The Hydrogen Highway is poised to take off

Toyota
The first hydrogen-vehicle refueling station fed by an active industrial hydrogen pipeline was opened in May in Torrance, Calif.

The first hydrogen-vehicle-refueling station fed by an active industrial hydrogen pipeline was opened on in May in Torrance, Calif., just across the road from Toyota's national headquarters. A collaborative effort among Toyota, Air Products, Shell, South Coast Air Quality Management District and the Department of Energy, the facility will provide hydrogen for the Toyota fuel-cell-hybrid demonstration-program vehicles as well as other manufacturers' fuel-cell vehicle fleets in the Los Angeles area. 

The hydrogen station is adjacent to the Toyota Motor Sales marketing headquarters. As landowner, Toyota leases the land to Shell for a nominal fee. As station owner/operator, Shell works directly with Air Products, which provides on-site equipment and station maintenance. The pipeline gas also is provided by Air Products from its plants in Wilmington, Del., and Carson, Calif.

Using pumps that are similar in appearance and operation (the nozzles have control levers much like those on typical gas pumps), the station provides a high-pressure supply for all types of fuel-cell vehicles. 

“Toyota plans to bring a fuel-cell vehicle to market in 2015 or sooner, and as you see, we will not be alone in the marketplace,” said Chris Hostetter, vice president of strategic resources for Toyota Motor Sales

“Building an extensive hydrogen-refueling infrastructure is the critical next step in bringing these products to market. But infrastructure development is no easy task. It will require coordination and cooperation between vehicle manufacturers, government agencies, hydrogen producers and end users. This station, for example, is the result of years of planning and a truly collaborative effort.”

Having the hydrogen pipeline mere yards from its front door provided Toyota with some other options. As Hostetter explains, “It created an opportunity for Toyota to explore other uses for hydrogen. In fact, Toyota has partnered with Ballard Power Systems to place a fuel-cell generator on our Torrance campus. The fuel cell will provide electrical power during peak-usage months and draw hydrogen from the same pipeline that supplies this station. The system is scheduled to come on line in 2012 and will reduce an estimated 10,000 tons of annual CO2 emissions.” 

The fuel-cell generator will be fed directly from the hydrogen pipeline through an existing tap on the TMS property. Pipeline hydrogen used on campus will be offset with the purchase of landfill-generated renewable biogas. Plans include using heat created by the fuel-cell system to provide hot water and space heating in the Toyota employee fitness center and in the Lexus headquarters building within the TMS campus. Use of this heat will offset natural-gas consumption on campus, thereby avoiding an estimated additional 28 tons of CO2 emissions annually.

Air Products teamed with Toyota and other fuel-cell vehicle manufacturers to develop the Hydrogen Vehicle Authorization System (HVAS), another first for the industry and unique to the Torrance station. The HVAS wireless-vehicle-recognition system allows station-to-vehicle recognition to facilitate quick and convenient fueling for customers.

The station also will feature a learning center on-site to provide hydrogen information and station information to local students and the public. Shell and Toyota will cooperate on the exhibits. With this new station, the city of Torrance will become part of the California Hydrogen Highway initiative, which aims to create clean-air solutions and develop new technology jobs across the state. 

For more information on the Hydrogen Highway initiative, visit http://www.hydrogenhighway.ca.gov/. 

By BARRY WINFIELD on 5/18/2011

Source: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110518/GREEN/110519833#ixzz1Mq3w958c

Bill Gates thinks big, spends big in push for energy innovation

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is investing more of his own time and money in the search for clean energy and solutions to climate change.

Gates is moving into a third arena, after software and philanthropy, and is using his Kirkland-based incubator, BGC3, to fund related science.

"The more I learn about this problem, the more I see it as super critical," he said. "We need a breakthrough; we need multiple breakthroughs."

Gates spoke Tuesday to a sold-out audience at a fundraising breakfast in Seattle for the nonprofit Climate Solutions.

Gates said he has been meeting with energy experts, reading up on the latest science and investing in startups, such as Bellevue-based TerraPower, which is designing a new kind of nuclear reactor intended to run for decades on depleted uranium.

He also started the American Energy Innovation Council with a group of senior corporate executives, which has tried unsuccessfully to persuade U.S. political leaders to double government funding for basic research.

Science and market-based technology solutions have the potential for huge advances, Gates said.

"The capitalistic format ... is the main area where energy innovation is going to take place," he said.

Gates is unlikely to make energy a focus of the philanthropic work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which concentrates on needs of the poor, but certain things like biofuels for small farms in Africa or Asia might play a role.

His growing involvement in clean energy hasn't been without controversy.

He rankled some with comments that appeared dismissive of small-scale renewable energy at a conference last week in New York.

"If you're interested in cuteness, the stuff in the home is the place to go," he said in an interview with Wired Magazine. "If you're interested in solving the world's energy problems, it's things like big [solar projects] in the desert."

Gates might not give adequate emphasis to less exciting options, such as improving energy efficiency or rapidly deploying existing solutions, said KC Golden, policy director at Climate Solutions, but his focus on technology innovation is badly needed.

"Not surprisingly given his background, that's his primary emphasis," Golden said in an online conversation after the event. "It's not everything that needs doing, but it's great he's doing it."

Golden appreciates Gates' ability to think big.

"I want to participate in a real revolution, not make futile gestures," Golden said. "That's why retreating back to just private and local action alone won't work."

In his own speech, Golden acknowledged that even if the U.S. reduced carbon emissions to zero, the world would still be "swamped by just a few months of growth in the Asian economy."

Profitable solutions that can be applied globally are needed.

"What we can do is pioneer a new path to prosperity that works for us and billions of people across the world," Golden said.

Gates had some critical jabs at politicians, saying the optimism he feels when meeting with scientists fades when he thinks about "the political elements that should be in place" by now, such as pricing for carbon.

"The lip service that has been paid to energy innovation over the last few decades has been disappointing," he said.

The Energy Innovation Council's recommendations include establishing a national energy plan with concrete and measurable energy targets that various technologies and companies could compete to reach.

In making the case for increased government support for basic research and development, Gates said he and other business leaders met with President Obama.

"He said nice things, and I think he meant them," Gates said. "In a normal fiscal environment we probably would have been successful."

Still, Gates added that "I'm kind of stunned we can't get more bipartisan view on this R&D piece. It's about jobs and innovation."

While China has surged ahead in some areas, such as solar-panel production, the U.S. remains dominant in the power to innovate in the sciences, Gates said.

Innovation thrives where the top universities and best environments for high-risk startups are.

"I know of 100 great new energy ideas," Gates said. "I'd say 70 percent of them are based in the United States, even if they are looking at doing some manufacturing [in China]."

China is a necessary part of the solution because it's a much bigger market for energy than the U.S., he said.

Yet scientific innovation is an area where "the world counts on America to do well."

At the same time, it's important to take advantage of "practical, real-time solutions where we live," said McKinstry CEO Dean Allen, another speaker. About 70 percent of electricity produced in America goes to buildings and other physical infrastructure, Allen said. "What we've learned is 50 percent of the energy our customers use in their facilities is pure waste."

Eliminating energy waste from commercial and government buildings alone could cut emissions at a level equivalent to eliminating 200 coal-fired power plants, he said.

Allen raised a note of caution about too much reliance on "spectacular breakthrough technologies" as silver bullets. Much like reform in education, he said, "it's often not best to wait for Superman."

By Kristi Heim

Seattle Times business reporter

Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2015017753_gatesclimate11.html

Wind Turbines, Solar Panels, Electric Heating? Are you catching the Green Bug?

‘Sustainable sources of energy.’ ‘Sustainable fuel.’ These are phrases that we hear in the media with raising frequency. The buzz word on everyone’s tongue at the moment is ‘green.’ Whether you’re talking about rising oil prices, pollution, transport, or home life; the green movement keeps cropping up in conversations time and time again. From newcomers and casual environmentalists to hardcore eco-warriors, everyone is talking green. So, now that everyone has caught the ‘green bug,’ more and more people are turning to renewable sources of energy on a personal level. Therefore it seems prudent to combine these adventures with the rest of your home life.

Previously limited to crack-pot environmentalists, the whole world has gone green on a personal level. So with personal renewable energy now in the mainstream and at your finger tips, you need to ask yourself some questions. Why not produce your own electricity? Why not sell this back to providers when you don’t need it? Why spend money on gas central heating when you can make use of electric radiators, using your own, personally generated electricity? 

There are various different ways of generating electricity; here are some of the main ones that can be implemented on a personal scale.

• Thankfully the Sun doesn’t charge for its energy. Solar energy is the energy derived from the sun through the form of solar radiation. Solar water heating can reduce your bills by generating up to 60% of your hot water needs. Flat plate solar panels or evacuated tubes are installed on the roof and connected to your heating system.

     

• Photovoltaic panels are another way of generating electricity. This converts the solar radiation from the sun into direct current electricity. With the new Feed in Tariff (FIT) this is a good way to supply energy to your home, reduce your bills, receive income for the energy you use and any additional electricity sent back to the grid. 

• We live in a windy place; therefore Wind Power is often a highly topical issue across the UK. But we’re not talking wind farming here; it is possible to generate electricity by installing a small scale wind turbine. It is essential that a full site survey is completed initially to see whether the investment and location will provide a suitable return both in power and financial gain. 

• If you happen to live on a piece of land with access to a river or stream, then maybe hydroelectric power is the one for you. This basically involves the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of flowing water. Micro-hydro and Pico-hydro advances in the last few years mean this solution has become a real alternative on a small scale.

Whilst these methods may have a fairly large start-up cost, there are significant advantages to using them.  Firstly, once the renewable infrastructure has actually been put in place, the energy from it is free forever. Unlike carbon-based fuels, the wind and the sun and the earth itself provide fuel that is free, in amounts that are effectively limitless. Also, the renewable energy sources market is a rapidly changing one, whilst the fossil fuel technologies are effectively stagnant. With improving technology happening constantly, it is giving is the ability to increase the efficiency of renewable energy and continually reduce its cost.
 
As the world as a whole, including world leading governments, (see recent G8 meetings, Kyoto agreement etc...) continually makes strides towards the commitment to renewable energy, production volume are increasing rapidly, decreasing the individual cost of installing the infrastructure necessary. Also, with governments adding more and more monetary incentives for additional research and development, the innovation process is only getting faster.

Add this to increasing monetary incentives on a personal scale (recent UK RIT scheme for example) and it seems the benefits of renewable energy are fast outweighing the costs.

Article submitted by Carlo Ruggiero.

Carlo Ruggiero is a green aficionado who is passionate about getting the word out on renewable sources of energy and all things green, from funding your hot water to making money from your electric heating.  You can follow his struggle with social media and daily musings on Twitter.