Quantum's next-gen hydrogen tanks for fuel cell bus builder
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 2006
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 50 KB
- Volume
- 2006
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1464-2859
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✦ Synopsis
Solar/hydrogen home nearing completion R enewable Energy International, a US-based specialist in distributed renewable energy generation and pointof-use systems, reports that the first solar/hydrogen home in North America has now received all necessary permits, and is scheduled for completion shortly.
Located in Hopewell, New Jersey the home is owned by Michael Strizki, who has also played a key role in the project's advancement. The project marks a major milestone in the development of the sustainable-resource economy.
A residential solar/hydrogen fuel-cell storage and generation system, which converts energy between electricity and hydrogen, will be integrated into an existing solar and geothermal system used by the building. The design engineer for the project, Lyle Rawlings, president of Advanced Solar Products, says: 'This installation is far more than just a demonstration project. This home and its power system have been engineered to function either with or without an electrical grid connection. The addition of the hydrogen-based power system is a retrofit. It will be possible to replicate this type of home improvement anywhere.'
Strizki adds: 'When the house was built 14 years ago, it was designed to be energy-efficient. But no compromises were made to limit modern conveniences. My house boasts a host of amenities not normally seen in ecologically sensitive homes, including a swimming pool, hot tub and flat-screen TV.' Electrical energy generated by solar panels in amounts that exceed immediate household requirements is used to convert water into hydrogen. This is stored until it is converted back into electricity by a fuel cell, when demand for power is greater than the capacity of the solar panels can provide. Hydrogen generated by the system will also be available to fuel hydrogenpowered vehicles on-site, and for a variety of uses in the home, such as generating hot water, powering appliances and cooking. A Hogen RE generator, manufactured by Proton Energy Systems, is being used to make the system's hydrogen.
Major funding for this project has been provided by a grant from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU). Part of a statewide clean energy