Decarbonization of energy era and different industrial sectors depends on hydrogen, and a Bloom Power demonstration venture is supporting the gasoline’s manufacturing by way of a sophisticated electrolyzer system.
The usage of hydrogen is taken into account vital to the decarbonization of the power sector, together with different industries similar to transportation, chemical manufacturing, and manufacturing.
Many firms are taking a look at methods to provide hydrogen extra effectively, to make the most of the gasoline’s potential to offer flexibility to power methods. Bloom Power, an organization with roots within the U.S. house program, is taken into account a pioneer of electrolyzer know-how. The San Jose, California-based group right this moment is thought for its strong oxide gasoline cells that produce on-site electrical energy, serving industrial and industrial enterprises, together with manufacturing amenities and knowledge facilities, and supporting mixed warmth and energy methods.
Bloom Power final yr started producing hydrogen from what the corporate calls the “World’s Most Environment friendly Electrolyzer and Largest Strong Oxide Electrolyzer System,” situated on the Nationwide Aeronautics and Area Administration’s (NASA’s) Ames Analysis Middle, on the historic Moffett Subject analysis facility in Mountain View, California. Bloom has stated the “high-temperature, high-efficiency unit produces 20–25% extra hydrogen per megawatt (MW) than commercially demonstrated decrease temperature electrolyzers similar to proton electrolyte membrane (PEM) or alkaline.”
Ravi Prasher, Bloom Power’s chief know-how officer and a frontrunner of the venture, instructed POWER, “The quantity of electrical energy wanted by the electrolyzer to make hydrogen would be the most dominant think about figuring out hydrogen manufacturing price. For that reason, the effectivity of the electrolyzer, the electrical energy wanted to provide a kilogram of hydrogen, turns into essentially the most vital determine of advantage.”
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1. Bloom Power’s 4-MW electrolyzer demonstration venture at NASA’s Ames Analysis Middle in California is proving the industrial viability of know-how that may produce extra hydrogen per megawatt of electrical energy. Courtesy: Bloom Power |
Prasher stated, “This 4-MW demonstration [Figure 1] on the NASA Ames Analysis Middle proves that the power effectivity of our large-scale electrolyzer is just like the small-scale system examined at INL [Idaho National Laboratory] highlighting the power of our modular structure. The electrolyzer product is leveraging the Bloom platform know-how of greater than 1 GW of strong oxide gasoline cells deployed within the subject and offering roughly 1 trillion cumulative cell working hours.
“The identical know-how platform that may convert pure gasoline and hydrogen to electrical energy can be utilized reversibly to transform electrical energy to hydrogen,” stated Prasher. “With Bloom’s high-efficiency, high-temperature strong oxide electrolyzers, we’re one step nearer to a decarbonized future powered by low-cost clear hydrogen.” The significance of Bloom’s analysis and this electrolyzer demonstration, which showcases the maturity, effectivity, and industrial readiness of Bloom’s strong oxide know-how for large-scale, clear hydrogen manufacturing, helps its alternative as POWER’s 2024 Hydrogen Award recipient.
A Decarbonized Future Powered by Hydrogen
The 4-MW Bloom Electrolyzer delivers the equal of greater than 2.4 metric tonnes per day of hydrogen. It was constructed, put in, and entered operation in a span of simply two months. Bloom officers have stated the venture has “demonstrated the viability of a decarbonized future powered by low-cost clear hydrogen.”
Bloom’s electrolyzer know-how can hint its historical past again to work carried out as a part of NASA’s Mars Area Program greater than twenty years in the past. Dr. KR Sridhar, founder, chairman, and CEO of Bloom Power, and his workforce had been charged with making a know-how that might maintain life on Mars. They constructed electrolyzers able to producing oxygen and gasoline from solar energy on that planet, and operated the system within the reverse route as a gasoline cell to provide electrical energy.
The group realized the impression of their know-how, and based Bloom Power in 2001. Curiously, the demonstration venture at Moffett Subject is on the similar web site the place Bloom started its operations greater than 20 years in the past, working in a 7,000-square-foot storage.
Bloom in a top level view of the venture instructed POWER, “Scalable and ample clear hydrogen manufacturing from electrolysis was beforehand hindered by a single variable: the price of electrical energy. It was subsequently crucial for our net-zero future that hydrogen electrolyzers eat as little electrical energy as potential to assist the monetary viability of unpolluted hydrogen.
“Bloom Power met this second with promising outcomes for the clear power economic system of the long run. In contrast to standard lower-temperature electrolyzers, similar to proton electrolyte membrane or alkaline, Bloom’s high-temperature electrolyzer generates 20-25% extra hydrogen per megawatt, demonstrating its superior efficiency and industrial viability. The demonstration at NASA’s Ames Analysis Middle proved that the world record-setting ranges {of electrical} effectivity achieved by the Bloom electrolyzer’s clear hydrogen manufacturing on the Idaho Nationwide Laboratory’s Dynamic Power Testing and Integration Laboratory are additionally replicable in large-scale, industrial functions. Put merely, the demonstration represents a pivotal second for the long run clear hydrogen economic system by cementing the industrial viability of strong oxide know-how’s large-scale functions in industrial settings.”
Bloom officers instructed POWER the demonstration at Ames Analysis Middle is distinct from its 100-kW demonstration at INL, although it does construct on the findings from that venture. The corporate stated, “Particularly, the INL venture examined the effectivity of Bloom’s electrolyzer utilizing steam and cargo simulations that replicate situations present in nuclear energy plant settings. Whereas that effort demonstrated a small-scale set up of Bloom’s electrolyzer can produce clear hydrogen at a record-setting 37.7 kWh per kilogram of hydrogen and with 88.5% decrease heating worth to DC [direct-current], the trouble [at Ames] demonstrated that very same degree of effectivity was attained by a large-scale set up thanks primarily to the power of the product’s distinctive modular structure.”
Strong Oxide Electrolyzer Know-how
Bloom stated the success of the demonstration at Ames helps continued deployment of the corporate’s Strong Oxide Electrolyzer (SOEC) know-how, which it’s utilizing to develop inexperienced hydrogen—hydrogen produced from renewable power—all over the world along with manufacturing in California, the place the electrolyzer is manufactured.
Bloom late final yr introduced a partnership with Southern California Gasoline, as that utility powers a portion of the California Institute of Know-how’s grid with hydrogen. The corporate instructed POWER: “Mixing current infrastructure with Bloom’s SOEC know-how and gasoline cell, we’ve created a microgrid to ship resilient, inexpensive, and clear energy to one of many Golden State’s main academic establishments. Particularly, the venture takes water from Caltech’s service line and runs it by way of our electrolyzer utilizing grid power to create hydrogen for injection into Caltech’s pure gasoline infrastructure earlier than finally being transformed to electrical energy for consumption round campus.”
A number of months in the past, Bloom and SK ecoplant, an engineering and power options supplier and subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, introduced a large-scale, 1.8-MW inexperienced hydrogen demonstration utilizing Bloom’s electrolyzer on Jeju Island, South Korea. The demonstration will start subsequent yr, and goals to provide inexperienced hydrogen for gasoline to assist the transportation sector together with the Korea Southern Energy Co. and native governments.
Bloom Power and Shell earlier this yr introduced a groundbreaking decarbonization examine utilizing Bloom’s SOEC know-how. The collaboration goals to develop replicable SOEC methods that may produce clear hydrogen, doubtlessly to be used at Shell belongings across the globe. Bloom instructed POWER, “This examine represents one more pivotal second for Bloom as its hydrogen electrolyzer is deployed by hard-to-abate industries searching for options that may concurrently cut back carbon footprints and maintain financial progress resulting from its world record-setting effectivity.”
‘Optimistic Outlook’ for Hydrogen
Bloom officers instructed POWER the corporate has a “constructive outlook” for the hydrogen economic system, “largely because of the milestones met by improvement of recent, thrilling, and extra environment friendly applied sciences,” together with its SOEC know-how. The group additionally acknowledged that authorities intervention and assist is probably going essential to assist “significant advances on this house.”
Sridhar famous the Biden administration’s latest determination to spur improvement of seven regional clear hydrogen hubs throughout the U.S., a “$7 billion funding in clear hydrogen [that] displays the federal authorities’s confidence that the hydrogen economic system can and can ship a myriad of carbon emissions discount methods, maybe none extra necessary and urgent than energy era.” Bloom Power is a part of 4 of these hubs.
“We had been honored that our merchandise and applied sciences had been included in 4 of the proposals submitted to DOE [the Department of Energy] and we thank [California Gov. Gavin Newsom] for his management for securing practically one-fifth of obtainable funding for initiatives in California,” stated Rick Beuttel, head of Enterprise Growth at Bloom. “Our manufacturing and know-how groups in Fremont, California, and Newark, Delaware, are prepared to assist advance this program and ship on its promise.”
Sridhar stated the venture at Ames “is a significant milestone for reaching net-zero targets” by way of using hydrogen. “Hydrogen will probably be important for storing intermittent and curtailed power and for decarbonizing industrial power use,” he stated. “Commercially viable electrolyzers are the important thing to unlocking the power storage puzzle, and strong oxide electrolyzers supply inherently superior know-how and financial benefits. Bloom Power, as the worldwide chief in strong oxide know-how, is proud to share this thrilling demonstration with the world: our product is prepared for prime time.”
—Darrell Proctor is a senior affiliate editor for POWER.
