Metal-water reactors for producing hydrogen on demand for mines and remote industry

事实证明，可再生一次能源是经济的，采用这些技术来实现低碳社会是触手可及的。然而，加拿大仍然必须解决两个更大的挑战，才能成功地摆脱碳基能源。首先是清洁能源的季节性储存。我们需要一种按季节储存清洁能源的机制，以帮助平衡清洁能源的季节性变化，并允许从加拿大出口过剩的清洁能源。其次是重工业、交通运输和偏远或离网发电部门的脱碳。这些部门仍然严重依赖化石燃料，除非开发出可行的、成本效益高的低碳替代品，否则这种依赖将继续存在。这些应用中使用的发动机需要持续的高功率，而电池无法提供。氢曾被考虑过，但没有被采用，因为它固有的低能量密度使其存储和运输过于昂贵。我们建议使用铝和锌等金属作为储存过剩清洁能源的廉价替代品。这种金属燃料会在较高的温度和压力下与水反应，释放出热量、氢气和金属氧化物。这些热量可以用来驱动蒸汽轮机发电。氢气可以用于氢气汽车，或用于热力发动机以产生更多动力。金属氧化物是无毒的，可以通过无碳工艺完全回收到原始金属中。因此，金属是可以长期可持续的循环燃料。该项目旨在使金属水反应堆技术离商业化更近一步。该项目的主要重点将是开发金属-水连续流动反应堆，评估生产的金属氧化物的可回收性，并通过各种案例研究建立金属燃料的商业案例。金属水技术的发展将使加拿大能够廉价地储存和运输清洁能源。这将支持加拿大人从化石燃料过渡到可再生能源。它还将使加拿大成为大规模清洁能源解决方案的全球领先者。

Renewable primary energy sources are proving to be economical and adopting these technologies to achieve a low-carbon society is within reach. However, Canada must still address two greater challenges to successfully transition away from carbon-based energy. First is the seasonal storage of clean energy. We need a mechanism by which to store clean energy on a seasonal basis to help balance the seasonal variability of clean energy and allow for export of excess clean energy from Canada. Second is the decarbonization of the heavy industry, transportation and remote, or off-grid, power generation sectors. These sectors are still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, and will remain so unless viable, cost-effective, low-carbon alternatives are developed. The engines used in these applications require sustained, high-power, which batteries cannot provide. Hydrogen has been considered but not adopted, because its inherently low energy density renders it too expensive to store and transport. We propose to use metals, such as aluminum and zinc, as a cheap alternative to store the excess clean energy. The metal fuel would react with water at elevated temperatures and pressures to release heat, hydrogen gas, and metal oxides. The heat can be used to drive a steam turbine to produce power. The hydrogen may be used for hydrogen vehicles, or in a heat engine to produce more power. The metal oxides are non-toxic and can be fully recycled back to the original metal using carbon-free processes. As such, metals are circular fuels that can be sustainable for the long term. This project aims to bring metal-water reactor technology a step closer to commercialization. The main focus of this project will be on developing a metal-water continuous flow reactor, assessing the recyclability of the metal oxides produced, and build the business case for metal fuels through a variety of case studies. The development of metal-water technologies will enable Canada to cheaply store and transport clean energy. This will support Canadians in transitioning away from fossil fuels to renewable sources. It will also put Canada as a global leader in large scale clean energy solutions.