kWe。总成本包括设备的平衡接近£700-£1000/kWe，包括整流器，H2净化，供水和净化以及冷却。大多数机组的生产功率约为1兆瓦，但计划建造一个20兆瓦的试验机组。政府还承诺转向100%可再生能源，因此为了满足电网稳定性的技术要求，包括在低风时满足冬季高峰，需要安装额外的可再生能源发电容量。而不是由于基于电网的操作限制而削减风电场，作为其一部分产生的能量可以用于以最小的额外运营成本生产氢气。因此，氢的成本取决于技术、储存和运输的资本成本。如果有足够的免费电力，而几乎没有其他用途，那么氢气生产的效率比成本更重要。该提案着眼于使用电解槽的替代和补充技术来实现这一目标; battolyser。Battolyser是一种电池/电解槽组合，基于水液流电池技术。因为它也是为电池功能预先设计的，所以电极可能比电解槽中的电极更稳定。与计划的20兆瓦电解槽相比，液流电池的设计规模高达100兆瓦，500兆瓦时，因此一旦通过早期TRL障碍，就有很好的潜力迅速扩大电池技术。Battolyser的其他优点包括使用低危害化学品和更高的生产材料可用性。与现有的回收设施连接也有额外的潜力，有助于长期的可持续发展规划。由于battolyser是一个可以同时生产电力和氢气的单一设备，它有可能比电解槽更经济可行，因为它有多个价值流。该项目将研究电池分解器生产低成本绿色氢气的潜力。该项目旨在通过建模、原型制作和表征一个与海上风电场相结合的绿色制氢装置，证明这在经济上和技术上都是可行的。位于拉夫堡大学可再生能源系统技术中心（CREST）的团队将与斯特拉斯克莱德大学的风电场专家以及合作伙伴公司FibreTech，Arenko和SSE一起完成这项零排放氢气的研究。

Earlier this year, the UK government in keeping with many other nations laid out its hydrogen strategy plan. This equates to a target of 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production by 2030. Presently, the most common production route for hydrogen is steam methane reformation. Hydrogen can also be produced through electrolysis of which there are four main types; alkaline, PEM, Anion exchange membranes and solid oxide. The Anion exchange membrane is currently <5000 hours life span and the solid oxide electrolyser has a stack capital cost that exceeds £1500/kWe. The alkaline electrolyser is cheaper at a stack cost of £200/kWe and the PEM is close to £300/kWe. The total cost including balance of plant is closer to £700-£1000/kWe including rectifiers, H2 purification, water supply and purification and cooling. Most units are manufactured at around 1MW, however, there are plans for a 20MW trial unit.The government has also pledged to move to 100% renewable energy and therefore to meet the technical requirements around electricity grid stability including meeting winter peak at times of low wind, additional capacity renewable generation needs to be installed. Instead of curtailing a wind farm due to grid based operational constraints, the energy produced as part of this can be used to produce hydrogen at minimal extra operating cost. The cost of the hydrogen therefore depends on the capital costs of the technology, storage and transport. If there is ample free electricity, for which there is little other use, then the efficiency of the hydrogen producing is less of an issue than its cost. This proposal looks at using an alternative and complimentary technology to electrolysers to achieve this; the battolyser. A battolyser is a battery/electrolyser combined and is based on aqueous flow battery technology. Because it is pre-designed for battery functionality too, the electrodes may be more stable than those in an electrolyser. Flow batteries are being designed in scales of up to 100MW, 500MWh compared to Electrolysers at a planned 20MW and therefore there is good potential to scale up battolyser technology quickly once it passes early stage TRL hurdles. Additional advantages of a battolyser include the use of low hazard chemicals and the higher availability of materials used in manufacture. There is also additional potential to link into existing recycling facilities helping with long term sustainability planning.As the battolyser is a single device which can produce both electricity and hydrogen it has the potential to be more economically viable than an electrolyser because of the multiple value streams. This project will research the potential of a battolyser to produce low cost green hydrogen. The project aims to show that this is both financially viable and technically possible by modelling, prototyping and characterising a green hydrogen producing battolyser in conjunction with an offshore wind farm. The team based at the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technologies (CREST) at Loughborough University will be joined by wind farm experts from Strathclyde University and partner companies FibreTech, Arenko and SSE to complete this research into zero emission hydrogen.