The application prospect of hydrogen energy in electric power industry

In terms of larger power stations, in 2010, Italy completed and put into operation a 16-megawatt hydrogen power station, the power station consumes 1,300 tons of hydrogen per hour, the total power generation efficiency is about 42%, and the annual power generation can reach 60 million KWH, not only to meet the electricity consumption of 20,000 households, but also to reduce 60,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. In 2010, South China University of Technology successfully developed and built a PEMFC fuel cell demonstration power station with an energy utilization rate of 90%. The electricity generated by the station was directly transmitted to the 380V low-voltage power grid of the university, which could meet the normal electricity demand of Huaceng International Academic Center. In addition, in 2012, Dow Chemical Company and General Motors in Texas, the United States to build a large fuel cell power generation system, the power generation system can produce 1 megawatt of electricity, and eventually able to supply 35 megawatts of electricity.

According to statistics, the proportion of hydrogen power generation in the United States in 2012 was 7.9%, which is lower than thermal power generation, hydroelectric power generation and nuclear power generation, but higher than wind power generation. In 2012, the global fuel cell system shipments of nearly 30,000 units, an increase of about 34%, compared to 2008 increased by more than 321%, of which stationary fuel cell growth is the most significant, from 2000 units in 2008 rapidly increased to 25,000 units in 2012. According to the Nikkei BP Clean Technology Institute predicts that with the application of hydrogen energy technologies, the global hydrogen energy market will gradually rise from about 7 trillion yen in 2015 to about 160 trillion yen in 2050. With the expansion of the hydrogen power generation market, hydrogen consumption will also increase, which is expected to rise from less than 1 trillion cubic meters in 2015 to 6.5 trillion cubic meters in 2050.

As early as 2006, the government has listed hydrogen energy technology as one of the priorities of the medium - and long-term scientific and technological development planning strategy, and in recent years, it has continued to increase investment in research and development and demonstration. At present, China has formed a pattern of hydrogen energy utilization from basic research to demonstration, and has initially established a hydrogen energy research and application team including universities, scientific research institutes and power enterprises. For China's power industry, hydrogen power generation technology has broad application prospects in many fields such as distributed wind power generation, photovoltaic power generation, grid energy storage and smart microgrids.

Cost-benefit analysis of hydrogen power generation

At present, the cost of fuel cell power generation is about 2.5-3 yuan/degree, while the price of traditional power generation in China is below 1 yuan/degree, for example, the cost of wind power generation is about 0.5 yuan/degree, the cost of solar power generation is about 0.8-1 yuan/degree, and the cost of thermal power generation is only 0.25 yuan/degree.

The use of platinum in heavy metal catalysts and electrolytic cell installations is one of the reasons for the high cost of fuel cell power generation. It is worth pointing out that the cost of PEMFC fuel cells is on a downward trend. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the cost of PEMFC fuel cells in 2012 was $47 / kW, down 82.9% from 2002 and close to the U.S. Department of Energy's 2017 target price of $30 / kW.

In terms of power station construction costs, the construction cost of traditional thermal power stations is about $1300 / kW. In the context of the significant decline in the price of stationary fuel cells in North America, the construction cost of fuel cell power stations is currently $1500-2000 / kW, which is not much of a gap compared to traditional power generation methods.

Overall, due to the high cost and imperfect supporting facilities, the popularity of hydrogen power generation technology is not high. It is believed that with the continuous updating of hydrogen power generation technology, the expanding scale of hydrogen energy market, and the continuous support of the government in policy, the cost of hydrogen power generation will be greatly reduced in the future. Considering the many advantages of hydrogen power generation, the future application prospect of hydrogen energy technology in the power industry is still worth looking forward to.

Risk analysis of hydrogen power generation

Technical risk

Hydrogen storage technology is the key technology of hydrogen energy utilization, but also the difficult point. Hydrogen is a gas at room temperature and pressure, and its density is very small, only one-fourteenth of that of air. Compressed hydrogen storage is the most commonly used way of hydrogen storage. At present, the density of hydrogen storage under high pressure is low, and the weight percentage of hydrogen storage under 20.0MPa pressure is only about 1.6.