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

今年早些时候，英国政府与许多其他国家保持一致，制定了氢战略计划。这相当于到2030年实现5GW低碳氢气生产的目标。目前，最常见的制氢途径是蒸汽甲烷重整。氢也可以通过电解产生，电解有四种主要类型；碱性、PEM、阴离子交换膜及固体氧化物。目前，阴离子交换膜的寿命<5000小时，固体氧化物电解槽的堆叠资本成本超过1500英镑/千瓦时。碱性电解槽更便宜，其堆叠成本为200英镑/千瓦时，PEM接近300英镑/千瓦时。包括工厂余额在内的总成本接近700- 1000英镑/千瓦时，包括整流器、H2净化、供水、净化和冷却。大多数机组的生产功率约为1MW，然而，计划建造一个20MW的试验机组。政府还承诺100%使用可再生能源，因此为了满足电网稳定性的技术要求，包括满足冬季低风高峰，需要安装额外的可再生能源发电容量。由于电网的运行限制，风力发电场不会被削减，取而代之的是，作为风力发电场的一部分，产生的能量可以以最小的额外运营成本生产氢气。因此，氢气的成本取决于技术、储存和运输的资本成本。如果有充足的免费电力，几乎没有其他用途，那么氢气生产的效率就不是一个问题，而是一个成本问题。该提案着眼于使用一种替代和互补的技术来实现这一目标；battolyser。电解槽是电池/电解槽的结合，基于水液流电池技术。因为它也是为电池功能预先设计的，电极可能比电解槽中的电极更稳定。液流电池的设计规模可达100MW， 500MWh，而电解槽的计划规模为20MW，因此，一旦通过早期TRL障碍，电池电解槽技术就有很大的潜力可以迅速扩大规模。电池电解槽的其他优点包括使用低危害化学品和制造中使用的材料的更高可用性。此外，还有可能与现有的回收设施联系起来，有助于长期可持续发展规划。由于电池电解槽是一种既能产生电能又能产生氢气的单一设备，它比电解槽具有更大的经济可行性，因为它具有多种价值流。该项目将研究电解槽生产低成本绿色氢的潜力。该项目旨在通过与海上风力发电场相结合的绿色制氢电池的建模、原型设计和表征，证明这在经济上是可行的，在技术上也是可行的。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.