Transportation/ Multifuels

1. Transportation/Multifuels

2. Hydrogen • Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe, yet it’s not readily “free flowing” as is oil. • It must be extracted from other chemical compounds. • This has not been an easy/economical problem to solve

3. Hydrogen • Hydrogen is THE best/cleanest/readily available fuel that we know of, and makes the perfect transition fuel for modern transportation fleet technologies. • Simply put, there is no emission problem with hydrogen • It’s only emission by-product is water

4. Hydrogen • Two significant technologies must compete for future transport motive technology. • Fuel Cells and the Internal Combustion Engines • Hydrogen can be used in both motive technologies

5. Hydrogen Fuel Cell • In 1839, the first fuel cell was conceived by Sir William Robert Grove, a Welsh judge, inventor and physicist. When mixing hydrogen and oxygen in the presence of an electrolyte, he was able to produce electricity and water. The invention, which later became known as a fuel cell, didn't produce enough electricity to be useful at the time.

6. Hydrogen Fuel Cell • Better catalysts (specifically Platinum alloys) and electrolyte compounds have made fuel cells much more efficient

7. Hydrogen Fuel Cell • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeBXcGH105w • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obs2tAq57j8 • http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/honda-clarity

8. Hydrogen Fuel • Problem with Hydrogen Fuel – Hydrogen needs to be produced cheaply and in mass quantity • Electrolysis using DC current and water has been the traditional method, but it takes large amounts of electricity to produce at required rates • Paradox – pollute to generate clean energy?

9. Hydrogen Fuel • Where does most all of our Hydrogen come from? • Answer: Natural Gas • Cheapest way to generate Hydrogen is to “reclaim” it from NG • 80% efficiency in this process • Again, the paradox – pollute to generate clean energy?

10. Hydrogen Fuel • New processes of reclamation a being explored. Less polluting, more efficient • Hydrogen is a transitional fuel for existing cars, as well as a fuel for future fuel cell energy • It’s the most environmentally friendly option for passenger cars • Trucks will most likely move to NG in the near term

11. Natural Gas • The most dominant energy source for US internal combustion engine technology • Commercial vehicles are already switching over to NG in great numbers • Switchover costs for existing diesel and gasoline fleets are negligible when compared to cost savings • Investments are recouped over a relatively short period of time (approx. less than three years) • NG is a totally US produced energy source

12. NG and the Pickens Plan • NG production can be used commercially by the trucking industry, AND at the retail level through conventional service station distributors. • Big advantage: Home refueling – • http://www.wisegasinc.com/wg-phill.htm • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-iHAg7oAg4 • http://www.cngnow.com/news/post.aspx?id=688

13. NG and the Pickens Plan • T. Boone Pickens – A traditional Oil executive, has produced the “Pickens Plan” that addresses energy independence for the US trucking industry • By moving large commercial vehicles off diesel, the oil savings can supplement the existing supply of gasoline and hopefully reduce the cost of retail gasoline prices

14. NG and the Pickens Plan • http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan • Boone Pickens on the new IEA projections for future US crude oil and gas production • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPLahxX_jNo&feature=player_embedded

15. NG and the Pickens Plan • Pickens plan requires Government/Private Sector partnerships • However, current political climate is not conducive to support any energy policy that includes both carbon tax offsets and tighter regulation of gas/oil/coal industries

16. Ethanol • A major effort by the Busch and Obama administrations to push ethanol production was heavily supported by the agriculture lobby. • By all accounts it was a disaster • Grain prices skyrocketed and ethanol production speculators received huge government subsidies to develop ethanol capacity. • As with solar subsidies, most of the speculators went out of business • Government not good at picking “winners”

17. Ethanol • Although efficient and environmentally friendly, ethanol lost out to the availably and abundance of NG • Unlike Brazil, where sugar cane is grown commercially for ethanol production, US produces ethanol from corn and sugar beets. • Taking corn and sugar beets off the commercial wholesale food market plays havoc on grain commodity pricing across the world • At best, it’s a niche market in the US, and is not enough to sustain our independent energy needs.

18. Coal • Gasification of coal for transportation purposes has been researched for close to a century • Germany developed highly efficient processes to gasify coal into gasoline during WWII • As with Ethanol, coal gasification targets a niche market at best, and it uses lots of energy to get a limited result • AND it would produce a fuel that’s no cleaner than current gasoline variants; hence it’s not part of a US comprehensive energy plan

19. Multi-Purpose Fuel Cells • Up until the 2000’s, fuel cell technology was very expensive. • Exotic materials and processes were never able to provide commodity priced fuel cell solutions to US industry • Until now!

20. Bloom Box • The first design to use cheap/plentiful silicon wafer technology to produce electricity from CNG and/or Hydrogen • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcLq3B8C5sk • Bloom Energy Fuel Cell – “almost” affordable

21. Bloom Box • What makes it different? • A commodity priced fuel cell that can be used as a “generic” generation platform • Transportation (cars, trucks, rail, and maybe planes?) • Home Generation • Commercial Generation • Utility Generation • Backup Generation …. all from the same basic technological blueprint

22. Gas Utilities Pushing Hard • Gas companies are realizing that their delivery system is relatively stable, and that they may be the primary fuel system of the 21st century • The projected future US NG output, coupled with a reliable infrastructure to the home and business makes NG a huge “player” in the energy debate • NG is the only energy solution that currently supports all modes of surface transport, while leaving the smallest carbon footprint

23. What does this mean for TPOL students? • Planning for growth and profitability in the transportation sector over the next decades means that YOU have to educate yourself on these issues. • Transportation Planning and Logistics must include energy strategies and solutions for estimating growth and profitability • Your job is to know about ALL these technologies and the associated private/public sector policy initiatives that drive the markets • Increasingly, transportation planning necessitates knowledge and expertise in the domestic and international Commodities/Energy Markets – • Prepare and Market yourself accordingly!