Transitioning the power generation sector to hydrogen

加拿大已承诺从化石燃料向低碳经济转型，以缓解气候变化。这种能源转型的一个关键挑战是需要储存来自太阳能、风能和水力发电资源的可再生能源，用于离网应用，并在可变和间歇性发电系统供不应求时提供备用电力。麦吉尔大学的替代燃料实验室(AFL)正在研究几种平行的解决方案，以弥补这一技术差距，包括使用氢和铝等金属作为可回收燃料。铝可以以紧凑和安全的形式存储能量，然后在使用时根据需要与水反应产生氢气。在任何一种情况下，氢气都是在发动机中燃烧以产生动力。氢气燃烧的研究已有多年，但仍有几个尚待解决的研究问题。第一个问题是，使用氢燃料对由此产生的氮氧化物(NOx)排放有什么影响？在本项目中，将通过AFL高压层流火焰设施中的新激光诊断测量来解决这一问题。这些新的实验，连同过去的研究，将被用来开发和验证改进的天然气与氢气混合物在发动机相关压力下的燃烧模型。第二个问题是，增加氢含量如何影响实际装置中火焰稳定的细节？这将通过在工业上相关的湍流旋流燃烧器中使用高速激光诊断实验来解决。第三个问题是，作为清洁燃料的氢气或按需生产氢气的金属-水反应堆的最佳市场进入点是什么？这些问题将通过对AFL的技术和加拿大范围内的氢电解进行新的技术经济分析来解决。这项工作将为更多地使用氢和金属燃料作为绿色能源载体开发知识和工具，并帮助加拿大向低碳经济过渡。

Canada has committed to transitioning away from fossil fuels to a low-carbon economy in order to mitigate climate change. A key challenge of this energy transition is the need to store renewable energy, from solar, wind and hydroelectric resources, for use in off-grid applications and to provide backup power for when the variable and intermittent power generation systems fall short of demand. The Alternative Fuels Laboratory (AFL) at McGill University is investigating several parallel solutions for addressing this technology gap, including using hydrogen and metals, such as aluminum, as recyclable fuels. The aluminum can store the energy in a compact and safe form and then be reacted with water to produce hydrogen on demand at the point of use. In either scenario, hydrogen is burned in an engine to produce power. The combustion of hydrogen has been studied for many years, but several open research questions remain. The first is what is the effect of using hydrogen fuel on the resulting nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions? This will be addressed in the present project through new laser-diagnostic measurements in the AFL high-pressure laminar-flame facility. These new experiments, along with past research, will be used to develop and validate improved models for the combustion of natural gas blends with hydrogen at engine-relevant pressures. A second question is how does increasing hydrogen content affect the details of flame stabilization in practical devices? This will be addressed by experiments using high-speed laser diagnostics in industrially relevant turbulent swirl burners. A third question is what are the optimal first points of market entry for hydrogen as a clean fuel, or metal-water reactors for producing hydrogen on demand? These questions will be addressed through new techno-economic analyses of the AFL's technology and hydrogen electrolysis in the Canadian context. This work will develop the knowledge and tools for increased use of hydrogen and metal fuels as green energy carriers and help Canada's transition to a low-carbon economy.