The expression "Hydrogen Economy" is used to indicate the role of hydrogen in the energy future scenario. Interest in hydrogen, as an energy carrier, has been growing in the recent years due to heightening of air pollution in the world. Hydrogen is a clean and flexible energy carrier that can be used to provide both power and heat across all end-use sectors. Vehicles and stationary power generation feed by hydrogen are local zero-emission technologies. Hydrogen can be produced from both traditional fossil fuel and carbon-free energy sources, used to store energy and to provide response management to electricity grid. Today only 4% of hydrogen is produced from electrolysis, other lower-cost methods are preferred, such as steam reforming of natural gas or refinery gas. However, in the next future, the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) will take up an important portion of electric energy produced. In this context, the energy storage is expected to play a key role in the future "Smart Grid". The future energy storage technologies should be more flexible and able to balance the grid, ensuring stability and security. Large scale deployment of variable renewable source (primary wind and solar energy) will be required to store energy to avoid the RES curtailment. Electrolysis is considered as the cleanest way to produce hydrogen using RES and has (along with other storage technologies) the potential as "energy storage" in this sector. The main advantages of PEM electrolysis over the alkaline are related to greater safety and reliability because no caustic electrolyte is used. Besides, the possibility to operating at high differential pressure across the membrane avoids the oxygen compression. PEM electrolysis has faster ion transportation than alkaline due to the solid and thin membrane. In fact, liquid electrolyte has more inertia in transportation of ions (K. Rajeshwar et al 2008). This aspect is particularly important when an electrolyser operates under fluctuating conditions.
Overview of PEM Electrolysis for Hydrogen Production
Briguglio N;Antonucci V
2015
Abstract
The expression "Hydrogen Economy" is used to indicate the role of hydrogen in the energy future scenario. Interest in hydrogen, as an energy carrier, has been growing in the recent years due to heightening of air pollution in the world. Hydrogen is a clean and flexible energy carrier that can be used to provide both power and heat across all end-use sectors. Vehicles and stationary power generation feed by hydrogen are local zero-emission technologies. Hydrogen can be produced from both traditional fossil fuel and carbon-free energy sources, used to store energy and to provide response management to electricity grid. Today only 4% of hydrogen is produced from electrolysis, other lower-cost methods are preferred, such as steam reforming of natural gas or refinery gas. However, in the next future, the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) will take up an important portion of electric energy produced. In this context, the energy storage is expected to play a key role in the future "Smart Grid". The future energy storage technologies should be more flexible and able to balance the grid, ensuring stability and security. Large scale deployment of variable renewable source (primary wind and solar energy) will be required to store energy to avoid the RES curtailment. Electrolysis is considered as the cleanest way to produce hydrogen using RES and has (along with other storage technologies) the potential as "energy storage" in this sector. The main advantages of PEM electrolysis over the alkaline are related to greater safety and reliability because no caustic electrolyte is used. Besides, the possibility to operating at high differential pressure across the membrane avoids the oxygen compression. PEM electrolysis has faster ion transportation than alkaline due to the solid and thin membrane. In fact, liquid electrolyte has more inertia in transportation of ions (K. Rajeshwar et al 2008). This aspect is particularly important when an electrolyser operates under fluctuating conditions.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
