Credit: Wachsman et al.; Energy & Environmental Science.

No.

Will it anyway? Unfortunately, it looks that way, based on the DOE’s 2012 budget request (pdf), which hacks off 41 percent of total SOFC funding from the current year budget, and would leave support at 65 percent of what it had in 2010. Moreover, it would cut off funding for the Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance

The US policy of turning off its support for SOFC R&D seems to me to be a horrible and strategic error and I’d say that it’s time sound the alarm—but Eric Wachsman, Craig Marlowe and Kang Taek Lee beat me to it!

Wachsman et al. have a new paper in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Energy & Environmental Science journal that politely and intelligently flays the logic behind a federal policy that abandons SECA and technical leadership in this field to other nations, such as Japan and Germany, despite the substantial progress that SECA has been shepherding. The three authors are affiliated with the University of Maryland’s Energy Research Center. Wachsman is a member of ACerS and also serves as editor of Ionics.

It probably comes as no surprise to people in the materials field that SOFCs have an enormous future. As the authors note, “SOFCs have the highest potential efficiency for the conversion of fuel to electricity,” and are extremely fuel-flexible.

The authors continue to build their initial premise, writing,

“Recent progress in lowering operating temperature and power density improvements have made SOFCs a unique energy technology platform that offers stunning potential for electrical generation in not only centralized, but distributed and even mobile applications. Lowering operating temperatures reduces manufacturing costs, vastly simplifies the integration of balance of plant components and enables thermal cycling. Improved thermal cycling capabilities of low-temperature SOFCs would allow them to also play an important role in load following applications such as non-base-load electricity generation and transportation.”

So why would DOE walk away from SOFC technology now? (It should be noted that the DOE would shift most if not all of its support to proton exchange membrane fuel cells, aimed mostly at the transportation sector.) Wachsman et al. are baffled for a number of reasons, some of which I will attempt to capture here.

First, they hold up one of DOE’s main policy-making documents, its “Quadrennial Technology Review,” and compare its priorities with SOFC technology’s ability to deliver (see chart above). For example, the DOE lays out separate basic energy strategies for the “stationary” and “transport” marketplaces. Deployment of clean energy, grid modernization and improved building/factory efficiency are mentioned for the former; deployment of alternative fuels, fleet electrification and improved vehicle efficiency are identified for the latter. Sounds good, so far, the authors say, so SOFCs would seem to be able to be an important part of achieving all six of these strategies, if not a superior choice to the alternatives. “[F]uel cells in general, and SOFCs in particular, can be used in the execution of every DOE strategy. With an additional requirement that the technology utilize existing fueling infrastructure, SOFCs stand out as a key cross-cutting technology solution,” they argue.

They then go on to make detailed analyses of how SOFCs would contribute to each strategy. For example, in regard to deploying clean energy, they present a cogent, US-specific set of reasons for maintaining SOFCs in our technology portfolio.

“Today, 50 percent of the US’s electricity is produced from coal and 20 percent from natural gas. Our large reserves, and current lack of economically competitive alternatives, suggest that a sizable portion of our future electricity will continue to be derived from these two sources. …If electricity production remains dependent upon coal and natural gas, the sustainable use of these fuels and environmental emission reduction goals both require that we utilize these resources with the highest possible efficiency. While natural gas turbine technology has made significant progress and has efficiencies around 50%, coal technology still lags. Utilizing synthetic gas (syngas) derived from coal, SOFCs have potential efficiencies rivaling those of natural gas turbines. While many set a goal to eliminate our use of coal and natural gas, prudence suggests we ensure that their use is as efficient as possible until that goal is achieved.”

To further drive their point home, Wachsman et al. provide chapter and verse details of the remarkable achievements SECA-led R&D projects have made in lower operating temperatures, increasing power density, increasing materials durabilities and lowering costs. Wide scale applications and unsubsidized market penetration may still be a decade or so off, but impressive and successful demonstration and tests have occurred in uses that include

• Utility-scale power generation (with nearly twice the fuel-to-electricity efficiency and half the levelized cost of electricity, compared to pulverized coal/carbon capture and sequestration systems);
• High-efficiency distributed generation/gas turbine hybrid systems for grid stability and reversible (hydrogen-producing) SOFCs for grid storage;
• Combined heat and power, and “trigeneration” (heating, cooling and power) systems with over 70 percent efficiencies;
• Polygeneration system that can convert conventional energy sources “into multiple energy products, e.g., liquid fuels and electricity;”
• Vehicular auxiliary power units that can provide parallel hybrid support for anything from efficient tractor-trailer refrigeration units to range-extenders for hybrid an plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

In the lab, Wachsman et al. report that significant progress has been made, such as in “near quadrupling of power density [that] provides significant room for lowering SOFC operating temperature. Such temperatures dramatically expand applications and reduce cost, thus, fundamentally altering the fuel cell paradigm. LT-SOFCs provide the opportunity to obtain all of the anticipated fuel cell benefits without waiting for a H₂ infrastructure.”

Billions of dollars have already been sunk into SOFC research, development and deployment. The authors conclude with reminding the DOE and the administration what is in clear view, namely, “Around the globe, meaningful pilots and commercialization activities are expanding in the use of SOFC driven CHP. Abandoning, or even delaying, investments into this cross cutting technology just as it is becoming commercially viable are not in our short or long term interests.”

And, they go on to plead that protecting these investments and restoring funding will “provide clarity to the public and stakeholders regarding our fuel cell vision, facilitate a promising technology on the cusp of commercialization and maintain the critical mass of talent that has been assembled with SECA and other promising commercial interests.”

Makes sense to me. If it does to you, you might want to let the folks in Washington, DC know what you think.

Share

Honda Civic test vehicles. The higher solar reflectance of the solar vehicle makes it more fuel efficient than its black cousin. Credit: EETD; LBNL

If you’ve had the experience of climbing into a car on a hot, sunny day, you might have wondered whether a light colored car would be less miserable than a dark one. The answer is “yes,” and a recent paper published in Applied Energy reports how much warmer dark cars can be. Going a step further, the paper predicts the extent to which car color may influence fuel consumption and emissions. The press release describes the simple, but effective experiment.

The Heat Island Group of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division borrowed two Honda Civic sedans from the State of California, attached a bunch of temperature measuring instrumentation, parked the cars in a sunny spot of the parking lot and took data.

The only difference between the nearly identical four-door sedans was color: one was silver, the other black. That is, one car had a high solar reflectance (silver) and the other did not (black). Solar reflectance values range from 0 to 1, and the solar reflectance of the silver car was 0.58, while that of the black car was 0.05. As the term implies, surfaces with high solar reflectance stay cooler in the sun.

The cars were subjected to five identical soak-cool cycles comprised of an hour-long soak in the sun without air conditioning followed by a 30 minute cool down with air conditioners running at full blast. Meanwhile, measurements were taken of the cars’ roof, ceiling, dashboard, windshield, seat, door, vent air and cabin air temperatures.

During the soak (warming) phases, researchers found that the roof temperature of the silver car was up to 45°C cooler than the black car’s roof. Also, the cabin air of the silver car was about 10°F cooler.

Next, the researchers developed a thermal model to predict how much air conditioning capacity would be needed meet the industry standard of bringing the cabin temperature to 77°F within 30 minutes. The analysis predicted that the silver car would require 13% less AC capacity than the black car to meet the standard. Thus, light colored cars can be built with smaller air conditioning units, while imparting the same level of comfort to the delicate beings within.

Other benefits could accrue with smaller AC units. Using a simulation tool called ADVISOR, the researchers modeled fuel consumption and emissions for typical driving scenarios including highway, city and a “transient driving cycle” (does that mean suburbs?). The simulation shows that using a smaller AC unit, which a white or silver car would allow, could increase fuel economy by about two percent, while reducing CO₂ by about two percent and other emissions by about one percent.

There are about 25 million registered cars in the state of California, so even modest improvements in efficiency and emissions output can multiply out to some pretty big numbers. Now, too, fleet managers can quantify the value of color as they replace their inventories.

To paraphrase the late crooner Nat King Cole, “Straighten up and buy light!”

Coincidentally, DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy just released a Vehicle Cost Calculator and widget to help consumers, fleet managers, and government officials to compare energy-saving vehicles. The widget does not ask for the car’s color, though.

Share

Here’s what we are hearing:

Duo’s chemistry makes it possible: natural gas produced from biomass

H.C. Starck and Clausthaler Umwelttechnik-Institut (Germany) have joined forces to successfully develop a completely new generation of catalyzers and process technology for the production of substitute natural gas from biomass as a renewable energy source. The two groups have engineered a range of catalyzers with an oxide base containing cobalt, molybdenum, and aluminum, which have been successfully tested under laboratory and pilot plant conditions. The catalyzers proved to be robust and reclaimable, even under the most unfavorable conditions, having achieved high yields with which the synthesis of substitute natural gas is possible.

Indiana lands turbine blade company

A wind turbine blade manufacturer plans to open two facilities in southern Indiana with intentions of creating up to 400 jobs by 2014. Gov. Mitch Daniels has announced a two-phased project involving GBT USA Inc., a unit of Netherlands-based Global Blade Technology. The company is leasing space at the former Whirlpool plant in Evansville for an engineering design and production facility, which the city says will have nearly 40 employees by next year. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. says GBT also plans to build an additional southern Indiana facility in 2013 to produce composite rotor blades for wind turbine generators.

Company’s ceramic bearings offer flexibility to automation and advanced manufacturing industries

Boca Bearing Company is introducing a new line of full ceramic bearings, ceramic hybrid bearings and lubricants catered towards the automation and advanced manufacturing industries. Its ceramic bearings can be used in varieties of manufacturing environments ranging from extreme temperatures, high speeds to heavy loads. Ceramic hybrid ball bearings use steel races and ceramic balls. Ceramic balls weigh up to 40% less than steel balls. This reduces centrifugal loading and skidding, so hybrid ceramic bearings can operate up to 50% faster than conventional bearings. This means that the outer race groove exerts less force inward against the ball as the bearing spins. This reduction in force reduces the friction and rolling resistance. The lighter ball allows the bearing to spin faster, and uses less energy to maintain its speed. Ceramic hybrid ball bearings have ceramic balls in place of steel balls. They are constructed with steel inner and outer rings, ceramic balls and are known as hybrids.

MesoCoat Inc. opens new metal cladding and coating facility with one of the most powerful arc lamps

MesoCoat Inc. currently occupies two facilities in Ohio with a third 11,000 sq. ft. facility under-construction (expected production start date, Jan. 2012). This new Eastlake facility will be their fourth facility in Ohio within a 5 mile radius. It will primarily be used for cladding plates and components for the oil and gas, mining, and shipbuilding industries. The facility is designed to accommodate two metal fusion cladding lines for CermaClad and thermal spray coating cells for PComP, including a metallurgical and analytical lab. At this facility, MesoCoat will be installing a 600 kW fusion cladding arc lamp system, one of the most powerful arc lamps ever manufactured. MesoCoat acquired this 600 kW arc lamp under a joint development agreement with a multinational heavy equipment manufacturer; where MesoCoat will work towards developing wear and corrosion-resistant cladding using the arc lamp for equipment and components manufactured by them.

Toyota center announces new projects and partnerships with leading US academic and research institutions

Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center today announced 10 new research initiatives and new research agreements with six leading North American universities and research institutions to enhance the development, testing and implementation of new automotive safety innovations across North America. The institutions include MIT’s AgeLab, the Transportation Active Safety Institute, Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,
Wake Forest School of Medicine, Washtenaw Area Transportation Study and Wayne State University School of Medicine.

CoorsTek acquires advanced ceramics business from BAE Systems

CoorsTek, the world’s largest technical ceramics manufacturer, today officially announced the purchase of BAE Systems’ Vista, California advanced ceramics facilities. These three facilities total 106,000 square feet - adding to the more than three million square feet of manufacturing floor space already in place worldwide. These facilities develop and fabricate lightweight ceramic armor systems, semiconductor components and assemblies and industrial components. Specifically, they manufacture hot-pressed boron carbides, silicon carbides, aluminum nitrides and other advanced ceramic materials.

Share

SEM image of Dysprosium hydroxyfluoride fibers. Credit: PPNL.

A few days ago, Xinhua News agency reported that three rare earth mining districts near Ganzhou city have been order to halt production by year-end. In fact, production at one of the mines has been halted already, according to Li Guoqing, director of the city’s mining management bureau.

This is a huge problem, because, as Japan’s Nikkei news service reports, Ganzhou is the #1 producer of dysprosium. Dysprosium plays a critical role in many clean energy technologies and is one of the elements the DOE has highlighted as being of critical concern in regard to future supply disruptions and affects on critical technologies. The DOE is also concerned because dysprosium has no suitable replacement.

Ganzhou is also the producer of other heavy rare earths.

Nikkei also reports that it believes all three mines have exceeded their annual quotas,  and production will likely be suspended at least until the end of the year.

Continuing with the Xinhua story, it says:

It is unknown when production will resume, as they have to wait for directives from the provincial government, Li said. The notice also told the counties to set production quotas to rare earth mines to prevent over-exploitation. …To control environmental damage and protect resources, China has announced various policies, such as suspending the issuance of new licenses for rare earth prospecting and mining, imposing production caps and export quotas, and implementing tougher environmental standards.

It’s not yet clear to me how the US and its business community will react, but the Nikkei story reveals some of the responses in Japan:

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and some other major Japanese producers of electrical machinery have started raising air conditioner prices because of surging prices for dysprosium.

“There are efforts to kick off (dysprosium) production in Russia and Vietnam, but it will likely take at least five years,” said Nobuhiko Kawamura, general manager of Showa Denko KK’s rare-earths division. The firm, which produces dysprosium-based alloys in Jiangxi Province and elsewhere, sees potential for global dysprosium supply shortages in two to three years should China continue with its strict regulation of rare-earth production.

Even so, magnet manufacturers and other firms with dysprosium dealings mostly reacted to Monday’s news with calm. “Because we thought it might happen, the news comes as no surprise to us,” said a official at Hitachi Metals Ltd., the leading maker of rare-earth magnets.

But a major trading house is alarmed because it will not likely be able to find alternative sources of dysprosium and other rare-earth metals quickly.

Stay tuned.

Share

Check ‘em out:

NIST: Iron ‘veins’ are secret of promising new hydrogen storage material

With plutonium-238 supplies running low, the race is on to find new power sources for spacecraft

Construction of US’s first large-scale industrial carbon capture and storage facility begins

Dynamic windows improve efficiency, human experience in buildings

India’s government plans to step up indigenous production of rare earth minerals, working on strategy

USC chemists develop way to safely store, extract hydrogen

TEPCO releases rare video from inside Fukushima Daiichi

Share