Partnerships to Deploy Low-

Carbon Hydrogen Systems

Mike Holmes
Deputy Associate Director for Research
Energy & Environmental Research Center
University of North Dakota

Washington, D.C.
November 4, 2009
 National Center for Hydrogen Technology
The National Center for Hydrogen Technology (NCHT) builds on over 50
years of experience in advanced energy systems and gasification
development by the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC)
at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Annual
base funding has been provided by the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) since FY2005, along with funding from over 85 partners.

EERC Facilities in Grand Forks, North Dakota

 National Center forHydrogen Technology

Current and pending contracts in the NCHT since 2005

total over $60 million in funding. The NCHT includes the
following programmatic areas:
• Hydrogen from coal
• Hydrogen on demand
• Battlefield hydrogen (JP-8)
• Biomass-to-hydrogen program
• Integrated hydrogen and ethanol
production
• Wind-to-hydrogen
• FutureGen
• Materials for hydrogen utilization
• Hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles

The Market Must Pull Technology

 Hydrogen Program Partners

Aboriginal Cogeneration Company Grand Forks Air Force Base Nuvera Fuel Cells
Advanced Biomass Gasification Technologies Great River Energy Porvair Filtration Group
Agricultural Utilization Research Institute H2Gen Innovations Prairie Public Broadcasting, Inc.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. HT Veramix Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc.
Appareo Systems Hydrovolt Energy Systems, Inc. Red River Valley Research Corridor
Ballard Power Systems Hyster Company Resurfice Corporation
BMC Construction Idatech Rio Tinto
BNI Coal Company Kraus Global Inc. SGL Carbon
Basin Electric Power Cooperative Lorzig Ceramics Siemens Power Generation
Bobcat Company Microbeam Technologies, Inc. Sud Chemie, Inc.
CEO Praxis Inc. Minnesota Corn Growers Association TXU Power
Chippewa Valley Ethanol Producers Minnesota Corn Research Council ThermoChem Recovery International,
Inc.
City of Grand Forks Minot Area Chamber of Commerce
U.S. Air Force
ConocoPhillips Company Minnesota Power Company
U.S. Army
Corning Minnkota Power Cooperative
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
CRI-Criterion, Inc. Montana-Dakota Utilities Construction Engineering Research
Dakota Gasification Company Nextech Materials Laboratory

Dakota Westmoreland Corporation North American Coal Corporation U.S. Department of Agriculture

Diversified Energy North Dakota Army National Guard U.S. Department of Defense

Dynetek North Dakota Association of Rural U.S. Department of Energy

Cooperatives United Technologies Research
Enersis Center
North Dakota Centers of Excellence
ePower Synergies, Inc.
North Dakota Corn Utilization Council Verendrye Electric Cooperative
Fisher Motors
North Dakota Department of Commerce Worldwide Environmental Energy
General Hydrogen Systems, Inc.
North Dakota Industrial Commission
G F Truss Inc. Xcel Energy
Grand Forks Army National Guard
 Why Hydrogen?
It can be obtained from many domestic
resources and can be clean and efficient.

Source::DOE

Hydrogen can:
• Reduce energy dependence • Improve energy efficiency
• Reduce carbon dioxide • Reduce pollution
• Create jobs
 Carbon Dioxide Emissions for
Various Vehicle Scenarios
Light-Duty Vehicles Only
3.5
(billion tonnes CO2-equivalent/year)

100% Gasoline Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles

Gasoline Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Scenario
Carbon Dioxide Emissions

3 Fuel Cell Vehicle Scenario

2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
2008 2025 2050 2075 2100
(Baseline) (7%) (68%) (95%) (98%)

Year and Percent Market Penetration

* Values from NHA “Energy Evolution”

 Greening of Hydrogen Production over
Time
(Source: NHA Energy Evolution)
Hydrogen Production Sources
100%

90% Coal Gasification

80%
+ CCS

70%
Central Electrolysis
60% (Renewable & Nuclear) Assumes that coal with CCS
and biomass will dominate
50%
long-term central hydrogen
40% production (Similar to NRC
Biomass 2008)
Distributed
30% Gasification
Natural Gas
20% Reforming

10%
Distributed Biofuels Reforming
0%
2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070 2080 2090 2100

Summary Greet 1.8a.XLS; Tab 'Fuel TS'; N 97 3/1 /2009

7
 Wind-to-Hydrogen (W2H2) Project

• Wind-to-hydrogen demonstration
in Minot, North Dakota.
• Twin 1.2-MW wind turbines
• Stuart Energy electrolysis unit and
filling station
• Currently developing vehicle
profiles
• Organizing an international
consortium to advance the
findings from this activity
Hydrogen and Liquid Fuels from Biomass
The EERC is working with
IdaTech, LLC, to:
• Perform a study to
determine the
feasibility and process
economics for
production and
operation of an
industrial-scale
biomass gasification
plant to produce
methanol.
• Identify the process
equipment, technical
feasibility, costs, and
economic sensitivity
for the process and
compare them to the
costs when employing
methanol production Downdraft Gasifier
from coal gasification.
 Liquid Fuels to Hydrogen
“Traditional” Concept

On-Demand High-Pressure Reforming Concept

Construction Engineering
Research Laboratory (CERL)
 Centralized Production
Clean Coal Gasification to Hydrogen
Producing economical, high-
purity hydrogen from coal.
• Advancement of coal gasification for polyproduction of
hydrogen, synthetic fuels, and power.
• Evaluate warm-gas cleanup:
– Particulate and trace element control, including
mercury.
– Sulfur removal to meet limits required for use of
hydrogen in refineries, chemical production, and
fuel cells.
– Test methods of ammonia removal.
– Test carbon dioxide separation and removal
technologies in order to produce a clean
hydrogen stream and CO2 for enhanced oil
recovery (EOR) or sequestration.
– Test hydrogen separation materials.
Pilot-scale transport reactor (scale
up to Wilsonville, Alabama, system).
 The United States Is Poised to
Support a Hydrogen Economy
• The hydrogen economy will
rely on a diverse mix for the
supply of hydrogen.
• Coal is a likely cornerstone
for that mix, with integration
of hydrogen production into
coproduction of power and
synthetic fuels.

• Hydrogen production from coal needs to be

developed with related purification, storage,
transport, and end-use technologies.
• Carbon management is a key requirement in
hydrogen production from coal.
 U.S. Primary Energy Sources in 2007
(DOE/EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2008)
Distribution by Energy Content
Domestic Imported % Imported
Petroleum 13.8% 25.4% 65.0%
Natural Gas 19.6% 3.7% 15.5%
Coal 22.4%
Nuclear 8.3%
Renewable 6.7%
Substitution of coal liquids for imported petroleum would require
tripling coal production from 1100 million tons to over 3000 million tons.
 Coal-to-Hydrogen Opportunity
Teamed with carbon management, coal-to-
hydrogen technology can help meet the
main goals of a hydrogen economy (energy
security, environmental benefits, and
economic advantages).

• Coal can be a cornerstone for the diverse hydrogen supply mix, with
integration of hydrogen production into coproduction of power and
synthetic fuels.
• The United States has more than one-quarter of the world’s coal
reserves, with a supply that will last over 250 years at current mining
rates.
• About 12% more coal would need to be mined and converted to
hydrogen to serve one-third of the transportation demand.
Tremendous opportunity to increase domestic energy supply without adding
transmission capacity includes hydrogen, power, advanced tactical fuels for the
military, fuels for energy markets, and specialty chemicals.
 Coal Gasification with CO2
Sequestration
• Maintains coal in the U.S. energy mix
• Ultraclean power generation
– Near-zero levels of SO2, NOx, PM, and Hg
– Technically feasible capture of CO2
– Reduced water requirement
• Low-cost hydrogen production
• Clean liquid fuels
• Substitute for expensive natural gas
– Synthetic natural gas (SNG)
– Chemicals and fertilizer
 Energy and CO2 Sequestration
The effective capture and
utilization of CO2 is
essential for future energy
growth.
• Regional markets are
needed for the CO2
produced (i.e., enhanced
oil recovery and coalbed
methane).
• Geologic storage of CO2 in
North America needs to
be demonstrated and
characterized.
 Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs)

The RCSP Program represents more than 350 organizations in 41 states,

three Indian nations, and four Canadian provinces.
60 GT

39 GT

3 GT
Phase III Williston Basin Project Overview

• Capture at least 500,000 tons/yr of CO2

at existing coal-fired power plant in
central North Dakota.
• Transport via pipeline to Williston Basin
oil field.
• Meet or exceed all of the DOE Phase III
objectives.
• Conduct activities to document the
efficacy of carbon capture and storage.
• Ultimately monetize credits.
 Great Plains Synfuels Plant

Figure from Basin Electric Power Cooperative Web Site – www.basinelectric.com/Energy_Resources/Gas/index.html

Current Commercial Example

• Producing natural gas (over 54 billion standard cubic feet/year) from coal since 1984.
• Produces a number of by-products, including CO2 (40 billion standard cubic feet/year)
that is piped to Saskatchewan and sold for EOR.
• New system would take advantage of technology advancements and separate out
hydrogen product.
Opportunity for Energy Synergy
 How Do We Get There(?)
from Here(?)

• Technology investment
• Education of society
• Investment in logistics
• Infrastructure development

• We need national and international

visions.
• We need focused regional assessments and
implementation plans for the future.
 Contact Information

Energy & Environmental Research Center

University of North Dakota
15 North 23rd Street, Stop 9018
Grand Forks, North Dakota 58202-9018

World Wide Web: www.undeerc.org

Telephone No. (701) 777-5276
Fax No. (701) 777-5181
E-Mail: mholmes@undeerc.org

Michael J. Holmes
Deputy Associate Director for Research