Daniel Roberts, Michael Dolan and David Harris

CSIRO ENERGY

Role of carbon resources in emerging hydrogen energy systems

Challenges:• Growing energy demand• Scale, cost, reliability, emissions• Renewables integration

Opportunities• Changing resource and technology mix• Leverage technology and resource mix across energy

sectors– Power, Transport, Chemicals, Manufacturing…

• Storage and export of renewable & low emission energy vectors is key– New approaches needed

Overview

Source: EIA, International Energy Outlook 2017

0

50

100

150

200

250

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040

Petroleum and other liquids

Natural gas

Coal

Renewables

Nuclear

Hydrogen energy value chains

Enabling H2 energy systems

Reducing cost of electrolysis

Gasification routes for coal and biomass to hydrogen

Scalable, intermittency-friendly NH3 production technologies

Decarbonisation of heavy transport via direct-fired NH3engines

New renewable energy export industry

Ammonia cracking for Decarbonisation of personal transport

Distributed non-intermittent renewables

Gasification

Brown

EOR and CO2 storage opportunities

Gasification: a flexible enabling technology

Source: Shell 2007

Bringing carbon resources to the challenges of scale

Japan’s Clean Coal Technology pathwayUnderpinned by high efficiency technologies

Source: CRIEPI, Japan, 2015

KHI “CO2 free hydrogen chain”Gasification of Australian brown coal with CCS

Source: Yoshino et al, Feasibility study of CO2 free hydrogen chain utilizing Australian brown coal linked with CCS, Energy Procedia 29 (2012) 701-9

30JPY ~ US$0.25

Japan’s vision: Role model as world’s first low carbon society utilising hydrogen by 2030

Hydrogen9 Mtpa 21Mtpa 34Mtpa

Source: Kawasaki Heavy Industries, 2014

Conversion of Leeds natural gas grid to H2.

H2 from SMR: 4 x 250MW/unit (staged)• Renewables powered electrolysis and biomass

sources challenged by scale, cost, intermittency

Salt cavern H2 storage (up to 854,000 MWh of hydrogen storage)• 1.5MT CO2/yr captured and stored

Opportunities for other H2 sources• Parallel processes coal, NG, biomass, wind

electrolysis etc• Import hydrogen from international renewable

hydrogen suppliers

Achieving scale across energy sectorsH21 Leeds City Gate project

salt cavern

CO2 storage

NG rig

SMR

salt cavern

salt cavernpower

plant

pressure control

Pressure reduction

compressor

compressor

LNG storage

https://www.northerngasnetworks.co.uk/2017/H21-Report

Research opportunities:

Renewable Hydrogen Ltd • Consortium developing partnerships to enable renewable ammonia as hydrogen carrier• Engagements with FCV manufacturers, ammonia producers, enabling technologiesCSIRO gasification, hydrogen separation and ammonia ‘cracking’ technologies• Fossil fuel, renewable and hybrid pathways• Ammonia cracking technology (BOC, Toyota, Hyundai, Siemens, RH2…)

– Engagements Australia, Korea and Singapore in hydrogen car and bus demonstrations• Direct ammonia utilisation (engines, turbines, fuel cells…)• Electrochemical and membrane reactor H2 and NH3 synthesis technologies CSIRO Hydrogen Energy Systems Future Science Platform (FSP)• Step change technology opportunities across the value chain Hydrogen Mobility Australia• Industry initiative to accelerate commercialisation of hydrogen technologies for power, energy storage, transport ARENA - Renewable Hydrogen for Export Research Fund• $20M for hydrogen energy supply chain technology research

Australian Hydrogen Energy InitiativesSeveral intersecting value chains

Syngas & Hydrogen PathwaysRenewables

eg Solar/Wind H2O Electrolysis,Heat

Ammonia ProductionN2 + 3H2 ⇌ 2NH3

Ammonia Cracking

Urea Production2NH3 + CO2 ⇌ H2O + NH2CONH2

CO2 Hydrogenation(Methanol Synthesis)

CO2 + 3H2 ⇌ H2O + CH3OH

Methanation

Fischer Tropsch Synthesis (GTL)

CO + H2 ⇌ H2O + CnH2n+2

HydrogenH2

RefiningChemicalsPowergenFuel Cells

SyngasCO + H2

Dry ReformingCH4 + CO2 ⇌ 2CO + 2H2

3C +O2+H2O → H2+3CO

Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC)

Steam Methane ReformingCH4 + H2O ⇌ CO + 3 H2

Gasification

Pyrolysis

CO2 + 4H2 = CH4 + 2H2O

High Pressure & Temperature Brown Coal gasification

Fluidised bed gasification• Low temperatures to manage ash (800-950°C)• Large particles (mm-sized)• Atmospheric pressure• Air blown

Low-cost gasification for efficient power generation

Coal-to-products requires O2-blown technologies

Entrained flow gasifiers are common• Mineral matter must melt and form

a tappable slag• Operate at high pressures,

temperatures, with fine particles.

Limited data & experience for Victorian brown coals under these conditions

O2-firing may be problematic in fluid bed, transport, and possibly fixed bed technologies (e.g. hot spots in fluid beds)

Concentrated Solar Thermal technologiesIntegration of solar energy in thermal and chemical processes

Heliostat and Receiver Technologies

Solar HTF

SolarGas

Shift Reactor

Solar Steam Steam turbine

Industrial process heat

Electricity

Hydrogen production

Liquid transport fuels via Fischer Tropsch or Methanol

ElectricityAir

Supercritical CO2 Electricity

sCO2 BraytonCycle

Ther

mal

Stor

age

Gas turbine – simple or combined cycle

CO2 + H2

SMR & WGS processesSolar syngas and H225% solar energy embodiedPilot scale demonstrated to 600kWth

Ammonia for energy storage & transport

eg: Pilbara ammonia plant• 80,000 tonne ammonia storage ~$80M• Equivalent to ~200 GWh of electricity• Projected cost of equivalent battery storage: $20-25B

Ammonia energy storage – Capital cost – $0.40/kWh– Permanent storage, near zero losses or degradation– Liquefies easily at 10 bar or -33°C– Transportable in bulk, using existing refrigerated

ships &carriers – same as LPG

Cost of energy storage as ammonia ~0.3% of battery storage

* Projected 2030 battery storage cost USD$100/kWh, Source Bloomberg NEF; NH3 conversion to electricity 3.1MWh per tonne

World’s highest solar resource (2 x average of Japan). Unlimited, low-cost land area

Solar ElectricityAir Separation

Unit

Electrolysis

Unlimited water resource

AirAustralia

Renewable Ammonia – Carbon-free solar fuel and Hydrogen Energy Carrier

.

Ammonia (NH3)Synthesiser

Hydrogen (H2)

Nitrogen (N2)

Renewable Ammonia (RNH3)

Renewable (carbon-free) Electricity

RNH3 for StationaryElectricity Generation

Japan

Engine Turbine Fuel Cell

or or

Waste Heat ~ 350C

Local distribution via common ammonia transport methods - Road, Rail, or Pipeline

H2

Renewable Ammonia is reformed as 100% pure H2 Fuel Cell Car

Renewable Ammonia used as direct fuel, or as Hydrogen carrier

BAC 6/02/16

Renewable Ammonia (RNH3)

Renewable Ammonia is shipped using existing bulk ammonia or LPG vessels

Prototype proof of concept facility developed

Low pressure (10-30bar)• ~25% lower energy input than Haber Bosch

process

Decentralised, modular process

High conversion rate and yield

Novel direct ammonia production technologycatalytic membrane reactor

PEMElectrolyser H2 at

35 bar

MembraneReactor

Water

O2

RE

NH3

ASU

N2 at35 bar

RE

• Separation of H2 from ammonia-derived mixed gas streams• This concept can also be applied to NG reforming, CO shift, or any

process which produces H2 as a product.

Catalytic Membrane reactorSingle stage production and separation of hydrogen

NH3N2 H2

Feed stream (high pressure)

Feed-side surface

Core

Pure hydrogen (low pressure)

High catalytic activity to H2 dissociationTolerance to non-H2 speciesLow transport resistanceHigh thermal stabilityLow cost

High catalytic activity to H2 recombinationLow transport resistanceHigh thermal stabilityLow cost

High permeabilityEmbrittlement resistanceLow cost

Permeate side surface

Catalytic alloy layer (200 nm)

0.25mm-thick dense metal tube

V in substrate: USD 180 m-2

Catalytic layers: USD 100 m-2

plus manufacturing costs

Pilot Ammonia ‘cracking’ facilityGen 1 system: • SIEF funding • Membrane area 0.3 m2 (19 x 50 cm tubes ≈ 15

kg/day at 80% yield) • 2-3 cars/day• Located at CSIRO Brisbane, commissioning 2018

Gen2 plant:• 3 m2 of membrane area (100 m)• 150 kg/day (~3 buses per day)• Possible locations: Qld, Singapore, Korea…

High efficiency carbon technologies will play a key role in achieving long term emissions and performance targets• Increasing efficiency is a prerequisite for effective CO2 capture and storage• Value added approaches reduce cost impact of CCS• Platform for integration of renewables across energy sector

R&D challenges to increase efficiency, improve reliability, reduce costs• Gasification provides a high efficiency technology platform for hydrocarbon energy systems

– Development pathway for power, hydrogen and polygeneration systems• New research in key areas where breakthroughs will improve cost and reliability

– biomass and waste to energy systems– Creating new industries around hydrogen energy systems and exportable renewables

• Hybrid carbon/solar value chains address intermittency, storage and scale issues

International partnerships are needed to facilitate research, development, demonstration and deployment

Summary

Thank youDavid HarrisResearch Director: Low Emissions TechnologiesCSIRO Energye: david.harris@csiro.au

CSIRO ENERGY