Solar Energy 78 (2005) 647–660

www.elsevier.com/locate/solener

Wind energy and the hydrogen economy—review

of the technology
a,*
S.A. Sherif , F. Barbir b, T.N. Veziroglu c

a
University of Florida, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 232 MAE-B, P.O. Box 116300,
Gainesville, FL 32611-6300, United States
b
Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center, 44 Weaver Road, Unit-5233, Storrs, CT 06269-5233, United States
c
Clean Energy Research Institute, University of Miami, P.O. Box 248294, Coral Gables, FL 33124, United States

Received 12 November 2002; received in revised form 29 November 2004; accepted 4 January 2005
Available online 12 March 2005
Communicated by: Associate Editor Ali Raissi

Abstract

The hydrogen economy is an inevitable energy system of the future where the available energy sources (preferably
the renewable ones) will be used to generate hydrogen and electricity as energy carriers, which are capable of satisfying
all the energy needs of human civilization. The transition to a hydrogen economy may have already begun. This paper
presents a review of hydrogen energy technologies, namely technologies for hydrogen production, storage, distribution,
and utilization. Possibilities for utilization of wind energy to generate hydrogen are discussed in parallel with possibil-
ities to use hydrogen to enhance wind power competitiveness.

2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Hydrogen energy; Wind energy; Fuel cells; Solar energy; Hydrogen production; Hydrogen storage

1. Hydrogen energy system subsequent ‘‘Roadmap Workshop’’ to outline the next

The transition to a hydrogen economy may have al-
ready begun. The US Department of Energy has initi-
ated a ‘‘National Hydrogen Vision and Roadmap’’
process in response to recommendations made in Presi-
dent George W. BushÕs National Energy Policy. Repre-
sentatives from hydrogen-related industries, universities,
environmental organizations, and government agen-
cies participated in the ‘‘Vision Meeting’’ and in a
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 352 392 7821; fax: +1 352
392 1071.
E-mail address: sasherif@ufl.edu (S.A. Sherif).
step in AmericaÕs transition to a hydrogen economy. At
present, there are a large number of companies working
on technologies pertaining to hydrogen production, stor-
age, and utilization. For example, several hydrogen-
powered prototype vehicles are already being
demonstrated together with hydrogen refueling stations.
Regardless of the energy sources of the future there
will always be a need for convenient, clean, safe, efficient
and versatile energy carriers or forms of energy that can
be delivered to the end user. One of these energy carriers
is electricity, which is already being used worldwide.
Electricity is a convenient form of energy, which can
be produced from various sources and transported over
large distances. It is clean, although its production from

0038-092X/$ - see front matter
2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.solener.2005.01.002
648 S.A. Sherif et al. / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 647–660
fossil fuels is not. Hydrogen is another clean, efficient
and versatile energy carrier, which supplements electric-
ity very well. Together these two carriers may satisfy all
the energy needs and form an energy system that is per-
manent and independent of energy sources (Bockris,
1975; Bockris and Veziroglu, 1985; Bockris et al., 1991).
Hydrogen has some unique characteristics that make
it an ideal energy carrier (Veziroglu and Barbir, 1992),
namely:
• It can be produced from and converted into electric-
ity at a relatively high efficiency.
• Raw material for hydrogen production is water,
which is available in abundance. Hydrogen is a com-
pletely renewable fuel, since the product of hydrogen
utilization (either through combustion or through
electrochemical conversion) is pure water or water
vapor.
• It can be stored as liquid, gas, or solid (metal
hydrides).
• It can be transported over large distances using pipe-
lines, tankers, or rail trucks.
• It can be converted into other forms of energy in
more ways and more efficiently than any other fuel,
i.e., in addition to flame combustion (like any other
fuel) hydrogen may be converted through catalytic
combustion, electro-chemical conversion, and
hydriding.
• Hydrogen as an energy carrier is environmentally
compatible. It produces small amounts of NOx if it
is burned with air at high temperatures.
Fig. 1 shows a global energy system in which electric-
ity and hydrogen are produced from available energy
sources and used in many applications. Both hydrogen
and electricity complement renewable energy sources
particularly well, by presenting them to the end user in
a convenient form and at a convenient time. Depending
Fig. 1. Hydrogen/electricity energy system.
on location, electricity may be used directly or trans-
formed into hydrogen. For large-scale storage, hydrogen
can be stored underground in ex-mines, caverns or aqui-
fers. Fuel cells may be available in MW power plant size
or several kW suitable for distributed power generation.
Together with renewable energy sources, such as solar
and wind, electricity and hydrogen form a clean energy
system capable of permanently satisfying all the energy
needs of human civilization.
1.1. Hydrogen energy technologies
Most of the technologies required for hydrogen pro-
duction, storage, and utilization have already been
developed. Few of them are at a level where they can
compete with the existing energy technologies. The fol-
lowing is a review of the technologies for hydrogen pro-
duction, storage, distribution, and utilization.
1.1.1. Technologies for hydrogen production
Production of hydrogen requires feedstock (logical
sources being hydrocarbon fuels, CXHY, and water,
H2O) and energy. The amount of energy required to
produce hydrogen is always greater than the energy that
can be released by hydrogen utilization.
Presently, hydrogen is mostly being produced from
fossil fuels (natural gas, oil, and coal). Hydrogen is used
in refineries to upgrade crude oil (hydrotreating and
hydrocracking), in the chemical industry to synthesize
various chemical compounds (ammonia, methanol,
etc.), and in metallurgical processes as a reduction or
protection gas.
Technologies for hydrogen production from fossil
fuels have been developed and are used to produce
industrial hydrogen. These include steam reforming of
natural gas, partial oxidation of hydrocarbons and coal
gasification. Depending on the cost of fuel, hydrogen
can be produced for 6–14 $/GJ (Steinberg and Cheng,
1988). However, these technologies depend on fossil
fuels and emit CO2. The only method that can generate
hydrogen from fossil fuels without generation of CO2 is
direct thermal and catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons.
This method has been used to produce carbon, but for
cost effective hydrogen generation it is still in the early
development phase (Muradov, 1998).
Water electrolysis is relatively efficient (>70%), but
because it needs electricity, hydrogen produced by
water-electrolysis is expensive (>$20/GJ assuming a cost
of about $0.05/kW h). However, there is a potential to
generate relatively inexpensive hydrogen from hydro-
power and nuclear plants.
Water electrolysis is particularly suitable to be used
in conjunction with photovoltaics (PVs) and wind en-
ergy. In general, there is a good match between the
polarization curves of PV cells and electrolyzers. Experi-
ence from PV/electrolysis pilot plants shows that they
 S.A. Sherif et al. / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 647–660
can be matched directly with no power tracking elec-
tronics, and can yield a relatively high efficiency (>93%
coupling efficiency) (Steeb et al., 1990). Electricity pro-
duced from photovoltaics is expensive and hydrogen
produced from such electricity is even more expensive.
Nevertheless, this technology is well developed that
eventually could be used on a large scale for electricity
and hydrogen generation. The cost of PV-cells in the
1990s did not drop in spite of a multi-fold increase in
production volume and a reduction in manufacturing
cost. Projections from the late 1980s showed that the
cost could be as low as $0.2/Wp (Ogden and Williams,
1989), but the price of PV modules is still over $4/Wp,
and installed can be as high as $15/Wp (Ventre, 2000).
This would be prohibitively expensive to generate elec-
tricity and hydrogen on a large scale.
As the ‘‘Wind Energy and Hydrogen’’ section indi-
cates, wind power may be produced at a very low cost
in the regions with enough wind resources. It can be
used to generate hydrogen on a small or a large scale.
Other pilot scale methods for hydrogen production
include direct thermal decomposition or thermolysis
(Baykara and Bilgen, 1989), thermochemical cycles
(Yalcin, 1989), and photolysis (photo-chemical, photo-
electrochemical, and photo-biological processes) (Willner
and Steinberger-Willner, 1988; Das and Veziroglu, 2001).
Unfortunately, all of these processes have severe techni-
cal difficulties and are far from industrial applications.
For a comprehensive review of hydrogen production
technologies the reader is referred to Goswami et al.
(2003).
1.1.2. Technologies for hydrogen storage
Hydrogen as an energy carrier must be stored to
overcome daily and seasonal discrepancies between en-
ergy source availability and demand. Hydrogen can be
stored either as gas or as liquid. Also, it can also be
stored in metal hydrides, chemical hydrides, glass micro-
spheres, or cryo-adsorbers.
Large underground hydrogen storage in caverns, aqui-
fers, depleted petroleum, and natural gas fields is likely
to be technologically and economically feasible (Taylor
et al., 1986). Hydrogen storage systems of the same type
and the same energy content will be more expensive by
approximately a factor of three than natural gas storage
systems, due to hydrogenÕs lower volumetric heating
value. Technical problems, specifically for the under-
ground storage of hydrogen other than the expected
losses of the working gas in the amount of 1–3% per year
are not anticipated. The city of KielÕs public utility has
been storing town gas with a hydrogen content of
60–65% in a gas cavern with a geometric volume of
about 32,000 m3 and a pressure of 80–160 bars at a
depth of 1330 m since 1971 (Carpetis, 1988). Gaz de
France, the French National Gas Company, has stored
hydrogen-rich refinery by-product gases in an aquifer
649
structure near Beynes, France. Imperial Chemical Indus-
tries of Great Britain stores their hydrogen in the salt
mine caverns near Teeside, United Kingdom (Pottier
and Blondin, 1995).
Above ground pressurized gas storage systems are used
today in natural gas business in various sizes and pres-
sure ranges from standard pressure cylinders (50 l,
200 bars) to stationary high-pressure containers (over
200 bars) or low-pressure spherical containers (>
30,000 m3, 12–16 bars). This application range may be
similar for hydrogen storage.
Vehicular pressurized hydrogen tanks made of ultra-
light but strong new composite materials that allow
pressures in excess of 200 bars have been developed
and used in prototype automobiles and buses. Storage
density of higher than 0.05 kg of hydrogen per 1 kg of
total weight is easily achievable (Mitlitsky, 1996).
Liquid hydrogen storage: Hydrogen liquefaction is an
energy intensive process. It requires amounts of energy
equal to about one third of the energy in liquefied hydro-
gen. Hydrogen liquefaction and use of liquid hydrogen
is usually practiced only where achieving high storage
density is absolutely essential, such as in aerospace
applications. Some prototype hydrogen-powered auto-
mobiles as well as commercially-available automobiles
also use specially developed liquid hydrogen tanks (Bra-
ess and Strobl, 1996).
Metal hydride storage: Hydrogen can form metal hy-
drides with some metals and alloys. During the forma-
tion of the metal hydride, hydrogen molecules are split
and hydrogen atoms are inserted in spaces inside the lat-
tice of suitable metals and/or alloys. In such a way an
effective storage comparable to the density of liquid
hydrogen is created. However, when the mass of the
metal or alloy is taken into account then the metal
hydride gravimetric storage density is comparable to
the storage of pressurized hydrogen. The best achievable
gravimetric storage density is about 0.07 kg of H2/kg of
metal for a high temperature hydride such as MgH2.
During the storage process, heat is released which must
be removed in order to achieve the continuity of the
reaction. During the hydrogen release process, heat must
be supplied to the storage tank. An advantage of storing
hydrogen in hydriding substances is the safety aspect. A
serious damage to a hydride tank (e.g. collision) would
not pose fire hazard, since hydrogen would remain in
the metal structure. Table 1 provides some hydriding
substances as hydrogen storage media. Table 2 provides
a list of hydrogen storage types and densities.
Novel hydrogen storage methods: Hydrogen can be
physically adsorbed on activated carbon and be
‘‘packed’’ on the surface and inside the carbon structure
more densely than if it has been just compressed.
Amounts of up to 48 g H2 per kg of carbon have been
reported at 6.0 MPa and 87 K (Schwartz and Aman-
kwah, 1993). The adsorption capacity is a function of
650 S.A. Sherif et al. / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 647–660

Table 1
Hydriding substances as hydrogen storage media
Medium Hydrogen content, Hydrogen storage capacity, Energy density, Energy density,
kg/kg kg/liter of vol. kJ/kg kJ/liter of vol.
MgH2 0.070 0.101 9933 14,330
Mg2NiH4 0.0316 0.081 4484 11,494
VH2 0.0207 3831
FeTiH1.95 0.0175 0.096 2483 13,620
TiFe0.7Mn0.2H1.9 0.0172 0.090 2440 12,770
LaNi5H7.0 0.0137 0.089 1944 12,630
R.E.Ni5H6.5 0.0135 0.090 1915 12,770
Liquid H2 1.00 0.071 141,900 10,075
Gaseous H2 (100 bar) 1.00 0.0083 141,900 1170
Gaseous H2 (200 bar) 1.00 0.0166 141,900 2340
Gasoline – – 47,300 35,500

Table 2 Hydrogen can be stored in glass microspheres of

Hydrogen storage types and densities approximately 50 lm diameter. The microspheres can
kg H2/kg kg H2/m3 be filled with hydrogen by heating them to increase the
2 4
Large volume storage (10 –10 m ) 3 glass permeability to hydrogen. At room temperature,
Underground storage 5–10 a pressure of approximately 25 MPa is achieved result-
Pressurized gas storage 0.01–0.014 2–16 ing in storage density of 14% mass fraction and 10 kg
(above ground) H2/m3 (Rambach and Hendriks, 1996). At 62 MPa, a
Metal hydride 0.013–0.015 50–55 bed of glass microspheres can store 20 kg H2/m3. The re-
Liquid hydrogen
1 65–69 lease of hydrogen occurs by reheating the spheres to
Stationary small storage (<100 m3) again increase the permeability.
Pressurized gas cylinder 0.012
15 Researchers at University of Hawaii are investigating
Metal hydride 0.012–0.014 50–53 hydrogen storage via polyhydride complexes. Com-
Liquid hydrogen tank 0.15–0.50
65 plexes have been found which catalyze the reversible
Vehicle tanks (0.1–0.5 m3)
hydrogenation of unsaturated hydrocarbons. This cata-
Pressurized gas cylinder 0.05 15 lytic reaction could be the basis for a low temperature
Metal hydride 0.02 55 hydrogen storage system with an available hydrogen
Liquid hydrogen tank 0.09–0.13 50–60 density greater than 7% (Jensen, 1996).

1.1.3. Technologies for hydrogen transport and

pressure and temperature, therefore at higher pressures
and/or lower temperatures even larger amounts of
hydrogen can be adsorbed. For any practical use, rela-
tively low temperatures are needed (<100 K). Since the
adsorption is a surface process, the adsorption capacity
of hydrogen on activated carbon is largely due to the
high surface area of the activated carbon, although there
are some other carbon properties, which affect the capa-
bility of activated carbon to adsorb hydrogen.
Researchers from Northeastern University in Boston,
MA, have recently announced that they have developed
a carbon storage material that can store as high as 75%
of hydrogen by weight (Chambers et al., 1998). This
material, apparently some kind of carbon nanotubes
or carbon whiskers, is currently being researched in sev-
eral laboratories. The best results achieved with carbon
nanotubes to date confirmed by the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory is hydrogen storage density corre-
sponding to about 10% of the nanotube weight (Dillon
et al., 1996).
distribution
Presently, up to 200 km of hydrogen pipelines are
used to link production and utilization sites (Pottier,
1995). Future developments will certainly entail greater
flow rates and distances. However, it would be possible
to use the existing natural gas pipelines with some mod-
ifications. For hydrogen pipelines, it is necessary to use
steel less prone to embrittlement by hydrogen under
pressure [particularly for very pure hydrogen (>99.5%
purity)]. Reciprocating compressors used for natural
gas can be used for hydrogen without major design mod-
ifications. However, special attention must be given to
sealing to avoid hydrogen leaks, and to materials selec-
tion for the parts subject to fatigue stress. Use of centri-
fugal compressors for hydrogen creates more problems
due to hydrogenÕs exceptional lightness.
As a rule, hydrogen transmission through pipelines
requires larger diameter piping and more compression
power than natural gas for the same energy throughput.
However, due to lower pressure losses in the case of
 S.A. Sherif et al. / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 647–660
hydrogen, the recompression stations could be spaced
twice as far apart. In economic terms, most of the stud-
ies found that the cost of large-scale transmission of
hydrogen is about 1.5–1.8 times larger than that of nat-
ural gas transmission. However, transportation of
hydrogen over distances greater than 1000 km is more
economical than transmission of electricity (Öney
et al., 1994).
In order to match the consumption demand, hydro-
gen can be regionally transported and distributed, both
as gas or liquid, by pipelines or in special cases in con-
tainers by road and rail transportation. Gaseous and
liquid hydrogen carriage is subject to strict regulations
ensuring public safety, which in some countries is very
constraining. The transportation of hydrogen in a dis-
continuous mode, whether in gaseous or liquid state, is
currently used by occasional or low volume users. The
cost of discontinuous transport is very high (up to 2–5
times the production cost).
Hydrogen in the gas phase is generally transported in
pressurized cylindrical vessels (typically at 200 bars) ar-
ranged in frames adapted to road transport. The unit
capacity of these frames or skids can be as great as
3000 m3. Hydrogen gas distribution companies also in-
stall such frames at the user site to serve as a stationary
storage.
1.1.4. Technologies for hydrogen utilization
Technologies for hydrogen conversion into other use-
ful energy forms have already been developed and dem-
onstrated. In almost all the cases hydrogen is converted
more efficiently than any other fuel. An important as-
pect is the fact that hydrogen conversion creates little
or no emissions (mainly water or water vapor). These
technologies are the driver for development of technolo-
gies for hydrogen production and storage.
1.1.4.1. Combustion of hydrogen in internal combustion
engines and turbines. Hydrogen is a very good fuel for
internal combustion engines. Hydrogen-powered inter-
nal combustion engines are on average about 20% more
efficient than comparable gasoline engines. The thermal
efficiency of an engine can be improved by increasing
either the compression ratio or the specific heat ratio.
In hydrogen engines both ratios are higher than in a
comparable gasoline engine due to hydrogenÕs lower
self-ignition temperature and ability to burn in lean mix-
tures. However, the use of hydrogen in internal combus-
tion engines results in
15% loss of power due to the
lower energy content in a stoichiometric mixture in the
engineÕs cylinder. The power output of a hydrogen en-
gine can be improved by using advanced fuel injection
techniques or liquid hydrogen (Nornbeck et al., 1996).
One of the most important advantages of hydrogen
as a fuel for internal combustion engines is that hydro-
gen engines emit less pollutants than comparable gaso-
651
line engines. Basically, the only products of hydrogen
combustion in air are water vapor and small amounts
of nitrogen oxides. However, the emissions of NOx in
hydrogen engines are typically one order of magnitude
smaller than emissions from comparable gasoline en-
gines. Small amounts of unburned hydrocarbons, CO2,
and CO have been detected in hydrogen engines due to
lubrication oil (Nornbeck et al., 1996).
Hydrogen use in turbines and jet engines is similar to
use of conventional jet fuel. The use of hydrogen avoids
the problems of sediments and corrosion on turbine
blades, which prolongs life and reduces maintenance.
Gas inlet temperatures can be pushed beyond normal
gas turbine temperatures of 800 C, thus increasing the
overall efficiency. The only pollutants resulting from
the use of hydrogen in turbines and jet engines are nitro-
gen oxides.
1.1.4.2. Direct steam generation by hydrogen/oxygen
combustion. Hydrogen combusted with pure oxygen re-
sults in pure steam, i.e., 2H2 + O2 ! 2H2O. This reac-
tion would develop temperatures in the flame zone
above 3000 C. Therefore, additional water has to be in-
jected so that the steam temperature can be regulated at
a desired level. Both saturated and superheated vapor
can be produced. The German Aerospace Research
Establishment (DLR) has developed a compact hydro-
gen/oxygen steam generator (Sternfeld and Heinrich,
1989). Such a device is close to 100% efficient, since there
are no emissions other than steam and little or no ther-
mal losses. It can be used to generate steam for spinning
reserve in power plants, for peak load electricity genera-
tion, in industrial steam supply networks and as a
micro steam generator in medical technology and
biotechnology.
1.1.4.3. Catalytic combustion of hydrogen. Hydrogen
and oxygen in the presence of a suitable catalyst may
be combined at temperatures significantly lower than
flame combustion (ambient-500 C). Catalytic burners
require considerably more surface area than conven-
tional flame burners. Therefore, the catalyst is typically
dispersed in a porous structure. The reaction rate and
resulting temperature are easily controlled by control-
ling the hydrogen flow rate. The only product of cata-
lytic combustion of hydrogen is water vapor. Due to
low temperatures there are no nitrogen oxides formed.
The device is inherently safe since the reaction cannot
migrate into the hydrogen supply, because there is no
flame, in addition, to the fact that hydrogen concentra-
tion is above the higher flammable limit (75%). Possible
applications of catalytic burners are in household appli-
ances such as cooking ranges and space heaters. Fraun-
hofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Germany, has
developed and demonstrated several household appli-
ances using catalytic burners (Ledjeff, 1990).
652 S.A. Sherif et al. / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 647–660
1.1.4.4. Electrochemical electricity generation (fuel
cells). Fuel cells are one of the most attractive and
most promising hydrogen technologies. In a fuel cell
hydrogen combines with oxygen without combustion
in an electrochemical reaction (reverse of electrolysis)
and produces direct current (DC) electricity. Depending
on the type of the electrolyte used, there are several types
of fuel cells:
• Alkaline fuel cells (AFC) use 85 wt% KOH as the
electrolyte for high temperature operation (250 C)
and 35–50 wt% for lower temperature operation
(<120 C). The electrolyte is retained in a matrix
(usually asbestos), and a wide range of electrocata-
lysts can be used (such as Ni, Ag, metal oxides, and
noble metals). This fuel cell is intolerant to CO2 pres-
ence in either the fuel or the oxidant (Kinoshita et al.,
1988).
• Polymer electrolyte membrane or proton exchange
membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) use a thin (
30 lm)
proton conductive polymer membrane (such as per-
fluorosulfonated acid polymer) as the electrolyte.
The catalyst is typically platinum with loadings of
about 0.3 mg/cm2. If the hydrogen feed contains
small amounts of CO, Pt–Ru alloys are used. The
operating temperature is typically between 60 and
80 C.
• Phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC), use
100% con-
centrated phosphoric acid as the electrolyte. The
matrix used to retain the acid is usually SiC, and
the electrocatalyst in both the anode and cathode is
platinum. The operating temperature is typically
between 150 and 220 C (Kinoshita et al., 1988; Blu-
men and Mugerwa, 1993).
• Molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC) have the electro-
lyte composed of a combination of alkali (Li, Na, K)
carbonates, which is retained in a ceramic matrix of
LiAlO2. Operating temperatures are between 600
and 700 C where the carbonates form a highly con-
ductive molten salt, with carbonate ions providing
ionic conduction. At such high operating tempera-
tures, noble metal catalysts are typically not required
(Kinoshita et al., 1988; Blumen and Mugerwa, 1993).
• Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) use a solid, nonporous
metal oxide, usually Y2O3-stabilized ZrO2 as the elec-
Table 3
Fuel cell reactions
Fuel cell type Anode reaction
 
Alkaline H2 + 2OH ! 2H2O + 2e
Proton exchange H2 ! 2H+ + 2e
Phosphoric acid H2 ! 2H+ + 2e
Molten carbonate H2 + CO@3 ! H2O + CO2 + 2e


Solid oxide =
H2 + O ! H2O + 2e
trolyte. These cells operate at 900–1000 C where
ionic conduction by oxygen ions takes place.
Recently, low temperature (600 C) solid oxide fuel
cells are being developed (Kinoshita et al., 1988; Blu-
men and Mugerwa, 1993).
A typical fuel cell consists of the electrolyte, in con-
tact with porous electrodes, on both sides. A schematic
representation of a fuel cell with reactant and product
gases, and ions flow directions for the major types of fuel
cells are shown in Fig. 2. The electrochemical reactions
occur at the three-phase interface—porous electrode/
electrolyte/reactants. The actual electrochemical reac-
tions that occur in the above listed types of fuel cells
are different (as shown in Table 3) although the overall
reaction is the same, i.e., H2 + 1/2O2 ! H2O. Low tem-
perature fuel cells (AFC, PEMFC, PAFC) require noble
electrocatalysts to achieve practical reaction rates at the
anode and cathode. High temperature fuel cells (MCFC
and SOFC) can also utilize CO and CH4 as fuels. The
operating temperature is high enough so that CO and
CH4 can be converted into hydrogen through the
water-gas shift and steam reforming reactions,
respectively.
The electrolyte not only transports dissolved reac-
tants to the electrode, but it also conducts ionic charge
between the electrodes and thereby completes the cell
electric circuit, as shown in Fig. 2.
water oxygen
vapor from
air
porous
cylinder
reaction or plate
zone
hydrogen
Fig. 2. Schematic representation of catalytic burner.
Cathode reaction
1/2O2 + H2O + 2e ! 2OH
1/2O2 + 2H+ + 2e ! H2O
1/2O2 + 2H+ + 2e ! H2O
1/2O2 + CO2 + 2e ! CO@
3
1/2O2 + 2e ! O=
 S.A. Sherif et al. / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 647–660 653

The reversible potential of the above electrochemical activation concentration

reactions is 1.229 V (at standard conditions, i.e., 25 C polarization polarization
and atmospheric pressure), and it corresponds to the 1.23 V
Gibbs free energy according to the following equation:
~1.0 V ohmic losses
DG0 ¼ nFE0 ð1Þ

Cell potential
where DG0 = Gibbs free energy at 25 C and atmo-
spheric pressure, n = number of electrons involved in
the reaction, F = FaradayÕs constant, E0 = reversible po-
tential at 25 C and atmospheric pressure (V).
The reversible potential changes with temperature
and pressure; in general it is lower at higher tempera-
tures (reaching
1.0 V at 1000 K), and it is higher at
Current density
higher pressures or higher concentrations of reactants.
The actual voltage of an operational fuel cell is always Fig. 4. Typical fuel cell polarization curve.
lower than the reversible potential due to various irre-
versible losses, such as activation polarization, concen- The fuel cell efficiency is a function of cell voltage.
tration polarization, and ohmic resistance. While The theoretical fuel cell efficiency is:
ohmic resistance is directly proportional to the current,
activation polarization is a logarithmic function of the gFC ¼ DG=DH ð2Þ
current, and is thus more pronounced at very low cur- where DH is hydrogenÕs enthalpy or heating value
rent densities. Concentration polarization is an exponen- (higher or lower). The theoretical fuel cell efficiency,
tial function of the current and thus becomes a limiting defined as a ratio between produced electricity and
factor at high current densities. Fig. 3 shows a typical higher heating value of hydrogen consumed is therefore
fuel cell polarization curve with pronounced regions of 83%. The lower heating value of hydrogen results in an
predominant irreversible losses. Fig. 4 shows actual efficiency of 98%. Since the actual voltage of an opera-
polarization curves of some representative fuel cells. tional fuel cell is lower than the reversible potential,
The fuel cells are typically operated in a range between the fuel cell efficiency is always lower than the theoretical
0.6 and 0.8 V. The Space Shuttle fuel cell (alkaline) is de- one. Generally, the fuel cell efficiency is a product of sev-
signed to operate at 0.86 V and 410 mA/cm2. PEM fuel eral efficiencies:
cells have the highest achievable current densities, be-
gFC ¼ gTh  gV  gF  gU ð3Þ
tween 1 and 2 mA/cm2 at 0.6 V with pressurized hydro-
gen and air. where gTh = thermal efficiency, i.e., ratio between Gibbs
free energy of the reaction and heating value of the fuel,
DGr/DHfuel (similar to internal combustion engines, the
load
fuel cell efficiency is often expressed in terms of lower
heating value), gV = voltage efficiency, defined as a ratio
e- between actual voltage (V) and thermodynamic voltage
(E), i.e., V/E, gF = Faradaic efficiency, or ratio between
depleted fuel and depleted oxidant and
product gases out product gases out the actual current and current corresponding to the rate
at which the reactant species are consumed, I/nFm,
H2 OH- O2
AFC where m is the rate (in moles/s) at which the reactants
H2O H2O are consumed, gU = fuel utilization, or ratio between
H2 O2 PEMFC the amount of fuel actually consumed in the electro-
H+
H2O PAFC chemical reaction and fuel supplied to the fuel cell.
H2 For a hydrogen/oxygen or hydrogen/air fuel cell
CO3= O2 MCFC
CO2 operating with 100% fuel utilization, the efficiency is a
CO2
H2O function of cell voltage only. For such a fuel cell the effi-
H2 O= O2
SOFC
ciency in an operating range between 0.6 V and 0.8 V is
H2O between 0.48 and 0.64 (Fig. 5).
In order to get useable voltages (i.e., tens or hundred
fuel in oxidant in Volts), the cells are combined in a stack. The cells are
physically separated from each other and electrically
anode electrolyte cathode
connected in series by a bipolar separator plate. Fig. 6
shows a schematic representation of a typical fuel cell
Fig. 3. Operating principle of various types of fuel cells. stack.
654
1.0
AFC
0.9
MCFC
Cell Voltage (V)
0.8
PEMFC
0.7
PAFC
SOFC
0.6
0.5
0 200 400 600
Current Density (mA/cm2)
Fig. 5. Polarization curves of some representative fuel cells:
AFC—United TechnologiesÕ fuel cell operating in Space
Shuttle, with H2 and O2 at 80–90 C, 410 kPa; PEMFC—
BallardÕs 25 kW fuel cell operating in Daimler-Benz vehicle
(NECAR II) with H2 and air (1996); PAFC—IFCs fuel cell
operating in ONSI PC25 200 kW power plant, operating on
reformed natural gas and air at atmospheric pressure (1996)
(upper line is IFCs PC23 operating at 820 kPa); MCFC—ERCs
atmospheric pressure fuel cell operating with natural gas (1994);
SOFC—Westinghouse fuel cell operating at atmospheric
pressure using natural gas (1991).
end plate
bus plate
bi-polar separator plates
tie rod
Fig. 6. Schematic representation of a typical fuel cell stack.
Alkaline fuel cells have been used in the space pro-
gram (Apollo and Space Shuttle) since 1960s. Phospho-
ric acid fuel cells are already commercially available in
container packages for stationary electricity generation.
High temperature fuel cells, such as molten carbonate
and solid oxide fuel cells, have been developed to a pre-
commercial/demonstration stage for stationary power
S.A. Sherif et al. / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 647–660
generation. Recently, PEM fuel cells have been drawing
the most attention due to heavy involvement by the big
automotive companies (Daimler-Chrysler, Ford, Gen-
eral Motors, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc.). They prom-
ise to have production-ready fuel cell vehicles
somewhere between 2004 and 2010. Judging their finan-
cial commitments, this is not unrealistic. PEM fuel cells
are also a serious candidate for small-scale distributed
stationary power generation.
Fuel cells have several advantages over internal com-
bustion engines. They are more efficient, particularly at
partial loads, and generate no emissions. The biggest
obstacle for fuel cell commercialization is their high cost,
partially because of low manufacturing volumes, and
partially due to technological issues, such as membrane
800 1000
material (currently sulfonated fluoro-polymer), catalyst
(platinum or platinum alloys), and bi-polar plate mate-
rial (limited choice due to corrosion problems). Another
obstacle is the lack of hydrogen infrastructure. Although
most of the demo vehicles use hydrogen as fuel, the car
manufacturers have joined forces with oil companies in
developing on-board reformers, so that the fuel cell vehi-
cles may use conventional liquid fuels such as gaso-
line or methanol. This brings additional technical
difficulties to be overcome, such as fuel cell poisoning
with reformate, rapid start-up, and transient load
following.
1.1.4.5. Metal hydrides applications. HydrogenÕs prop-
erty to form metal hydrides may be used not only for
hydrogen storage but also for various energy conversion
applications. When a hydride is formed by the chemical
combination of hydrogen with a metal, an element or an
oxidant in
hydrogen out alloy, heat is generated, i.e., the process is exothermic.
Conversely, in order to release hydrogen from a metal
hydride heat must be supplied. The heat generated dur-
anode ing the charging process and the heat needed for dis-
electrolyte
cathode charging are functions of the hydriding substance and
the hydrogen pressure and the temperature at which
the heat is supplied or extracted. Using different metals
and by forming different alloys, different hydriding char-
acteristics can be obtained. In other words, it is possible
hydrogen in
oxidant to make or find hydriding substances, which are more
+ water out suitable for a given application, such as refrigeration,
compression, pumping, waste heat storage, electricity
generation, hydrogen purification, and isotope separa-
tion. These technologies are far from commercial
applications.
1.2. Hydrogen safety
Hydrogen poses risks if not properly handled or con-
trolled. The risk of hydrogen must be considered relative
to the common fuels such as gasoline, propane or natu-
ral gas. The specific physical characteristics of hydro-
gen are quite different from those common fuels. Some
 S.A. Sherif et al. / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 647–660
of those properties make hydrogen potentially less
hazardous, while other hydrogen characteristics could
theoretically make it more dangerous in certain
situations.
Since hydrogen has the smallest molecule it has a
greater tendency to escape through small openings than
other liquid or gaseous fuels. Based on properties of
hydrogen such as density, viscosity and diffusion coeffi-
cient in air, the propensity of hydrogen to leak through
holes or joints of low pressure fuel lines may be only
1.26–2.8 times faster than a natural gas leak through
the same hole (and not 3.8 times faster as frequently as-
sumed based solely on diffusion coefficients). Experi-
ments have indicated that most leaks from residential
natural gas lines are laminar (Thomas, 1996). Since nat-
ural gas has over three times the energy density per unit
volume the natural gas leak would result in more energy
release than a hydrogen leak.
For very large leaks from high-pressure storage
tanks, the leak rate is limited by the sonic speed. Due
to higher sonic velocity (1308 m/s) hydrogen would ini-
tially escape much faster than natural gas (sonic velocity
of natural gas is 449 m/s). Again, since natural gas has
more than three times the energy density than hydrogen,
a natural gas leak will always contain more energy.
Some high strength steels are prone to hydrogen
embrittlement. Prolonged exposure to hydrogen, partic-
ularly at high temperatures and pressures, can cause the
steel to lose strength, eventually leading to failure. How-
ever, most other construction, tank and pipe materials
are not prone to hydrogen embrittlement. Therefore,
with proper choice of materials, hydrogen embrittlement
should not contribute to hydrogen safety risks.
If a leak should occur for whatever reason, hydrogen
will disperse much faster than any other fuel, thus reduc-
ing the hazard levels. Hydrogen is both more buoyant
and more diffusive than either gasoline, propane or nat-
ural gas.
Hydrogen/air mixture can burn in relatively wide vol-
ume ratios, between 4% and 75% of hydrogen in air. The
other fuels have much lower flammability ranges, viz.,
natural gas 5.3–15%, propane 2.1–10%, and gasoline
1–7.8%. However, the range has a little practical value.
In many actual leak situations the key parameter that
determines if a leak would ignite is the lower flammabil-
ity limit, and hydrogenÕs lower flammability limit is four
times higher than that of gasoline, 1.9 times higher than
that of propane and slightly lower than that of natural
gas.
Hydrogen has a very low ignition energy (0.02 mJ),
about one order of magnitude lower than other fuels.
The ignition energy is a function of fuel/air ratio, and
for hydrogen it reaches minimum at about 25%-30%.
At the lower flammability limit hydrogen ignition energy
is comparable with that of natural gas (Swain and
Swain, 1992).
655
Hydrogen has a flame velocity seven times faster than
that of natural gas or gasoline. A hydrogen flame would
therefore be more likely to progress to a deflagration or
even a detonation than other fuels. However, the likeli-
hood of a detonation depends in a complex manner on
the exact fuel/air ratio, the temperature and particularly
the geometry of the confined space. Hydrogen detona-
tion in the open atmosphere is highly unlikely.
The lower detonability fuel/air ratio for hydrogen is
13–18%, which is two times higher than that of natural
gas and 12 times higher than that of gasoline. Since
the lower flammability limit is 4% an explosion is possi-
ble only under the most unusual scenarios, e.g., hydro-
gen would first have to accumulate and reach 13%
concentration in a closed space without ignition, and
only then an ignition source would have to be triggered.
Should an explosion occur, hydrogen has the lowest
explosive energy per unit stored energy in the fuel, and
a given volume of hydrogen would have 22 times less
explosive energy than the same volume filled with gaso-
line vapor.
Hydrogen flame is nearly invisible, which may be
dangerous, because people in the vicinity of a hydrogen
flame may not even know there is a fire. This may be
remedied by adding some chemicals that will provide
the necessary luminosity. The low emissivity of hydro-
gen flames means that near-by materials and people will
be much less likely to ignite and/or hurt by radiant heat
transfer. The fumes and soot from a gasoline fire pose a
risk to anyone inhaling the smoke, while hydrogen fires
produce only water vapor (unless secondary materials
begin to burn).
Liquid hydrogen presents another set of safety issues,
such as risk of cold burns, and the increased duration of
leaked cryogenic fuel. A large spill of liquid hydrogen
has some characteristics of a gasoline spill, however it
will dissipate much faster. Another potential danger is
a violent explosion of a boiling liquid expanding vapor
in case of a pressure relief valve failure.
In conclusion, hydrogen appears to pose risks of the
same order of magnitude as other fuels. In spite of pub-
lic perception, in many aspects hydrogen is actually a
safer fuel than gasoline and natural gas. As a matter
of fact, hydrogen has a very good safety record, as a
constituent of the ‘‘town gas’’ widely used in Europe
and USA in the 19th and early 20th century, as a com-
mercially used industrial gas, and as a fuel in space pro-
grams. There have been accidents, but nothing that
would characterize hydrogen as more dangerous than
other fuels.
2. Wind energy and hydrogen
As discussed above hydrogen complements the
renewable energy sources. An energy system where
656 S.A. Sherif et al. / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 647–660
hydrogen is derived from renewable sources is self-suffi-
cient, clean, and represents a permanent energy solution
for sustainable development. Wind power is one of the
renewable sources. In some locations today, wind is cost
competitive with conventional, fossil fuel, or nuclear-
generated electricity. It is the fastest growing renewable
energy sector with annual growth of 27%, which means
doubling the installed capacity every three years. There
is more than 25,000 MW of installed wind turbines
worldwide (till the end of 2001) (Swisher, 2001). Over
the past 20 years the generating capacities of individual
units have grown from 25 kW to about 2500 kW. With
better designs, resulting from better understanding of
the structural stresses that the wind turbines are sub-
jected to, the reliability of wind turbines has dramati-
cally improved over the last 20 years. Capital cost of
todayÕs wind turbines is less than $1000/kW, and elec-
tricity costs as low as 4 cents per kW h in areas with
good wind resources (Baldwin, 2002). Prototype tur-
bines are exceeding capacities of 5 MW.
One of the inherent drawbacks of wind power is that
the wind velocity is highly intermittent, on a second by
second basis, as well as hourly, daily, and even season-
ally. Fig. 7 shows typical fluctuations in wind velocity
and power over a four-day period (Dutton et al.,
2000). It is generally accepted that, although power from
the wind turbine or wind-farm fluctuates significantly
with time, the grid can readily absorb most of the wind
power produced, so long as wind power is less than 20%
of the maximum load (Paynter et al., 1991). Because of a
highly intermittent nature of its source, wind turbines
operate with relatively low capacity factor, which in a
good location (with a high mean wind velocity) with
an efficient wind turbine may reach 33–38%, but rarely
exceeds 40%. In some regions, the transmission provid-
ers see wind as a generating source that cannot be called
up on demand, and impose hefty penalties when sched-
Fig. 7. An example of wind speed and power time series (rated
power 10 kW) (Dutton et al., 2000).
uled energy is not delivered. These penalties, known as
generation imbalance charges, are costing wind plant
operators as much as $0.10/kW h of undelivered energy
(OÕBryant, 2000).
2.1. Issues
Wind electricity may be converted to hydrogen
through water electrolysis. Alkaline (KOH) electrolyzers
are commonly used, but recently the electrolyzers with
proton exchange membrane (PEM) are making progress
(Anderson et al., 2002). Although water electrolysis is a
mature technology its use in conjunction with wind
power has some specifics, which will be discussed below.
2.1.1. Intermittent operation
Direct coupling of an electrolyzer with a wind turbine
implies intermittent operation with a highly variable
power output (as shown in Fig. 7). The problem, partic-
ularly with alkaline electrolyzers, is that at very low
loads the rate at which hydrogen and oxygen are pro-
duced (which is proportional to current density) may
be lower than the rate at which these gases permeate
through the electrolyte, and mix with each other. This
may create hazardous conditions inside the electrolyzer.
Hydrogen flammability limits in oxygen are between
4.6% and 93.9%, but the alarms and automatic shut-
down of the electrolyzer are set at much safer concentra-
tions. This is more pronounced in the alkaline than in
PEM electrolyzers. Hydrogen permeation rate at 80 C
through Nafion 117, typically used in PEM electrolyzers,
should be less than 1.25 · 104 cm3/s/cm2 at atmospheric
pressure, corresponding to a current density of 0.002 A/
cm2 (Kocha et al., 2002), which is rather negligible com-
pared to 1 A/cm2, a typical current density in PEM elec-
trolyzers at full power. Oxygen permeation rate through
hydrated Nafion membrane is considerably lower (Sakai
et al., 1986).
Another problem related to operation with a highly
variable power source is thermal management. The elec-
trolyzer takes time to reach its normal operating temper-
ature, but due to intermittent operation it may operate
most of the time at a temperature below nominal, which
results in a lower efficiency.
2.1.2. Efficiency
The efficiency of an electrolyzer is inversely propor-
tional to the cell potential, which in turn is determined
by the current density, and that in turn directly corre-
sponds to the rate of hydrogen production per unit of
electrode active area. A higher voltage would result in
more hydrogen production, but at a lower efficiency.
Typically, cell voltage is selected at about 2 V, but a
lower nominal voltage (as low as 1.6 V) may be selected,
if the efficiency is more important than size (and capital
cost) of the electrolyzer.
 S.A. Sherif et al. / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 647–660
In addition, there are power losses in voltage regula-
tion and some power is needed for the auxiliary equip-
ment (pumps, fans, solenoid valves, instrumentation,
and controls). Typical industrial electrolyzers have elec-
tricity consumption between 4.5 and 6.0 kW h/Nm3, cor-
responding to the efficiency of 65–80%, and advanced
electrolyzers have been reported with an efficiency of
90%.
Coupling of a source such as a wind turbine with an
electrolyzer may result in a somewhat lower efficiency,
due to the losses related to power/voltage matching.
Voltage regulation, either AC/DC or DC/DC would
consume some power. These devices may be designed
to operate with efficiency as high as 93–95%, but this
high efficiency may be achieved only in a very narrow
power range. In a highly variable mode of operation
such as with the input from the wind turbine, this effi-
ciency may be considerably lower.
2.1.3. Relative sizing of an electrolyzer and wind turbine
An electrolyzer may be sized to receive all the power
generated from a wind turbine, but it would operate
with the same capacity factor as the wind turbine.
Capacity factor is a coefficient of utilization of installed
capital, and therefore it is an important factor in deter-
mining the economics of any power generating or energy
conversion device. A more economical option may be to
size the electrolyzer at a power lower than the wind tur-
bineÕs maximum power output. In that case some of the
power from the wind would be unutilized, but the elec-
trolyzer would operate with a higher capacity factor.
For any wind turbine availability and load profiles there
is an optimum electrolyzer capacity. Economics of wind
hydrogen systems greatly depends on the configuration
of the system and its application, in addition to the
available wind resources.
2.1.4. Economics
Economics of wind hydrogen is determined not only
by the cost of the wind turbine and the electrolyzer, but
also by the capacity factor (of both the wind turbine and
electrolyzer), and the electrolyzer efficiency. Depending
on the configuration of the system and application, the
capacity factors of the turbine and the electrolyzer do
not necessarily have to be the same. Economics must
also take into account the cost of the competitive tech-
nology or commodity (electricity and fuel).
2.2. Applications
Hydrogen may be produced from the wind-generated
electricity in a variety of applications, and used as a fuel
directly, or transmitted through pipelines to the users, or
used to enhance the performance of the wind turbine or
a wind farm and match its output with the user expecta-
657
Fig. 8. Schematic diagram of grid independent wind-hydrogen
generation.
tions. Each of these applications is briefly discussed
below.
2.2.1. Grid-independent wind-hydrogen generation
Instead of connecting to the grid, a wind turbine may
be connected to an electrolyzer to produce hydrogen,
which then may be used in a variety of applications as
discussed above (Fig. 3). This system circumvents the
problems related to the grid connection and generation
imbalance charges. The electrolyzer will be exposed to
the variable power supply, and a DC/DC or AC/DC
power regulator must be a part of the power condition-
ing and controls box in Fig. 8, in order to match the
electrolyzerÕs voltage-current requirements at any power
with minimum conversion losses. Another option would
be a specially designed wind turbine that operates at a
variable voltage output, matched to the electrolyzerÕs
i-V polarization curve (Spinadel et al., 2002).
If the wind farm is in a remote area (and most of the
good ‘‘windy’’ sites are in remote areas), the grid may
not be available at all. In that case, delivery of hydrogen
over a long distance may be a better option. In general,
transmission of hydrogen through a pipeline may be
more economical than transmission of electricity if the
distance is more than 1000 km. Recently, there was a
proposal, accompanied by a techno-economic study, to
ship megawatts of wind power through hydrogen pipe-
lines from the wind farms in the Dakotas to the users
in Chicago (distance of some 1600 km) (Keith and
Leighty, 2002).
2.2.2. Grid-assisted wind-hydrogen generation
If grid is available, one way to eliminate problems
with intermittent electrolyzer operation is to combine
the wind turbine with an input from the grid (Fig. 9).
The power conditioning/controls unit facilitates that,
and the electrolyzer receives constant DC power input
by combining the output from the wind turbine with
the required input from the grid. This way the electro-
lyzer may operate all the time at its design point. The
capacity factor may reach high 90s (the only down-time
would be for maintenance), which would significantly
improve the economics, i.e., reduces the cost of
hydrogen.
658 S.A. Sherif et al. / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 647–660
Fig. 9. Schematic diagram of grid-assisted wind-hydrogen
generation.
2.2.3. Wind power for grid-electricity and hydrogen
generation
An electrolyzer may be used to ‘‘peak shave’’ the out-
put from the wind turbine if that is required from the
grid operator. In that case the excess power from the
wind turbine (above that can be absorbed by the grid
in that particular moment) is used to generate hydrogen
(Fig. 10). However, the problems with intermittent elec-
trolyzer operation and its low capacity factor remain. A
variation of this scheme is to operate the electrolyzer at
constant power and ‘‘dump’’ the excess power from the
wind turbine into the grid (of course so long as there is
enough absorbing capacity in the grid).
2.2.4. Integrated wind-hydrogen utility energy system
One way to deliver a constant or any required load
profile to the grid is to equip the wind turbine (or wind
farm) with an energy storage device, such as a regenera-
tive fuel cell (a combination of electrolyzer and a fuel cell
with hydrogen storage), as shown in Fig. 11. The electro-
lyzer and fuel cell functions may be included in a single
stack (unitized version) or in two separate stacks (dis-
crete version). In order to fill the hydrogen tank, a com-
pressor may be required or the electrolyzer may be
designed to provide high pressure. Proton Energy Sys-
Fig. 10. Schematic diagram of wind power for grid-electricity
and hydrogen generation.
Fig. 11. Schematic diagram of integrated wind-hydrogen utility
energy system.
tems reported operating pressures with PEM electrolyz-
ers up to 200 bars (Anderson et al., 2002). The power
conditioning and controls unit has an extremely complex
function in this configuration. It must direct power from
the wind turbine to either the grid or the electrolyzer,
switch to fuel cell power when there is not enough power
from the wind turbine, and provide voltage regulation,
both from AC/DC (for the electrolyzer) and DC/DC
(from fuel cell to grid). The renewable fuel cell system
is typically less costly than a battery bank for high
power/long duration storage (approximately above
5 kWh) (Barbir et al., 2002). Due to presently high costs
of electrolyzers and fuel cells and a low capacity factor
in this configuration, the cost of delivered electricity
would be several times higher than the cost of wind-gen-
erated electricity (Barbir, 1999), even when the genera-
tion imbalance charges are taken into account.
Therefore, this configuration may be used only where
the quality of delivered electricity justifies the cost.
2.2.5. Grid-independent integrated wind-hydrogen energy
system
A similar system may be used for an autonomous,
grid-independent power supply (Fig. 12). In this case,
energy storage is an imperative, and the regenerative
hydrogen fuel cell may be competitive with other energy
storage options (batteries, flywheel, compressed air,
pumped hydro, ultra capacitors, etc.). The only differ-
ence between this and the previously described system
is in the power conditioning and control unit, which in
this case does not have to synchronize with the grid,
but it has to provide desired AC or DC voltage outputs.
One option is to use wind- generated hydrogen as a fuel
for cooking and heating in the house and/or for a fuel
cell or hydrogen combustion engine-powered vehicle
(this may be an attractive option in a remote location
where fuel delivery is not regular).
This system may also incorporate a photovoltaic
array for added security and versatility of power supply.
Combined wind and solar (PV) systems are in operation
at the Desert Research Institute (Reno, Nevada), and at
the Hydrogen Research Institute (HRI), at the Univer-
 S.A. Sherif et al. / Solar Energy 78 (2005) 647–660
Fig. 12. Schematic diagram of grid independent integrated wind-hydrogen energy system.
site du Quebec, Trois Rivieres (Agbossou et al., 2001).
These independently conceived systems use both photo-
voltaics and wind turbines to generate hydrogen fuel.
They are relatively small systems using wind/solar
hydrogen generation with a compressed hydrogen stor-
age system, 5 kW electrolyzers, and incorporating a fuel
cell, which regenerates the electricity. Both use a combi-
nation of battery and hydrogen energy storage, in which
a small battery bank acts as an energy buffer, and the
bulk of the energy storage is in the form of hydrogen.
A current trend, especially in Europe where land cost
is very high, is to place the turbines on platforms in the
ocean. This makes grid connections expensive and prob-
lematic. Barge transportation of hydrogen, from indi-
vidual turbines or from a central site in an off-shore
wind farm, offers an attractive alternative for moving
the energy on-shore, if producing hydrogen is sufficiently
cost effective.
3. Conclusions
The full benefits of hydrogen as an environmentally
benign fuel will be utilized when hydrogen is produced
from renewable energy sources. Wind power is the fast-
est growing renewable power technology, and is quite
competitive in many regions. Wind power can be used
to generate hydrogen in either grid-connected or stand-
alone applications. Hydrogen may then be used as a fuel
locally or shipped to the consumption centers. In addi-
tion, hydrogen may be used as an energy storage med-
ium in some applications thus enhancing the wind
power competitiveness. The economics of such inte-
grated systems depends on wind availability, cost of
the individual components (most prominently electro-
lyzers, hydrogen storage, and fuel cells), dynamics of
use and utilization factors, and finally the cost of com-
petitive technologies. With increasing interest in hydro-
gen on the one side and the increasing competitiveness
of wind power on the other, it is likely that wind-hydro-
gen integrated systems will draw more attention in the
near future.
659
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