The principle is to use solar energy, collected on home roofs, which is then used to electrolyze water in order to produce hydrogen and oxygen. These gases are compressed and stored locally to match the gap between supply and demand. Hydrogen and oxygen are filled in adhoc car reservoirs, and subsequently transposed to electricity for fuel cell driven cars. Such a demonstrator system can already be built today; however the economic viability of the project depends on disruptive innovation based upon our capacity to face and resolve very demanding scientific and technical challenges in the years to follow. One of the main issues in this coherent effort is the optimization of the hydrogen production and usage chain. Several major steps, both in science and engineering, are needed to achieve the commercial exploitation of the overall concept.

1. GREENPOWER
Connecting renewable energy to green mobility using Hydrogen as energy
carrier under the Belenos Clean Power Initiative
Judith Waller1, Fabiane Oliveira1, Robert Tween1, Paul Velut1, Yves Leterrier1,
Jan-Anders Månson1, Lorenz Gubler2, Philip Dietrich2, Gunther Scherer2, Olha
Sereda3, Antonia Neels3, Alex Dommann3, Emmanuel Onillon3, Bahaa
Roustom4, Roger Marquis4, Antoine Toth4, Alexandre Closset4
EPFL - PSI - CSEM - BELENOS
(1) EPFL, Laboratoire de Technologie des Composites et Polymères, CH-1015 Lausanne
(2) Paul Scherrer Institut. Research Department General Energy (ENE), CH-5232 Villigen PSI
(3) CSEM, Jacquet Droz 1, CH-2002 Neuchâtel
(4) Belenos Clean Power Holding Ltd, Seevorstadt 6, CH-2501 Biel/Bienne
Prof. Jan-Anders Manson
Nano-Tera Plenary Annual Meeting
Bern, May 12, 2011
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

2. Non-renewable energy  service  CO2 emissions
Raw materials Transport
Platinium
Aluminium
Polymers
Glass
Clay
Paper Steel
Water (decarbonized)
Inputs from Ecoinvent database
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

3. Towards lower CO2 emissions for cars
new
power-system
smarter lighter
production vehicles
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

4. Hydrogen for Transportation
Pros
• Most abundant element
• Non-toxic & high diffusion in air
• Highest specific energy (J/kg) conventional fuels (2-3 times higher than gasoline)
• No CO2 emitted during use
• Distributed network of production and storage possible
• Reduced weight (fuel cell + storage) compared to batteries (4-5 times)
Cons
• Liquid storage needs 4 times larger tanks than gasoline (Pressure & Volume)
• Low energy efficiency (from source to use) vs. batteries for cars (3 times less)
• Production of hydrogen needs high energy consumption
• Costly process
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

5. GreenPower:
Connecting Renewable Energy to Green Mobility using Hydrogen as Energy Carrier
Illustration of Belenos – Greenpower concept
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

6. Objectives of the project
 Novel proton-conducting polymer membranes
 Novel “smart” Piezoelectric H2 barrier materials
 Develop a control station aiming at optimizing the domestic energy flux
 Health monitoring system for hydrogen-related technologies (storage, fuel cell)
 Scale-up to demonstrator level (membrane preparation process + high pressure
composite vessel)
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

7. Partners and Interactions
External conditions
(weather, grid, …)
CSEM data & simulation PSI membranes
- Data processing Health Monitoring - Degradation
- Process-structure via CVM - Process-structure
(= Cell Voltage Monitoring)
fundamentals fundamentals
Specifications of Fuel cell electronic control
the control station
BELENOS Material properties
Safety monitoring Permeation vs VE-behavior
via piezo liner of fluorinated polymers
Concepts & design
EPFL gas storage
POSTER - Piezo liner POSTER
- Composite tank
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

8. GreenPower:
Connecting Renewable Energy to Green Mobility using Hydrogen as Energy Carrier
Illustration of Belenos – Greenpower concept
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

9. Challenge: Increased Fuel Cell Performance to lower cost increased durability
In Situ Membrane Characterization
Power = Cell voltage x Current density Lower crossover -> increased efficiency
sub-scale stack (30 cm2) at 80C
3.0
lower H2 permeation
1.0 lower radical formation
-2
2.5
H2 Crossover / mA cm
Cell Voltage / V
0.8
2.0
1.5
0.6
1.0
Nafion 212
0.4 PSI Gen2 (25 m base) 0.5
PSI Gen2 (12 m base)
0.0
0 500 1000 1500 2000
N212 Gen2 thin
Current Density / A/cm2 Gen2
! In spite of reduced thickness low crossover is obtained
by
using cross-linking of a grafted fluorinated polymer
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

10. Increasing Membrane Batch Size (demonstrator)
• graft level: 36 ± 2 % (<5 % rel. variability)
• Sulfonated : nitrile monomer molar ratio:
AMS : MAN = 0.74 ± 0.04 (5 % rel. var.)
25 cm x 25 cm
C
tot. 1.5 m2
N
SO3H
6L batch reactor
24 films of size grafted in one batch
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

11. GreenPower:
Connecting Renewable Energy to Green Mobility using Hydrogen as Energy Carrier
Illustration of Belenos – Greenpower concept
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

12. Challange: Reduced size and increased safety by
Self-Sensing High Pressure Hydrogen Storage Vessel
4 kg H2 needed to drive fuel cell car 400 km
( 45m3 at ambient -> 0.1 m3 at 400 bar !! SAFETY !! )
Schlapbach, L. Züttel, A. Hydrogen-storage materials for mobile applications, Nature, 414 (2001)
-High barrier properties - PVDF (poly-vinylidene fluoride)
-> Low permeability material - Nanosized clay platelet particles
-Health monitoring and sensing (safety)
-> “smart structure”
+
High strength Carbon fiber with
- High pressure to reduce storage volume embedded sensing network
-> High strength without embrittlement
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

13. Piezo-Composite Liner: EPFL-CSEM Collaboration
Requirements: 4 different crystalline phases:
-High crystallinity to: - piezo properties -> beta phase
- lower permeability - barrier properties -> ?
- Improved piezo-electric properties influences of thermo-mechanical cycles
and nanoparticles
- PVDF outstanding H2 barrier properties
- 2.8mm thickness matches the requirements
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

14. High Pressure Piezo-Liner Experiment: EPFL-CSEM Collaboration
Sensitivity investigation:
Autoclave and signal processing units to analyze the electric behavior of
piezoelectric polymer-based materials at high pressure (300 bar)
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

15. Composite Shell + Fiber Optic Sensing
Health monitoring: Process + service life
with fiber Bragg grating sensors
Evolution of the spectrum of a FBG (SMF-28e® optical
fiber), in the 0° direction, along curing for the
aluminium mold (Collaboration IOA-EPFL)
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

16. Composite Shell + Fiber Optic Sensing (demonstrator)
Low-pressure resin infusion process on braided
reinforcement fiber architectures
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

17. GreenPower:
Connecting Renewable Energy to Green Mobility using Hydrogen as Energy Carrier
Illustration of Belenos – Greenpower concept
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

18. Greenpower control station
Inverter
Development of a control station aiming at:
-Optimizing the domestic energy flux level taking into account the user’s need
in term of mobility and domestic energy consumption.
-State of health of hydrogen storage (piezo liner signal monitoring)
-Fuel cell state of health
Hardware concept available and system is under development
System model under development
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011

19. Acknowledgements
Swiss National Science Foundation
Pr. Damjanovic, Ceramics Laboratory, EPFL
THANK YOU
GREENPOWER – NANO-TERA PLENARY ANNUAL MEETING, BERN, MAY 12-13, 2011