FuelCellsWorks

The prototype locomotive uses a former Green Goat diesel-battery hybrid as a platform

Taking shape in the BNSF Railway workshop at Topeka, Kansas, is an experimental shunting locomotive powered by hydrogen fuel cells. BNSF believes that fuel cell technology offers the potential to reduce air pollution as well as preparing the way for a future locomotive fleet that is not dependent on oil.

‘While it’s not a proven technology and the project is still in its infancy, we believe investments like the fuel cell switching locomotive are important for the advancement of new technology’, explains Craig Hill, BNSF’s Vice-President of Mechanical & Value Engineering.

BNSF estimates its diesel locomotive fleet burns more than 15 million litres a day, about 2% of all US diesel fuel usage. In its third-quarter results for 2008, the railroad said diesel fuel represented 26% of its operating costs. This was more than $500m higher than the equivalent quarter in 2007 for a comparable level of consumption.

The use of fuel cells in road vehicles such as buses and cars is not new, but to date there have only been a few attempts to introduce the introduce the technology to the rail sector. An experimental fuel-cell railcar is being tested in Japan, and another is expected to start test running in Denmark in 2010 (RG 1.08 p30). BNSF’s project was officially launched in January 2008, and is the first to be undertaken by a Class I railroad in North America.

The railway is working with Vehicle Projects LLC, a private engineering company based in Denver which has been developing and demonstrating prototype fuel cell vehicles for various modes. Since 2003 the company has also been working on a project sponsored by the US Department of Defense to develop a 1·2 MW fuel cell locomotive. The two companies insist that the latest prototype, which is being assembled by BNSF’s mechanical department using a former Railpower Green Goat hybrid as the platform, is strictly a testbed.

In simple terms, a fuel cell is an electrochemical device that combines hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity, producing water and heat as a by-product. As long as fuel is available, the fuel cell continues to generate power. Oxygen is available from the air, but the hydrogen must be supplied. BNSF envisages that the hydrogen will be generated off the vehicle using electricity, which can be drawn from a number of available sources including nuclear, wind or solar.

The experimental locomotive will carry compressed hydrogen on board in tanks similar to those used on fuel-cell road vehicles. Since the fuel cells use an electro-chemical process rather than conventional combustion, it is clean (meaning no environmentally-harmful emissions), quiet and is expected to be two to three times more fuel-efficient than a standard US diesel locomotive.

According to BNSF, the electricity generated by the onboard fuel cell power module will be stored in batteries or fed directly to the locomotive’s high-voltage propulsion system. DC choppers will be used to control the power to each traction motor independently, providing substantially improved adhesion compared to a conventional locomotive wheel-slip system. BNSF says the locomtoive will be rated at 2 000 hp for traction.

The Railpower locomotive, which had been reduced to a shell, was delivered from Montréal to Topeka in 2007, and the various components, including the fuel cell power modules and the hydrogen storage tanks are now being installed, along with the electrical transmission and control systems. BNSF and Vehicle Products had hoped to begin testing the completed unit in 2008, but are now expecting to start operations during 2009. The loco is also expected to visit the Transportation Technology Center at Pueblo for testing by the Federal Railroad Administration.

According to the President of Vehicle Projects, Arnold Miller, ‘the world burns millions of barrels of oil for energy, and the waste carbon is then emitted to the atmosphere. Because they don’t rely on oil as a fuel source, fuel cells solve these two issues’. He believes that developing proof-of-concept locomotives is an important first step toward the use of fuel cells in future rail applications.

HARTFORD — Dozens of Trumbull residents on Thursday asked state lawmakers to protect the historic Nichols neighborhood from a planned fuel-cell facility that would depend on high-pressure natural gas flowing through 50-year-old pipes.

Wearing “Fragile Handle With Care” lapel stickers, they told the Energy & Technology Committee that state regulators should have to consider public safety issues when reviewing applications.

The residents waited more than three hours to testify late into the afternoon during the hearing, where they asked for more oversight and voiced concerns about the potential for an explosion similar to the February blast that killed six construction workers in Middletown.

Richard Moore, whose 6-acre Moorefield Herb Farm would be directly across Huntington Turnpike from the facility planned by the Danbury-based FuelCell Energy Inc., said that it would be the first of its kind in the United States, but nearly 50 percent larger than the only other generator, which is located in Toronto.

“It’s a swampy area,” Moore said, noting that the cast-iron gas pipe was buried in nearby wetlands more than 50 years ago.

“The company claims that fuel cells are non-combustion, therefore they’re safer, yet the chemical reaction that happens inside the fuel cells is approximately 1,250 degrees,” Moore said. “The combustion point of natural gas is 1,100 degrees, so if there were ever a leak at this site there’s more than adequate heat to ignite a natural gas leak.” Lawmakers and neighbors complained that FuelCell Energy Inc. sent nondescript, registered letters in early February that did not pinpoint the exact location of the site of the hybrid turbo-expander energy system.

A request for comment Thursday was not returned by FuelCell Energy officials.

“This is a beautiful residential neighborhood,” said Rep. T.R. Rowe, R-Trumbull, adding that within a half mile of the site is a high school and two other schools where hundreds of children are educated each day.

He said the case is not a matter of suburbanites protecting their backyards. “There are profound safety concerns for an unknown technology,” Rowe said.

Pending legislation before the committee would expand the Siting Council’s power to reject proposals beyond its current scope of adverse environmental effects and into the realm of public safety; and require public hearings to be held.

Although the company has not yet applied for approval with the state Siting Council, town residents and officials fear excessive carbon emissions and other possible hazards from its 3.4-megawatt gas-fired fuel cell electricity generator.

“Local zoning and land-use boards should have a role, too,” Rowe said.

Sen. Anthony J. Musto, D-Trumbull, criticized current law for not requiring the Siting Council to hold public hearings. “All the people are asking today is to have a voice,” he said.

“This bill is very important to the community I represent,” said Rep. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield.

“We need to require a greater standard for having public hearings, letting residents be heard, allowing those that might object to an application the opportunity to present evidence, to make their case, to build a strong administrative record,” said First Selectman Timothy M. Herbst during an afternoon news conference prior to the public hearing.

He said the issue goes far beyond the Nichols historic district.

“It affects every town and every city in the state,” he said, adding that Trumbull has retained a lawyer to oversee its response to the proposal. Other sites in the town are also being looked at as potential alternatives.

Rep. Vickie O. Nardello, D-Prospect, co-chairwoman of the Energy & Technology Committee, was impressed with the tenacity of the group, some of whom included school children getting a taste of the legislative process.

“We are listening to what you have to say,” she told the contingent. “Particularly the public input.”

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Copyright (c) 2010, Connecticut Post, Bridgeport

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

A green machine was shadowing city buses recently.

B.C. Transit and the Victoria Regional Transit Authority are testing a prototype bus. It is symbolically painted green because it emits only water.

The hydrogen hybrid bus made a test run through Victoria. If all goes well, B.C. Transit will consider purchasing one to add to its local fleet.

“That’s what B.C. Transit is trying to do, is invest in new technology,” said Christopher Causton, chair of the Victoria Regional Transit Authority and vice-president of B.C. Transit.

“We think that’s what people want.”

The bus was developed by U.S.-based company Proterra and the Centre for Transportation and the Environment, based in Atlanta, Ga.

“As people look for greener solutions, this battery-dominated bus is … another tool in the basket for us,” said Manuel Achadinha, B.C. Transit president and CEO.

The bus is propelled by a series of engines that work off electrical and hydrogen power. The body of the bus is made of a composite material, making it 20 to 30 per cent lighter than a conventional bus, said Proterra’s chairman Dale Hill.

The hydrogen hybrid bus left Victoria early this week. Spokesperson Joanna Morton said B.C. Transit wouldn’t make a decision about buying the bus anytime soon.

There is no cost estimate on the bus, as it is a prototype, Morton said. Its purchase would have to include a hydrogen fuel station as well.

Claymont is expected to receive the state’s first public-usage, hydrogen-based auto fueling station.

Aaron Nathans

The private company SunHydro reports it is building a “hydrogen highway,” constructing 11 stations on the East Coast from Maine to Florida.

Hydrogen technology creates power as pressurized gas is fed into a fuel cell, creating a constant chemical reaction. That’s different from electric vehicle technology, which stores power in a battery.

The company says it’s working on matching California’s numerous hydrogen refueling stations, which fuel demonstration vehicles that run from the Bay Area to Los Angeles.

SunHydro did not specify the location of the refueling station within Claymont. It would build the station within the next 12 months.

“The goal is to make it possible for a hydrogen car to drive from Maine to Florida strictly on sun and water,” said Michael Grey, president of SunHydro, in a written statement. “Our goal is 100 percent off the grid.”

The refueling station would be powered by a solar array.

The University of Delaware has two hydrogen-fueled buses, and is planning to introduce two more.The buses refuel at Air Liquide in Newark.

The Wallingford, Conn. planning and zoning commission recently approved the plans for the construction of a SunHydro fueling station. They’re hoping to have that station up and running by this summer.

AS WORLD’S poor suffer from severe food shortages, we waste and cry about CO2. There are people in India who are working towards greener future since last twenty five years in Rajasthan.

Recently, Professor Y K Vijay and his team from Physics department, Rajasthan University, Jaipur, have discovered new technique of hydrogen fuel cell technology in car.

Professor Y K Vijay, hydrogen fuel cell research contributes to the growing role that advanced technologies play in addressing the nation’s energy challenges. His research focuses on hydrogen production, delivery and storage; fuel cells; technology validation; safety, codes and standards; analysis; education; and manufacturing of car. Automobiles are the leading cause to country’s air pollution problem. Cars also release toxic emissions that damage our environment. Pollution is hurting our environment by adding to the greenhouse effect, damaging air quality and decreasing the ozone level. By this technology, he has proved that we can reduce pollution level more then CNG.

Biggest problem in cars running with hydrogen fuel cell is that it needs refilling from outer source. Because of this, these cars are not considered good for long distance travelling. To overcome this problem, he worked on ‘onward fuel generation’ technique. It means hydrogen will be generated in the car itself. His team has added some new techniques in it. They prepared cell with aluminum electrode with saline water (salt and water solution). With electrosis process, cell will produce hydrogen fuel frenziedly in car. He used special type of air filters and thin film membrane to separate fuel from hydrogen. By this way, purity of hydrogen will increase. In addition, pollution level in environment will fall considerably. On a test drive, it was found that pollution level from cars running with hydrogen fuel cell is very less in comparison to cars running with gas/petrol.

Professor Y K Vijay and his team next step are to take patent from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy as this research is going under this ministry since 1984. When this project will be cleared, it will not only be a blessing for industrial sector, but also will help to clean environment. Automobile companies are free to experiment on hydrogen fuel cell technology under guidance of Professor Vijay.