 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 by Staff Writers Golden CO (SPX) May 11, 2022
Perovskite materials may hold the potential to play an important role in a process to produce hydrogen in a renewable manner, according to an analysis from scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Hydrogen has emerged as an important carrier to store energy generated by renewable resources, as a substitute for fossil fuels used for transportation, in the production of ammonia, and for other industrial applications. Key to the successful use of hydrogen as a fuel is being able to meet the Department of Energy's Hydrogen Energy Earthshot-a recently announced goal to cut the cost of clean hydrogen by 80% to $1 per kilogram in a decade. The NREL scientists analyzed an emerging water-splitting technology called solar thermochemical hydrogen (STCH) production, which can be potentially more energy efficient than producing hydrogen via the commonly used electrolysis method. Electrolysis needs electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. STCH relies on a two-step chemical process in which metal oxides are exposed to temperatures greater than 1,400 degrees Celsius and then re-oxidized with steam at lower temperatures to produce hydrogen. "It's certainly a very challenging field, and it has a lot of research questions still unanswered, mainly on the materials perspective," said Zhiwen Ma, a senior engineer at NREL and lead author of a new paper, "System and Technoeconomic Analysis of Solar Thermochemical Hydrogen Production," which appears in the journal Renewable Energy. His co-authors, all from NREL, are Patrick Davenport and Genevieve Saur. The paper complements ongoing materials discovery research by looking at the system-level design and techno-economic analysis for integrating possible materials into a solar-fuel platform and supporting the Department of Energy's HydroGEN program. The material discovery in the HydroGEN program involved machine learning, defect calculations, and experimental work to develop new perovskite materials. The researchers need to identify perovskites capable of handling the high temperatures required while hitting performance targets. This work shows part of a portfolio of techno-economic analysis focused on hydrogen production pathways each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Electrolysis, for example, is commercially available and the electricity required can come from photovoltaics (PV). The PV cells used, however, only capture a section of the solar spectrum. STCH uses the entire spectrum. The concentrated solar thermal power enables STCH to create the chemical reaction. Active research to identify the best materials for the STCH process is critical to the success of this method for hydrogen production, the scientists noted. "The material has not necessarily been found," Saur said, "but this analysis is to provide some boundaries for where we think the costs will be if the materials meet some of the targets and expectations that the research community envisions."
Research Report:System and technoeconomic analysis of solar thermochemical hydrogen production
Siemens unveils hydrogen-powered train Berlin (AFP) May 5, 2022 German industrial giant Siemens unveiled Thursday its first hydrogen-powered train developed with rail operator Deutsche Bahn, with a plan to put it into service regionally in 2024. The locomotive which runs on electricity produced by a hydrogen fuel cell "should replace diesel powered trains in regional traffic and reduce carbon emissions on rails to zero," Deutsche Bahn said in a statement. Hydrogen-powered trains is part of the German government's plan to "electrify 75 percent of the rail ne ... read more
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
