JAPAN TESTS HOME FUEL CELLS

The practicality of the hydrogen fuel cell in transportation is sidestepped by a new Japanese plan to install them in homes.

Big Japanese energy companies are installing small fuel cells in Japanese homes and feeding them natural gas. The natural gas splits into hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The hydrogen generates electricity and gives off heat while the carbon monoxide is “neutralized” by oxygen into CO2.

As a source of electricity, hydrogen remains inefficient. It is simpler and delivers more bang to just use natural gas to generate electricity. But when heat from the process is captured and used to heat the home or hot water in the home, it maximizes efficiency and reportedly beats power plant electricity generation for energy returned on energy invested (EROEI).

By counting both heat and electricity in the output, the calculated greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions per unit of energy are lower than power plant emissions, too.

The fuel cells also become a form of distributed generation, a valuable power source in an energy-constrained world. Michihiro Mohri, senior vice president, Nippon Oil Corp.: "Households with the system are also no longer at the mercy of power cuts during natural disasters…"

Natural disasters are not the only situation where a distributed power source can be valuable. Data centers can use the fuel cells like batteries, as energy storage systems, to protect them during brown- or black-outs.

Probably on the strength of these fuel cells’ value as distributed generation and stored energy, Vinod Khosla is reportedly building a plant to manufacture them in India.

This is an interesting step or two along the hydrogen highway, perhaps moving things a little closer to the dreamland of the hydrogen society thanks, of course, to the energy in natural gas. (Note: Several of the companies behind this Japanese project will do nicely if the LNG infrastructure grows there.)

Honda reportedly sees the project as a step closer to fuel cell vehicles. Anybody who has driven a CR-V knows it’s hard to bet against Honda. And there’s no certainty of how the buying public will jump in this oil-pricey world. But compressed natural gas vehicles and plug-in vehicles still seem like much better 3-to-5 year bets than fuel cell vehicles.

There is an interesting article on cogeneration fuel cells at the Australia/New Zealand Oil Drum: Cogeneration At Home: Ceramic Fuel Cells and Bloom Energy

Tokyo Gas likes the concept - it runs on natural gas. (click to enlarge)

As energy bills soar, Japanese test fuel of future
Karyn Poupee, June 8, 2008 (AFP via Yahoo News)

WHO
The Japanese government; Japanese energy/technology companies (Nippon Oil, Tokyo Gas, Sanyo Electric, Toshiba, Matsushita Electric Industrial, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Toyota and Honda)

WHAT
The Japanese government and some Japanese heavyweight corporations are encouraging citizens to install small natural gas-powwered fuel cells in their homes to meet some of their electricity and heating needs.

The basic concept. It's a long journey on the hydrogen hiway from here to the hydrogen society. (click to enlarge)

WHEN
- The Japanese Prime Minister installed a fuel cell in 2005. 3000 Japanese homes have followed in the interim.
- The fuel cell concept reportedly goes back to the middle ages.
- The first practical fuel cell was used in the U.S. Gemini space program in 1965.
The Japanese government anticpates a 550,000 unit/year demand in “a few years.”

WHERE
Under the burden of increasing demand for expensive, less available and greenhouse gas (GhG)-emitting fossil fuel energy, Japan is hoping the fuel cell will help avoid energy outages, reduce energy price inflation and bring the nation’s GhGs in line with its Kyoto obligations.

WHY
- Because both electricity and heat are consumed when the fuel cells turn their natural gas supply into hydrogen power, less CO2 is given off than for generation of comparable energy for heat and electricity separately.
- The fuel cell is “about the size of a small cupboard” and operates silently.
Cost, not including installation, is 2 million yen (~$19,000). The companies involved in manufacture and marketing hope economies of scale and other breakthroughs can cut the cost by 75% by 2015.

Panasonic loves selling appliances, especially when they are pushed by the government. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
Michihiro Mohri, senior vice president, Nippon Oil Corp.: "The principle of fuel cells has been known since the end of the 14th century, but their first practical use was not until 1965, aboard the American spacecraft Gemini 5…The hydrogen needed can come from various sources -- hydrocarbons, natural gas, bio mass or rubbish…"