Hydrogen Systems Development: Past, Present and Future

Technological evolution often requires decades of incubation and advancement in a variety of fields before large scale commercial adoption is achieved. Hydrogen has followed these trends since its discovery in the late 1700’s and subsequent application for wide ranging industrial uses. Liquid hydrogen (LH2) has been in routine and continuous use in the space program since the early 1960’s. However, many are not aware that its roots in aerospace trace much further back in aviation to the initial jet engine research and development in the late 1930’s; and later with successful flight demonstrations of a liquid hydrogen fueled jet engine in the mid-1950’s.

Modern LH2 systems make use of vacuum jacketed dewars for long term storage on the ground. Flight vehicles have used single wall tanks with foam insulation which significantly reduces mass but is only viable if the consumption rate in flight is greater than the boil-off venting required to meet tank pressure constraints. Composite LH2 tanks of various types (with or without metal inner liners) have been attempted over the years with mixed success and are still under development.

Safety with LH2 is a paramount priority. Key drivers are related to hydrogen’s properties, LH2 cryogenic temperatures, and liquid-vapor phase change within the system. Many legacy standards, codes and guidelines exist for LH2, and many more are in active formulation or revision. The three primary mantras to remember when designing and operating hydrogen systems is: 1) provide ventilation, 2) prevent leaks, and 3) eliminate ignition sources. Understanding the thermodynamic behavior of LH2 systems during various operations is also critical.

The development of future hydrogen systems can be optimized using an adaptive systems approach that treats hydrogen as a critical enabler in an overall system architecture rather than simply a commodity fuel. Selecting architecture options permit trade studies of candidate system concepts that can be assessed on the basis of technical, economic, environmental impact, and other key performance metrics. The end result is the ability to optimize systems for a multitude of hydrogen applications that can then be modeled, simulated, developed, assembled, and put into operation. Further, the proven ability to eliminate boil-off losses in LH2 systems - and provide better performing and sustainable propulsion and power relative to legacy fossil fuel systems - will play a key role in the global transition to hydrogen

See slide package here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13CYhHxrRy8CcnwLKUjnatyY4ZiamiNst/view

Matt Moran is the Managing Member at Moran Innovation LLC, and previous Managing Partner at Isotherm Energy. He's been developing power and propulsion systems for more than 40 years; and first-of-a-kind liquid, slush and gaseous hydrogen systems since the mid-1980s. Matt was also the Sector Manager for Energy & Materials in his last position at NASA where he worked for 31 years. He's been a cofounder in seven technology based start-ups; and provided R&D and engineering support to many industrial, government and research organizations. Matt has three patents and more than 50 publications including the Cryogenic Fluid Management report series. More about him can be found here.

ThinkTech Hawaii interviews Matt Moran

Hydrogen Endgame: The Infinity Fuel for a Sustainable Future

Matt Moran is the Managing Member at Moran Innovation, and previous Managing Partner at Isotherm Energy. He's been developing power and propulsion systems since 1982. Matt was also the Sector Manager for Energy & Materials in his last position at NASA where he worked for 31 years. He's been involved in seven technology based start-ups; and provided R&D and engineering support to many industrial, government and research organizations.  More about Matt here…

Hydrogen System Architecture and Software Demo

The variability of wind and solar energy sources presents a challenge for meeting electrical load requirements. Isotherm Energy has developed a system architecture for addressing this challenge that provides energy storage, potable water, and hydrogen fuel production. The architecture enables tailoring of system parameters to meet specific application requirements using current and emerging technologies.

Click here to view a demonstration of the software

Isotherm Energy is developing a suite of software tools to simulate, analyze and design systems based on our hydrogen storage system architecture. The software allows selection of various input energy sources, water sources, biomass and other inputs. Subsequent screens allow the selection of options for hydrogen production, storage, byproducts, power generation, heat recovery, power output, excess hydrogen, and water management.

Once the architecture options are selected, the software generates a system model that incorporates all the chosen parameters. The system model calculates all energy and mass flows between subsystems along with heat available for recovery and improved overall system performance. Note that all system flows are driven by the load following function of the power management and distribution (PMAD) subsystem and calculated accordingly.

 

The system model has an optional time stamp capability for the conditions being simulated. When the “Save Conditions” button is clicked, all of the parameters associated with the time stamped simulation are stored for subsequent transient analysis. In this manner, a sequence of simulated hours, days, weeks or a full year can be automatically generated and investigated. Every parameter of the system can then be adjusted using built-in optimization tools to meet the performance goals over any timeframe of interest.

The software also provides complete flexibility in the selection of system variables such as electrical load and energy inputs. These can be a constant number at a given timestamp, a historical profile, a statistical distribution over a time averaged period, a stochastic probabilistic algorithm (e.g. Monte Carlo), or some other user defined method.

New capabilities under development include:

• Detailed subsystem and component models
• Drop-in capability for existing and emerging technologies
• Comparison to other storage options (e.g. batteries, compressed air, pumped hydro, etc.)
• Capital/operating expenditures, payback period, levelized cost of energy and other financial

Matt Moran is the Managing Member at Moran Innovation, and previous Managing Partner at Isotherm Energy. He's been developing power and propulsion systems since 1982. Matt was also the Sector Manager for Energy & Materials in his last position at NASA where he worked for 31 years. He's been involved in seven technology based start-ups; and provided R&D and engineering support to many industrial, government and research organizations.  More about Matt here…

Power and Water the NASA Way

We’re sometimes met with a puzzled look at Isotherm Energy when we describe our hydrogen energy system architecture and its ability to store energy, generate power, recover heat, and produce potable water.  It seems the combination of functions – particularly energy and water together - is unfamiliar to many.  After three decades of working at NASA where these types of systems have been routine since the mid-1960s, I hadn’t considered that it might sound odd to those outside the aerospace industry.

A recent article about the famously jinxed Apollo 13 mission describes an early example:

“Apollo 13 lost its electricity, light, and water supply… The loss of an oxygen tank was crippling to an Apollo spacecraft because the oxygen tanks powered the fuel cells that powered the spacecraft… The electrochemical reaction of combining cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen produced electricity, heat, and potable water as byproducts.” [Popular Science, Apr 15, 2016]

Part of an unflown Apollo fuel cell [National Air and Space Museum]

The Space Shuttle also used fuel cells in a similar manner:

“Fuel cells are used in the space shuttle as one component of the electrical power system. Three fuel cell power plants, through a chemical reaction, generate all of the electrical power for the vehicle from launch through landing rollout… are individually coupled to the reactant (hydrogen and oxygen) distribution subsystem, the heat rejection subsystem, the potable water storage subsystem, and the electrical power distribution and control subsystem. The fuel cell power plants generate heat and water as by-products of electrical power generation.” [NASA]

One of the three fuel cells that provides electrical power to the space shuttle orbiter [NASA]

As another more personal example, I was asked in 1991 by NASA Headquarters to conduct a study on launching water to low earth orbit for processing into hydrogen and oxygen propellants to support missions to the moon and Mars.  The published system concept I designed used an electrolyzer to produce the propellants, and then liquefy them for storage until a spacecraft docked for refueling (see schematic below).  We would revisit aspects of this configuration later at NASA when I worked on designs to provide power, propulsion, water and environmental control for lunar surface systems.

Source: “Conceptual Study of on Orbit Production of Cryogenic Propellants by Water Electrolysis”, Moran, 1991.

So the integration of proven aerospace technologies into a combined energy-water-heat recovery architecture was a natural extension of my personal experiences and background.  And I’m convinced it will serve us well as we begin to view our energy, water and food systems here on earth from a more integrated sustainable perspective.

Matt Moran is the Managing Member at Moran Innovation, and previous Managing Partner at Isotherm Energy. He's been developing power and propulsion systems since 1982. Matt was also the Sector Manager for Energy & Materials in his last position at NASA where he worked for 31 years. He's been involved in seven technology based start-ups; and provided R&D and engineering support to many industrial, government and research organizations.  More about Matt here…