Generac introduces 88 kW hydrogen fuel-cell generator that only emits water and filtered air

[Caribbeans]

88,000 watts from a box the size of a freezer, with no emissions

Generac introduces hydrogen fuel-cell generator from France. It produces electricity and only emits warm water and filtered air.

Rick Barrett | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | October 11, 2022

Generac Power Systems, of Waukesha, has introduced a hydrogen fuel-cell generator that runs nearly silent and emits only warm water and filtered air as it produces electricity.

The 88-kilowatt unit is meant for commercial and industrial purposes and has been used to power a lights and laser show at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It's also been used at sporting events and concerts, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race, the Energy Boat Challenge in Monaco, a Rolling Stones concert, and the Lollapalooza Paris festival.

With its ability to run quietly and not produce harmful emissions, the portable generator has been used by a Netflix film crew to provide lighting for scenes in a castle. Generac is importing the GEH2 units, costing approximately $300,000 each, from EODev, a French developer and manufacturer of hydrogen fuel-cell generators.

The GEH2 uses a Toyota fuel cell and a lithium iron phosphate battery that stores and distributes the electricity. The unit can run independently or as part of the utility grid...more
https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2022/10/11/generac-offers-hydrogen-fuel-cell-generator-no-harmful-emissions/8195000001/

China will crank these things out at $30-40k - low enough to add to a mortgage. Imagine every home a microgrid. It CAN happen.

[relayerbob]

1. Nice to see the tech getting into use, but...

Making hydrogen is quite energy intensive and expensive.

"The cost of hydrogen production is an important issue. Hydrogen produced by steam reformation costs approximately three times the cost of natural gas per unit of energy produced. This means that if natural gas costs $6/million BTU, then hydrogen will be $18/million BTU. Also, producing hydrogen from electrolysis with electricity at 5 cents/kWh will cost $28/million BTU — slightly less than two times the cost of hydrogen from natural gas. Note that the cost of hydrogen production from electricity is a linear function of electricity costs, so electricity at 10 cents/kWh means that hydrogen will cost $56/million BTU."

http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/consumer/hydrogen/basics/production.htm

What this doesn't include is the carbon footprint required, which is covered here. "On an apples-to-apples basis, it depends on several factors but it is likely that the conversion of hydrogen into power will have a carbon footprint greater than that of natural gas-fired power, but less than that of coal-fired power. However, it is possible in theory to capture the carbon emissions generated in the SMR process." Note, it is also possible, in theory to capture most of the carbon in a natural gas fired plant, but in both cases, it adds to the costs, which aren't included.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2020/06/06/estimating-the-carbon-footprint-of-hydrogen-production/?sh=bf7353524bd6

[Caribbeans]

2. Other countries are making green H2 work

but Washington DC doesn't want to abandon the despicable Petrodollar - until they have to

At ~50 kWh per Kilogram, how much does a Kg of H2 cost if electricity is .01 Cents per kWh?

50 cents.

Take a look at the latest solar costs - especially in the Middle East

[relayerbob]

3. I'm all for it

I get my electricity through wind and solar myself - and for my electric car. But hydrogen is not a particularly efficient long resource. And solar panels don't come without their own carbon cost. Last time I checked the Middle East is not where I want to be getting energy from.

The article on the generator specifically pointed out, it's not for regular use, but to recharge the batteries that are used to power whatever downstream.

[Caribbeans]

5. I'm not suggesting you get your energy from the ME

Solar panels are a global commodity (Thanks to CHINA).

All the latest prices are .01-.02 / kWh

But hydrogen is not a particularly efficient long resource.

Many people disagree - search "hydrogen" and then select "news"

The article on the generator specifically pointed out, it's not for regular use, but to recharge the batteries that are used to power whatever downstream.

A Hydrogen generator will work wherever power is needed. The latest FC stacks are good for ~30,000 hours regardless of what it is powering.

Imagine if just a few of the many TRILLIONS of dollars the US has wasted over the last ~30 years bombing and invading foreign lands went to H2 and fuel cells.

Thank Dr. Steven Chu (among others) for their shortsightedness - they cut funding for H2 research in 2009-2010

Energy Secretary Chu Changes His Mind on Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1078428_energy-secretary-chu-changes-his-mind-on-hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars

[relayerbob]

8. Many people can disagree

Physics remains physics. It takes much more energy to make hydrogen than hydrogen produces. As a fuel, it will be great, as soon as fusion plants and liquid salt reactors become available. And FYI, I worked for some years with hydrogen fuel cell technology, so I'm well aware of it's benefits and pitfalls. I don't base it on a couple of internet articles. I'm glad it has progressed, but it's still a net negative energy source. It WILL be the fuel of the future, but only when we have truly clean energy. We aren't there yet.

And of course, if the world wouldn't bomb each other, we would all be better off in a million ways.

[NNadir]

4. Of course, making the hydrogen emits climate gases and depends on fossil fuels.

No matter how many cute pictures we see posted here, hydrogen wastes energy and is thus a dirty fuel,

[Caribbeans]

6. You aren't going to get it no matter what is posted n/t

[NNadir]

7. I've been hearing this hydrogen bullshit for half a century.

There's nothing "to get." The laws of thermodynamics are not controlled by cartoons and slick marketing videos.

Even a dumb guy like Joe Romm "got" what there was to "get" back in 2004. The Hype About Hydrogen.

Of course the "hype" had been going on for many years before that, decade upon decade.

I note, with disgust, that all the hydrogen bullshit over the last 18 years has done not a fucking thing to prevent the concentration of the dangerous fossil fuel waste, which the production of hydrogen releases in rather large amounts, from rising from 374.21 ppm, which it was in the week beginning October 10, 2004 to 415.27 ppm recorded last week.

Nor do any cartoons and marketing videos change the 2022 reality of how hydrogen is made, which I repeatedly post every time someone hypes the lie that hydrogen is clean:



The caption:

Figure 1. Global current sources of H2 production (a), and H2 consumption sectors (b).

Progress on Catalyst Development for the Steam Reforming of Biomass and Waste Plastics Pyrolysis Volatiles: A Review Laura Santamaria, Gartzen Lopez, Enara Fernandez, Maria Cortazar, Aitor Arregi, Martin Olazar, and Javier Bilbao Energy & Fuels 2021 35 (21), 17051-17084]

I referred to this graphic, and reproduced it, discussing a paper in the journal I discussed above here: The current sources and uses of hydrogen.

This should show for anyone who doesn't hate science how dirty and environmentally destructive this hydrogen shell game is. Like the wind and solar industry, it's lipstick on the dangerous fossil fuel pig that's killing the planet.

[relayerbob]

9. When fusion or liquid salt reactors are available

then the electrolysis slice becomes prevalent, and it will then make for a better fuel for transportation, aming others, and far more efficient than batteries.