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12 - Hydrogen distribution
- Edited by Michael Ball, Martin Wietschel
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- Book:
- The Hydrogen Economy
- Published online:
- 22 January 2010
- Print publication:
- 24 September 2009, pp 322-347
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Summary
An area-wide supply of hydrogen will, in the medium to long term, require the implementation of an extensive transport and distribution infrastructure. In addition, a dense network of refuelling stations will have to be put in place. This chapter first addresses the various options for hydrogen transport and their characteristics. Subsequently, different fuelling station concepts will be discussed.
Transport options for hydrogen
Three main options are used today for hydrogen transport: delivery of compressed gaseous and liquid hydrogen by trailers and of gaseous hydrogen by pipelines. The technical and economic competitiveness of each transport option depends on transport volumes and delivery distances. As hydrogen transport costs could be considerably reduced if the existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure could be used, further possibilities under consideration are the adaptation of natural gas pipelines for hydrogen transport or the transport of hydrogen and natural gas mixtures. As for hydrogen transport by ship, so far only different concept studies have been developed.
Gaseous-hydrogen transport
Hydrogen compression
Hydrogen compression is a prerequisite for the transport of hydrogen either by pipeline or in gaseous form by trailers. The compression of hydrogen is less energy intensive than liquefaction.
10 - Hydrogen production
- Edited by Michael Ball, Martin Wietschel
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- Book:
- The Hydrogen Economy
- Published online:
- 22 January 2010
- Print publication:
- 24 September 2009, pp 277-308
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Summary
This chapter provides an overview of the various hydrogen production methods. In this respect, the chapter aims especially at outlining the technical fundamentals of the most important commercial processes of hydrogen production and quantifying their technical and economic parameters, which are used in the context of modelling the build-up of a hydrogen infrastructure in Chapter 14. Novel hydrogen-production technologies that still require basic research are also briefly addressed. The chapter finishes with an assessment of the availability of industrial surplus hydrogen as a potential hydrogen source for the transition phase towards its widespread use as vehicle fuel.
Overview of production processes
Since hydrogen only occurs naturally in a bonded form, it first has to be released from its various compounds by using energy. Hydrogen can be produced from all primary energy sources. Figure 10.1 shows an overview of the various relevant hydrogen-production processes and the respective primary energy sources used, differentiated into renewable and non-renewable sources.
Hydrogen can be produced directly from primary as well as from secondary energy sources. Today's commercially applied methods based on fossil raw materials include natural gas reforming and the partial oxidation of feeds with lower quality, such as petroleum coke or other refinery residues. The gasification of coal to produce hydrogen has undergone further development in the last decade and is now also a commercially available process. Apart from this, there are other methods still at the research and development stage, particularly those based on biomass, but also biological hydrogen production.
7 - Energy-chain analysis of hydrogen and its competing alternative fuels for transport
- Edited by Michael Ball, Martin Wietschel
-
- Book:
- The Hydrogen Economy
- Published online:
- 22 January 2010
- Print publication:
- 24 September 2009, pp 199-253
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Summary
The driving forces for the development of alternative fuels are, on the one hand, anxiety about security of supply with oil, on which the transport sector still depends almost entirely, and, on the other hand, a reduction of transport-related emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants. In this respect, hydrogen and fuel cells are in competition with a number of other energy carriers and transformation technologies. For instance, hydrogen has to compete with improved gasoline and diesel engines, but also with synthetic fuels, biofuels or natural gas. With regard to drive trains, petrol and diesel engines still dominate. Besides an improvement of the efficiencies of these conventional combustion engines, there are also vehicle concepts under development, which are based on electric drives and which rely to varying degrees on batteries as a source for motion energy. Hence, this chapter briefly discusses the major alternatives to hydrogen and fuel cells in the transport sector and their characteristics.
Overview of alternative fuel options
Two thirds of today's oil use of more than 81 million barrel per day is for transportation, of which land transport for people accounts for some 55%, land transport for freight for some 35% and air transport for people and freight for around 10%. Almost 97% of road transport is fuelled by oil. The three most important targets with respect to transportation energy use, which are also increasingly favoured by policy makers around the world, are reduction of local air pollution, greenhouse gas-emissions reduction and energy security.