Garbage In, Power Out: South Carolina BMW Plant Converts Landfill Gas to Hydrogen Fuel

[OKIsItJustMe]

(Please note US Energy Department release—copyright concerns are nil.)

http://energy.gov/articles/garbage-power-out-south-carolina-bmw-plant-converts-landfill-gas-hydrogen-fuel

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Garbage In, Power Out: South Carolina BMW Plant Converts Landfill Gas to Hydrogen Fuel[/font]

August 25, 2015 - 2:15pm

[font size=3]Operations at a BMW manufacturing plant in Greer, South Carolina, are powered by fuel from a unique source: Garbage.

In a first-of-its-kind demonstration, the Energy Department, BMW and project partners Ameresco, Gas Technology Institute and the South Carolina Research Authority are powering most of the facility’s fuel cell forklifts with hydrogen produced on-site from biomethane gas at a nearby landfill.

In order to achieve this, project researchers and engineers had to overcome two main obstacles. The first challenge involved converting the biomethane gas into hydrogen. This required the development and testing of multiple tanks with catalysts for removing contaminants. The second was purifying the hydrogen enough so it could be used in fuel cells. To do this, the project team had to purge the gas stream of all non-hydrogen molecules, including nitrogen.

This hydrogen now powers almost all of the plant’s 300-plus fuel cell forklifts, the largest fleet of its kind in the world. Fuel cell forklifts have several advantages compared to standard forklifts that use lead-acid batteries. Unlike batteries, fuel cells can be rapidly refueled in less than three minutes, boosting productivity by eliminating the time and cost associated with battery change-outs and charging that can take up to several hours. Fuel-cell-powered lift trucks can reduce labor cost of refueling and recharging by up to 80 percent and require 75 percent less space as compared to battery recharging equipment. Also, fuel cells provide consistent power throughout work shifts, unlike battery-powered forklifts, which may experience power reductions during a shift.

The fuel cell forklifts are vital to the day-to-day operations of the BMW plant, which manufactures 300,000 cars a year and supports about 8,800 jobs in South Carolina. BMW recently announced a $1 billion expansion plan for this facility that will boost production up to 450,000 cars -- including the new BMW X7 model -- by 2016 and make it the company’s largest plant in the world.

Hydrogen fuel cells are one of many technologies the Energy Department supports that generate clean, reliable power and help create a more sustainable planet for future generations. Learn more about how hydrogen and fuel cells work and what the Energy Department is doing to advance these technologies.[/font][/font]

[nationalize the fed]

1. ^

Fuel cell forklifts have several advantages compared to standard forklifts that use lead-acid batteries. Unlike batteries, fuel cells can be rapidly refueled in less than three minutes, boosting productivity by eliminating the time and cost associated with battery change-outs and charging that can take up to several hours.

Fuel-cell-powered lift trucks can reduce labor cost of refueling and recharging by up to 80 percent and require 75 percent less space as compared to battery recharging equipment. Also, fuel cells provide consistent power throughout work shifts, unlike battery-powered forklifts, which may experience power reductions during a shift.

So much for Hydrogen being difficult to work with.

Fuel Cells > Batteries. It's that simple.

H2 is forever. A kilogram of H2 doesn't degrade or need replacement. 1kg H2 will last >100,000 years. How long do your laptop batteries last?

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. To be fair…

You probably should not compare the lifetime of hydrogen to the lifetime of Li-ion batteries.

Instead, you should compare the lifetime of fuel cells to Li-ion cells. There, I’m afraid there isn’t much of an advantage (if any.)