GreenPower: Connecting the renewable energy to green mobility using Hydrogen as energy carrier under the Belenos Clean power Initiative

Lorenz Gubler of PSI/Electrochemistry Lab, expert in membranes and electrochemical cells

Emmanuel Onillon of CSEM, expert in low level rf feedback design

An environmentally friendly transportation system is of paramount importance for the decrease of emission of greenhouse gases to the environment. Belenos Clean Power (BCP) has been created as a Holding company whose aim is to accelerate the necessary revolution in clean energy production and consumption using solar energy, converting and storing it in the form of hydrogen and oxygen for mobility and other purposes. For the first time at national level, this initiative is considering green mobility as a part of the entire energy chain: it will give the impetus to accelerate and accumulate the know-how in R&D and production by associating creativity in new and existing resources in the several areas concerning clean energy.

The principle is to use solar energy, collected on home roofs, which is then used to electrolyze water in order to produce hydrogen and oxygen. These gases are compressed and stored locally to match the gap between supply and demand. Hydrogen and oxygen are filled in adhoc car reservoirs, and subsequently transposed to electricity for fuel cell driven cars. Such a demonstrator system can already be built today; however the economic viability of the project depends on disruptive innovation based upon our capacity to face and resolve very demanding scientific and technical challenges in the years to follow. One of the main issues in this coherent effort is the optimization of the hydrogen production and usage chain. Several major steps, both in science and engineering, are needed to achieve the commercial exploitation of the overall concept.

As part of the developments on-going within Belenos, an issue is the development of adequate membranes for the fuel cells. In this project, the membrane will be based on new materials to enable a cost effective application in an H₂-O₂ fuel cell. These new membranes will be optimized for cost as well as for mechanical and chemical stability. Another issue addressed in this project is the safety related to hydrogen and oxygen storage in a car or at home: new appropriate materials will be developed to guarantee the gas storage system. The project will also seek to design, simulate and set up a unit managing gas flows, throughout the system components as well as the required communication system.

Greenpower in the news:

Belenos met les gaz (fr)

Tankstelle zu Hause (de)

Premiers essais d’une voiture carburant au soleil et à l’eau (fr)

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