How to make a hydrogen fuel cell power generator

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  • Опубліковано 19 чер 2024
  • Hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements in the universe and is one of the key low carbon fuels being considered for future energy and transport systems. This video covers how you can make a hydrogen fuel cell power generator, covering what is a fuel cell, the balance of plant system, how we can hybridise this with supercapacitors to increase efficiency and the system performance of the passive hybrid configuration.
    This 9.5 kW fuel cell system which was passively hybridised with 33 1500 F Maxwell supercapacitors was used as a demonstrator of low carbon electricity generation and was used to power a band and disco ball at outreach events including the BBC and Blue Peter.
    00:17 Why hydrogen?
    01:33 What is a hydrogen fuel cell?
    03:11 Balance of plant
    05:09 Fuel cell performance - The polarisation curve and transient performance
    06:31 What causes fuel cell degradation?
    07:29 System sizing
    08:24 Powertrain configurations
    10:54 Fuel cell passive hybrid system
    12:42 Hybrid system dynamics
    13:36 Performance comparison
    14:31 Real world load profile
    15:36 Zero-emission music - Hydrogen fuel cell powered guitar
    16:41 Summary
    This work is based on our 2014 paper on "Design and testing of a 9.5 kWe proton exchange membrane fuel cell-supercapacitor passive hybrid system" in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. Link to paper below.
    www.sciencedirect.com/science...
    Want to learn more about hydrogen fuel cell?
    I recommend reading Fuel Cell Systems Explained by Dicks and Rand which you can find here amzn.to/4dnorRQ (Amazon)
    #Hydrogen #FuelCells #Supercapacitors
    Twitter: / icbillywu
    Personal website: www.imperial.ac.uk/people/bill...
    About us: www.imperial.ac.uk/design-engi...
  • Наука та технологія

КОМЕНТАРІ • 187

  • @volks-electrolyzer
    @volks-electrolyzer 3 роки тому +18

    thanks for sharing, very nice and high quallity explanation. excellent work you all did

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому +2

      Thanks for the comment. Hopefully helpful and also a bit fun too :)

  • @lukerabin5079
    @lukerabin5079 2 роки тому +12

    Great video. Well driven, digestible info, and most importantly a compelling case for the right kind of hydrogen fuel sources and the right kind of applications.

  • @A2an
    @A2an 2 роки тому +3

    Hi Billy Wu Is it possible to run the fuel cell up to 700Vdc ?
    How would it behave, life span, efficiency be, if it had only 2 loade kurves, one from 5 - 7 Kw and one at 30 Kw ?
    What pressure is there in the hydrogen tank ?
    lastly how many kilo gram of hydrogen would it consume at 6 kWh ?
    All above just about, nothing to calculate on to be precise to the last digit.
    Thanks For the video👍

  • @neilsivalingum461
    @neilsivalingum461 2 роки тому +3

    Excellent job. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому +2

      Glad it was helpful!

  • @abdusalamtwati1955
    @abdusalamtwati1955 3 роки тому +3

    Thank for such a good and informative explanation

  • @shaneoneill2254
    @shaneoneill2254 3 місяці тому

    Thanks for informing me of other performances. I can add

  • @OleJacobs
    @OleJacobs Рік тому +2

    great video thank you.
    did you also do work on generation of H2 ?
    im looking for information on both topics to see if it would be possible to creat a small prototyp for my offgrid PV powered house. In order to reduce the battery bank and improve winterperformance.

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  Рік тому +2

      Thanks. We haven't made the equivalent water electrolysis unit but there are some commercially available systems. The challenge is that these are still a bit expensive and also need suitable hydrogen storage/compression and as such haven't really taken off yet, though in principle this is of course technically possible.

    • @OleJacobs
      @OleJacobs Рік тому +1

      @@BillyWu thanks for the quick reply, it is a realy nice design did you also publish the full paper for the cell? If so would there be a charge to get more in depth information about the system and its specs?

  • @viggstable305
    @viggstable305 3 роки тому +1

    Excellent Video . Perfect explanation for FC BoP

  • @InstaKane
    @InstaKane 3 роки тому +4

    Great presentation Dr WU. How long is the HHO generator able to run under load before needing to stop and preform maintenance?

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому +7

      Thanks. This was a prototype unit we built so not reflective of what a commercial unit would be like. In theory if hydrogen was continually supplied it could run uninterrupted however other component might fail over time which is difficult to know when things like blowers, pumps, fans and electronics would fail and need maintenance.

    • @garethsmith7628
      @garethsmith7628 3 місяці тому

      @@BillyWu I could help you estimate this, using fault tree techniques, I do it for functional safety reliability and availability studies. It would also, by examination of the minimal cut sets, identify any weak points in the system or places that could benefit from redundancy.

  • @salehd4543
    @salehd4543 3 роки тому +2

    Hi Dr. Wu, Thank you for sharing this presentation. Is a FuelCell system capable of running continuously for a month? Can we consider FC like a base power generation? I would appreciate it if you spare some time and answer my questions. Thank you

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому +5

      Hi. Yes, as long as hydrogen is continually supplied in theory the system can continually run, though in practice we also need to ensure that the other balance of plant components run without problems also.

    • @petercamusojr1545
      @petercamusojr1545 2 роки тому +1

      Date every drawing, notebook entry and photo of your system. I think you have a patentable concept. Make copies of your ideas documents, and mail them to yourself through registered mail. Don't open the package, this will be your patent protection until you get a patent lawyer.
      You got a cool idea!

  • @MrRossi1805
    @MrRossi1805 3 роки тому +7

    Best explanation I have ever seen!
    Well done. Please continue :-)

  • @snatch1014
    @snatch1014 Рік тому +1

    This video is has a great answers for all my questions,thank you.

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  Рік тому

      Glad it was helpful!

  • @sourcecreator2222
    @sourcecreator2222 2 роки тому +1

    Great video thanks for sharing

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому

      Thanks for watching!

  • @CCRob720
    @CCRob720 2 роки тому +1

    Thank you, awesome idea

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому

      Glad you liked it!

  • @liesproduction3600
    @liesproduction3600 2 роки тому +1

    Thank you for your share. Is that possible to make it smaller in size to put into a scooter??

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому

      Anything is possible, though this type of water cooled system is probably overkill. A more suitable fuel cell system would probably be a open cathode air cooled system such as the ones offered by Horizon (www.horizonfuelcell.com/hseries). These are quite simple and can also be paired with a metal hydride hydrogen storage system. Probably around 300W is enough for a e-scooter

  • @patricksuen4680
    @patricksuen4680 3 роки тому +7

    Thanks for Sharing! Do you have a link for downloading your 2014 paper ? thx!

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому +8

      Sure. An version without the journal formatting can be found on my researchgate profile www.researchgate.net/publication/261662622_Design_and_testing_of_a_95_kWe_proton_exchange_membrane_fuel_cell-supercapacitor_passive_hybrid_system
      For the paper with the journal formatting this can be found at www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360319914007393
      If you want even more detail you can check out my PhD thesis but its a bit long core.ac.uk/download/pdf/76989968.pdf

    • @patricksuen4680
      @patricksuen4680 3 роки тому +1

      @@BillyWu Thanks a lot !

  • @recless8667
    @recless8667 2 роки тому +4

    Can you run a setup with hydrogen-based energy storage via electrolysis during peak solar? The scalability for power storage is considerably more feasible than lithium storage; the cost is all on ampacity rather than on amp-hours, since you can just add in extra fuel tanks at a low cost. The benefit is you would be using a closed loop and recycling the O2 output back into the fuel cell, so you wouldn't need a blower (and might not need the humidifier)

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому +6

      Sure. It's possible to electrolyse water to make hydrogen and use this in the fuel cell. The challenge is the extra cost of doing so as storage tanks are an appreciable cost as well as the hydrogen compressors needed. Alternatively people are also interest in flow batteries for slightly longer duration storage than lithium-ion batteries

  • @winstonmontag586
    @winstonmontag586 2 роки тому +1

    Very impresive!

  • @newjx
    @newjx 2 роки тому +1

    Hi, Dr Wu thank you for your video, Why we still have 2 DC-DC converter? I'm working on a similar project, is there any places where we can have the full details of this 9.5kw fuel cell? how is it stacked, how many single cells, the size of the cells and bipolar plates? thank you..

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому +2

      Hi. Good questions. We had 2 DCDC converters in our case because the units we had sourced didn't have the required output current desired on their own. It's completely possible that this could have been a single unit. For the stack, this was manufactured by Nedstack and had 75 cells in series with an active area of 200 cm2. you can find out more details about the system in our paper linked here but the exact details of the stack in terms of design of bipolar plates isn't available unfortunately, since this is proprietary to the supplier www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360319914007393

    • @newjx
      @newjx 2 роки тому +1

      @@BillyWu Hi Dr Wu. Thank you for this reply. Our project requires to make our own fuel cells but your response helped a lot. I hope I can share with you the results of our project. Have a great day.

  • @shitina.bucket9699
    @shitina.bucket9699 3 роки тому +2

    THIS IS AMAZING!!!!!

  • @buckycage4313
    @buckycage4313 3 роки тому +2

    Have you worked on the electrolyzer end of it? This is the other big challenge but it seems more straightforward from a technical perspective.

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому +2

      We haven't done an electrolyser version of this but you're right that there are challenges. Alkaline and PEM electrolysers are reasonably mature but also need to compress the gas to store it in cylinders unless you want to do something more fancy like solid stat hydrogen storage

    • @Tore_Lund
      @Tore_Lund 3 роки тому +2

      @@BillyWu Yes, metal Hydride Storage is the way to go, but unreasonable expensive.

  • @DanielSmith-jl3in
    @DanielSmith-jl3in 2 роки тому +3

    I am completely with you here especially for generators.

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому

      Thanks

    • @onekycarscanners6002
      @onekycarscanners6002 Рік тому

      I don't understand why people only see cars when they see tech. Forgetting that even the elect vehicles still need charging. And you live in a house 10x times longer than in a car. You use outdoor facilities that all require electricity or even busses and HGVs, Boats and Ships. I heard someone asking if it will work on his scooter 🛵 another asked if it will power his fan.😀

  • @lawrencemiller7924
    @lawrencemiller7924 2 роки тому

    I'm trying to build the most efficient hydrogen on demand generator to fuel a 5.3 liter LS Chevy suburban.
    Is stainless steel the best materials to produce the hydrogen needed ?

  • @reypolice5231
    @reypolice5231 3 роки тому +2

    Billy Wu
    Do you have any videos on the actual physical build and the parts list?

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому +3

      Sure. Further details on the system can be found in the papers linked below.
      Design and testing of a 9.5 kWe proton exchange membrane fuel cell-supercapacitor passive hybrid system
      www.researchgate.net/publication/261662622_Design_and_testing_of_a_95_kWe_proton_exchange_membrane_fuel_cell-supercapacitor_passive_hybrid_system
      Hydrogen PEMFC system for automotive applications
      academic.oup.com/ijlct/article/7/1/28/633929
      If you want some bedtime reading the full build can be found in my PhD thesis
      Fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle powertrain modelling and testing
      core.ac.uk/download/pdf/76989968.pdf

    • @reypolice5231
      @reypolice5231 3 роки тому

      @@BillyWu
      Thank you so much for your help.
      Does this system produce its own hydrogen, Or does another source be required?
      If you're using bottled hydrogen, as your input source, is there an additional offering on the hydrogen production system?

  • @mickbanovic7014
    @mickbanovic7014 2 роки тому +1

    great post thank you

  • @mikedoyle8657
    @mikedoyle8657 3 роки тому +2

    Curious if a smaller fuel cell generator could be cheaply built to run small appliances? Like 100 watts to run a box fan.

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому

      Yeah, there have been smaller fuel cells in the past which power electronics. An example here. Not sure how popular they are but certainly exist and are possible. www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15916737/brunton-hydrogen-reactor-15916737

  • @dimitrioskottakis2986
    @dimitrioskottakis2986 2 роки тому +1

    THANKS !!!

  • @02jackal
    @02jackal Рік тому +2

    Billy have you done any research into using graphite in a fuel cell?
    Love the more balanced approach to handling the energy supply and demand. Much smarter. You just need to add an inverter and you could run your home, lol.
    Just as a matter of interest could you give us some idea of the total cost of your project...

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  Рік тому +2

      Thanks! Yeah, this unit had an inverter on it which we used to power our electric guitar :) On the graphite question, yeah, this fuel cell stack had graphite bipolar flow plates but many of the automotive systems which are much lighter use metal stamped ones which are coated to prevent corrosion. On the cost point, good question! Hard to estimate since some of the stuff was provided in-kind from companies but in terms of components there's probably in excess of £10k worth of stuff here, though since it was more of a research/teaching project we didn't cost optimise. I do remember the wooden pallet was only £5. Good negotiation skills from our students.

  • @eestimees2
    @eestimees2 3 роки тому +1

    HI! What if this type of system put in the live onboard blue water catamaran? Is it possible if you have 2kw solar onboard?

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому

      Sure. This system was a bit more complicated but you can get simpler air cooled fuel cells which are much more compact. Horizon fuel cells do a range which are reasonably accessible. www.horizonfuelcell.com/

  • @srinivasj9009
    @srinivasj9009 3 роки тому +1

    Thank you for sharing this Video. It is very informative.

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому

      Glad it was helpful!

    • @srinivasj9009
      @srinivasj9009 3 роки тому

      @@BillyWu Dr. Billy Wu.. I had a query related to Hydrogen purge valve and re-circulation system for the fuel cell. I wanted to know when the purge valve will be operated and how much hydrogen will be re-circulated which is coming from the Fuel Cell.. If you can explain it will be helpful. Thank You..

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому

      @@srinivasj9009 The aim of the recirculation pump and purge valve is to remove nitrogen which crosses over from the cathode, help with the water management and also maintain a high enough concentration of hydrogen at all cells. Our systems wasn't fully optimised but we ran with a purge timing of 20-30s with a 0.2s purge opening time. When recirculating the hydrogen we were roughly targetting a stoichiometry of ~1.1 but to simplify we fixed the pump rate. Unfortunately, fuel cell balance of plant control does require any moving parts.

    • @srinivasj9009
      @srinivasj9009 3 роки тому +1

      @@BillyWu Thank You for your quick and detailed response

  • @financeplank
    @financeplank 2 роки тому +2

    will there be a consumer production model of this design made, i want one for the house

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому

      Thanks for the comment. We built this a few years ago and whilst it works well, it's not well optimised/validated from a cost and durability perspective to put this into consumer production. There are a number of other fuel cell generators that are available that might be suitable

  • @johnsonlam6901
    @johnsonlam6901 Рік тому +2

    Thank you Dr Wu. Is there plans to reverse the process and get what we need to make this economical.

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  Рік тому +1

      Thanks for the comment. Not right now. We built this system a few years ago as part of a teaching and research project. At the time the various components meant that bringing it together was broadly uneconomical but the cost of fuel cells have come down. Hydrogen refuelling infrastructure and cost is still an issue for practical application.

  • @docwatson2783
    @docwatson2783 2 роки тому +1

    What’s the targeted price per unit?

  • @user-qx4jv2sh6m
    @user-qx4jv2sh6m 18 днів тому +1

    Great system, I'd like to build one too.

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  11 днів тому

      Thanks. The system is a few years old now so probably better components exist now. Previously it was quite expensive so getting the economics right was challenging for commercial via ability as a generator

  • @Fashion67-x
    @Fashion67-x 2 роки тому +1

    Great !

  • @daniellybaert1958
    @daniellybaert1958 2 роки тому

    Hello I have an EV that need max. 20000W at 72-85 V. What would be the cost and size of such a fuel cell ?

  • @justinnelson1565
    @justinnelson1565 3 роки тому +3

    Hi! Was I reading that right? This portable generator that was on display can generate almost 10 KW?

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому +1

      Yeah, the fuel cell was rated at 9.5 kW but in reality the balance of plant and other components also had a parasitic loss so the peak power is below that

    • @justinnelson1565
      @justinnelson1565 3 роки тому +1

      @@BillyWu That's still amazing! Did you purchase the cells already made, or buy the materials then assemble yourself? I'm extremely interested in this DIY, you could scale this up and power a house with it! Or a car, like put these in a modified trunk and under the hood and power an electric vehicle! Wow! If you bought the cells or the materials, would you mind sending me a short list of just the core components in the fuel cell stack(anode, cathode, electrolyte material, PEM, etc), and where I can purchase them, I can figure out how the rest of it functions. I totally understand if you can't send me that data though! THANK YOU :)

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому +1

      @@justinnelson1565 The membrane electrode assembles were provided by Johnson Matthey and the stack was put together by Nedstack as part of a collaboratative student project :) We've made our own stacks before but I wouldn't recommend it. Getting it completely gas tight was a nightmare! You can find an open access version of the paper on my researchgate profile www.researchgate.net/publication/261662622_Design_and_testing_of_a_95_kWe_proton_exchange_membrane_fuel_cell-supercapacitor_passive_hybrid_system and if feeling adventurous, complete details in my PhD thesis core.ac.uk/download/pdf/76989968.pdf

    • @justinnelson1565
      @justinnelson1565 3 роки тому +1

      @@BillyWu Ok, I will study those! :)

  • @marrythompson5051
    @marrythompson5051 2 роки тому +2

    What exact modifications would have to be made To my gas powered vehicle in order to run hydrogen? What would you use instead of a fuel injector? How would it be stored safely? I enjoyed the video some of it was beyond my scope of education and knowledge to a deficit I would like to fully understand the basics of how to achieve a fuel conversion from gasoline to hydrogen without modifying too many components in the average automobile. Thank you !

    • @jb-xc4oh
      @jb-xc4oh 2 роки тому

      Hydrogen is a lousy fuel to run a car engine because of its low energy density. Hydrogen is also very expensive and it needs special hi pressure tanks for storage of a limited amount. There is lots of information on the internet about this. Toyota recently ran a hydrogen fueled car in an endurance race, the results were disappointing. It used 10,000 psi tanks for storage and they had to be changed every 23 miles and the engine was lacking in power even though it was highly turbocharged with direct hydrogen injection into the cylinders. As for converting your gasoline powered car to run on hydrogen.......anything is possible if you have a wheel barrow full of money.

    • @juggernautz
      @juggernautz 2 роки тому

      @@jb-xc4oh Toyoata will sell a HHO car in less than 2 years so and Tesla even sooner. You info is full of lies from the liars so be wary of what you read.

    • @jb-xc4oh
      @jb-xc4oh 2 роки тому +1

      @@juggernautz And where are you going to fill up with HHO in two years....where is the infrastructure for it.

    • @juggernautz
      @juggernautz 2 роки тому

      @@jb-xc4oh At home and over time a mini system could be built to fill up on the road. Look for the Hydrogen Corvette on youtube, that guy can go up to 400 miles and refills at home. So I;'m sure he has another car for extended travel. And yes I'm aware most hydrogen stations are in CA and a few other states but those ideas are different and keep people paying someone else for fuel.
      Elon Musk helped build recharge locations nationwide and in my town too. Still limited but his cars are mostly for local use unless you don't mind wasting the day every 200 to 300 miles.

    • @jb-xc4oh
      @jb-xc4oh 2 роки тому

      @@juggernautz What lies....point out the errors I have made.

  • @sammy5576
    @sammy5576 6 місяців тому +1

    Very interesting, i learned so much❤

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  6 місяців тому

      Glad to hear it was useful

    • @sammy5576
      @sammy5576 6 місяців тому +1

      @@BillyWu thanks so much for all the content you make, I love fuel cells

  • @mitchdehotte
    @mitchdehotte 2 роки тому +1

    What about the high temperature membrane ? What are them advantages and disavantages vs others membranes ?
    Mayn thanks for your answer

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому +1

      Great questions Michel. High temperature PEMs generally have more tolerance to impurities meaning they can operate on different fuels, however the systems tend to be more complex and costly. This wiki page gives a good overview of the pros and cons. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Temperature_Proton_Exchange_Membrane_fuel_cell

    • @mitchdehotte
      @mitchdehotte 2 роки тому +1

      @@BillyWu many thanks happy new year!

  • @alistairmurray626
    @alistairmurray626 2 роки тому +1

    6:08 would be good if the blower could have its exhausts redirected the moment you turn it off.

  • @sirJaymanz
    @sirJaymanz 2 роки тому

    so to put compressed hydrgen though a spercompacacitor while still cool before feeding it to the fuel cell itself coulkd be efficient ?to hool a heatsink.

    • @sirJaymanz
      @sirJaymanz 2 роки тому

      ?

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому

      In theory pre-heating the hydrogen from the heat generated from the supercapacitors could be possible. The challenge is that you add additional complexity and the supercapacitors generally have a low resistance so low heat generation. We have a hydrogen humidifier in the system which uses the the same cooling loop as the fuel cell which generates quite a bit of heat.

  • @flash_alexander
    @flash_alexander Рік тому

    How can we build something similar for a smaller model? i.e electric motorcycle

  • @SvetoslavKostadinov
    @SvetoslavKostadinov 2 роки тому +1

    What is the total cost and list of the materials, used in this Passive Hydrogen Fuel Cell?

    • @jb-xc4oh
      @jb-xc4oh 2 роки тому +1

      Take a guess..........I'd say about $50,000 if not more. Like all fuel cells its very very expensive, its the price you pay if you want zero CO2 emissions. I can go to Walmart and buy a 9500 Kw generator for about $900.00 but I'm pretty sure I can't afford this fuel cell.

    • @onekycarscanners6002
      @onekycarscanners6002 Рік тому

      @jb Mr Wu has stayed away from talking of price, there is nothing there that will cost more than $999 minus company profit. Which is far cheaper than your gen considering your gen will struggle to do 15hrs per day for 10mths without you buying a new one. This can do 24hrs/day for two yrs with minor maintenance. You need to compare this Gen to a Nucle power station. Than an ICE or Even a Steam Turbine. No Noise, cheap, Environ friendly, mobile, Low or No ⛽ Fuel cost, remote running. Last longer than batteries 🔋.

  • @heribertoarguelloloria6841
    @heribertoarguelloloria6841 9 місяців тому

    Dr.wu do you know someone that can help me build one?

  • @habibahossam9262
    @habibahossam9262 2 роки тому +1

    Can I know the difference between the opened cell and closed cell please

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому

      Assuming you're referring to the cathode. Open cathode fuel cells usually have a fan which blows air through the stack where the bipolar plates normally have straight channels. Closed cathode fuel cell systems normally have more complicated serpentine flow channels and a higher pressure compressor to force air in. Generally open cathode cells are cheaper but lower in power density, than closed cathodes which are higher in power density but more expensive.

  • @Roger7137
    @Roger7137 2 роки тому +1

    Congrats

  • @danielsong1186
    @danielsong1186 2 роки тому +1

    Is there a way to access your document so that one can try to build it?

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому +1

      Sure. Free versions of the papers which details the key bits of the build can be found in the below
      www.researchgate.net/publication/261662622_Design_and_testing_of_a_95_kWe_proton_exchange_membrane_fuel_cell-supercapacitor_passive_hybrid_system
      academic.oup.com/ijlct/article/7/1/28/633929

    • @danielsong1186
      @danielsong1186 2 роки тому +1

      @@BillyWu Thank you so much!

  • @gideonbarasa6813
    @gideonbarasa6813 2 роки тому +7

    How much was the total cost to build this project?

    • @krystalvang9659
      @krystalvang9659 9 місяців тому

      Couple grand

    • @thatelectritian
      @thatelectritian 6 місяців тому

      ​​@@krystalvang9659how much I got about 15k (all credit though but...)

  • @darapunjab
    @darapunjab 3 роки тому +1

    so nice very nice and high quality explanation. excellent work you all did

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому

      Thank you very much!

  • @eliaszerano3510
    @eliaszerano3510 2 роки тому

    can the fuel cell power itself to keep electrolysis running ?

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому

      The fuel cell could provide electrical energy to an electrolyser to make more hydrogen however both devices have inefficiencies meaning that this can't be done indefinitely as energy gets lost to heat

  • @arkatub
    @arkatub 3 роки тому +1

    man that is complicated, I was wondering if I could diy one, is it too advanced to make it at home? and without platinum?

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому

      Yeah, unfortunately hydrogen fuel cells are more expensive and complicated than batteries. There are ready made kits with small fuel cells available which are accessible, however it's difficult to make your own fuel cell due to the components such as the proton exchange membrane. In theory you could likely make your own alkaline fuel cell, though it wouldn't be very efficient.

    • @arkatub
      @arkatub 3 роки тому

      ​@@BillyWu Didn't they use alkaline fuel cells on Apollo? Some hyper complex device I'm sure. I'd like to engage in some random experimentation at home but I have little understanding of this tech, what makes a good PEM? My vague idea is to impregnate various cleaning cloths with random hydrogen compounds, did you ever try hydro gel (hydro colloid gel)?
      How hot does it need to be to be efficient? Can you make a highly parallel design to spread out the heat?

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому +1

      @@arkatub Yeah, they used to use alkaline fuel cells in the Apollo missions but CO2 poisoning can reduce lifetime which means they aren't really used in many applications. The advantage though is that alkaline solutions such as potassium hydroxide can be used which is quite cheap. A good PEM requires a good proton conducting membrane. Normally we use a material called Nafion which can be quite expensive. The key also is to get the 2 electrodes close together but not touch to reduce the losses. Most PEMs operate around 60-70°C to increase efficiency but if too hot it can dehydrate the membrane. You can find out more at a blog post I wrote www.linkedin.com/pulse/coming-age-hydrogen-fuel-cells-billy-wu/

    • @arkatub
      @arkatub 3 роки тому

      @@BillyWu thanks for the reply, I'm thinking this is probably too complex for my understanding.

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому

      @@arkatub Think it's within everyone's abilities but unfortunately the materials for this are a little bit less accessible.

  • @chutumurmu5129
    @chutumurmu5129 2 роки тому +1

    I want purchase this machine

  • @TwinStarGenny
    @TwinStarGenny Рік тому +1

    Where do you source the fuel cell?

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  Рік тому

      Good question. Our fuel cell stacks came from a company called Nedstack and we created our own balance of plant and control system

  • @richardgumede542
    @richardgumede542 Рік тому +1

    can you put the by-product water back into an electrolyser and effectively back into the fuel cell

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  Рік тому +1

      Good question. The short answer is yes. You could take the water from the fuel cell and put it into an electrolyser to make hydrogen and oxygen, to then put into the fuel cell again. The challenge is that the efficiency at each stage isn't great so you end up with a poor performing system from an electrical perspective but you could recover some of the heat.

    • @richardgumede542
      @richardgumede542 Рік тому +1

      @@BillyWu okay so lets say i have a solar farm and a fuel cell. will using the solar to run the electrolyser help to boost efficiency? would this way be sustainable

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  Рік тому

      @@richardgumede542 The efficiency of the electrolyser itself isn't really affected by where the energy comes but the problem is how much of the input energy is used. If you had lets say 1 kWh of solar energy. Converting this to hydrogen might be 50% efficient, and then converting this back to electricity in a fuel cell might be another 50% efficient meaning you only have 0.25 kWh of electricity. If you however put this into a battery with a 90% round trip efficiency then you have 0.9 kWh of useful electricity. Of course, if you can use the waste heat this changes the energy argument and also if you argue that you would be otherwise wasting the energy because the batteries aren't big enough there could be a case for doing this.

    • @richardgumede542
      @richardgumede542 Рік тому

      @@BillyWu thank you very much this has been very informative. what about storing waste heat in molten salt, or Rondo Heat Battery (brick and rock)

  • @TrickshotSolutions
    @TrickshotSolutions Рік тому +1

    Hi, Thanks for sharing this video. Can we discuss more about usable Hydrogen Generator for islands and zero electricity zones. I am from India, we can star our discussion via email...

  • @awatt
    @awatt 3 роки тому +5

    Yes but does it go up to 11?

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому +6

      Yes! More power!

  • @muhammadumarilyas2218
    @muhammadumarilyas2218 3 роки тому

    Sir What is total cost of this system ?
    If it can power 3 homes then what will be the recovery cost (time to cover the capital cost of hydrogen fuel cell).

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому

      Unfortunately, this system was quite high in price. I don't have the exact number but likely to be >£10k but this is mostly because this was a prototype system built as a student project so not a lot of cost optimisation was performed.

    • @muhammadumarilyas2218
      @muhammadumarilyas2218 3 роки тому

      @@BillyWu Will you recommend this system
      for renewable energy ?

    • @muhammadumarilyas2218
      @muhammadumarilyas2218 3 роки тому

      @@BillyWu Sir If I wanted to try this as my final year project
      What advice will you give me ?
      Or Things to consider the most while working on Such a System.

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому +1

      @@muhammadumarilyas2218 Fuel cells are quite complex systems to control. For a final year project having a clear research question is good and perhaps focusing on 1 aspect would allow for sufficient detail. Really depends on your interest, but system control is probably a good one where you need good models of the balance of plant, fuel cell and from that you can investigate various control strategies. Off the shelf components are good here as self developed components can have lots of problems and take time to trouble shoot. This project was the outcome of various student projects put together.

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому +1

      @@muhammadumarilyas2218 If you can get green hydrogen then its reasonably sustainable, however direct storage of electricity in batteries will be more efficient, though fuel cells have their role in a sustainable system.

  • @petercamusojr1545
    @petercamusojr1545 2 роки тому +1

    I realize the focus is cars, but I see a lot more of potential for home and building use. I don't know what "can power 3 homes" means. In winter it takes 200kw hours to power my house for a month. And 100 kwhr of that is for heating. (Not exact numbers)
    You said the heat output is the same as the electric output. It appears to me a 100kwhr per month system would replace all my energy needs if I use the excess heat as It generates electricity. Have you ever worked up the numbers for residential use?
    Have you changed the monthly numbers to daily then hourly, seperate day and night loads.
    An ammonia cycle refrigerator, or ac cooling for cooling might be able to run off the excess heat as well.
    How hot can the radiator get and keep the hydrogen cell producing electricity?
    Home use no vibrations or mechanical loads. Electric loads change slowly.
    H2 Delivery would be easy.

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому

      Some good points here. Obviously domestic energy consumption around the work varies. Think in the UK the average home might consume about 10 kWh/day with about 3 kW peak. The rough statement of powering 3 homes was just made on the basis that the fuel cell system is ~9 kW in power so can handle the peak load of 3 homes but if you can buffer the peaks it can handle more homes when operated continually. In Japan and Korea there is increasing interest in combined heat and power fuel cells to power homes as the efficiency is ~50% so you can get about as much heat as electricity. The exhaust of a PEM fuel cell is ~60 degC but you can get higher temperature fuel cells such as solid oxide systems which run at several hundred degrees to high higher quality heat.

    • @petercamusojr1545
      @petercamusojr1545 2 роки тому +2

      @@BillyWu That implies to me uk homes use a fossil fuel for heat. I use a heat pump, but on extremely cold days it supplements heat with resistive heat $$.
      Back in the late seventies when my home was built. The push was for all electric homes. The thinking back then, was nuclear reactors would supply all the electric power. Which is the cleanest way to go then and now.
      Your fuel cell concept interests me in generating heat. 60 deg C heat is just fine if properly distributed.
      130 kwhr per month of my electric use is just for heat.
      Off season my electric use drops to 500 -700 kwhr month.
      Summer cooling might be workable with just the electric output for ac systems.
      The biggest functional problem with solar occurs in winter when the sun energy is low and the need to store a weeks worth of energy due to weather (clouds, snow, rain). When a home needs energy the most, the sun isn't shining.
      Your fuel cell concept avoids all those problems. Even if H2 has to be delivered. Electric and heat combined is the best way to compare uk and the usa.
      I can think of a lot of offgrid applications. And reducing the grid load, reduces co2 emissions.
      And solar can be used to break h2o into H2 and o2. H2 is easy to store.
      I recommend thinking your system through, focus on the combined energy of electric and heating systems when proposing your concept to others. From everything you said I can totally eliminate my electric and heating bill.
      My only reference to Korea is from TV, which indicates very cold winters.
      Most of the world does not have reliable energy. You can make $ and a lot of people happy.
      Good luck.

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому +1

      @@petercamusojr1545 Thanks. Great points here. Decarbonisation of heating and cooling is a major challenge that hasn't fully been resolved yet but I'm sure there will be more focus at this years COP26 climate change conference. Grass roots discussions like this are also equally important to generate awareness and spark work

  • @PeterPete
    @PeterPete 2 роки тому

    wow! I'm so pleased this piece of equipment supports my view water is not H2O!!

  • @embededfabrication4482
    @embededfabrication4482 9 місяців тому

    65 bucks for 10X10 cm piece of nafion, how long will it last?

  • @shyamsundar-im9md
    @shyamsundar-im9md 3 роки тому +1

    dude which course did u choose to study about this subject

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому

      Much of the work was done by mechanical engineering students. Lots of heat transfer, mechanical design, fluid dynamics and control.

  • @markayala7752
    @markayala7752 3 роки тому

    what's is the cost ?

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому

      We built this quite a few years ago and it wasn't really optimised but overall the components probably came to >£20k though we got some of these in-kind. The big cost items were the fuel cell which came from Nedstack, the supercapacitors from Maxwell, the inverter from Victron and the control system from National Instruments. The various balance of plant components also added up with items such as the humidifier, flow meters, DCDC converters, pumps and blower adding up. I'm sure cost could be reduced but this was more a development platform and demonstrator

  • @danrawson8515
    @danrawson8515 2 роки тому +1

    Intersting video! How much would the build cost.. I'm not sure if its true but people are saying that piss is better than water haha 😂

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  2 роки тому +1

      This was a prototype unit we built a few years ago so the cost is probably not that indicative of what a real system would be but I would say there is >10k worth of components on this. You could certainly use urine in a microbial fuel cell, though these systems generally have a low power density :)

    • @danrawson8515
      @danrawson8515 2 роки тому

      @@BillyWu Thanks Billy! I wonder why there's nothing commercially available to run your house..

  • @EISPrado
    @EISPrado 2 роки тому

    Very nice video, only the carbon bs could de skipped. Try studying some real green houses where CO2 levels should be 100 times more so the plants can grow.

  • @michaelfixedsys7463
    @michaelfixedsys7463 3 роки тому

    I'm kinda new to this, why do we need nitrogen?

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому +1

      Good question. In our case we had a nitrogen supply to purge the anode of hydrogen after we ran the fuel cell. If we don't then residual hydrogen stays in the anode and can accelerate the degradation. In practice for a fuel cell system you might not have this but this was more of a development unit so we wanted to keep it in top shape

  • @Hussin119
    @Hussin119 Рік тому +2

    How to make that

  • @prettynitty0131
    @prettynitty0131 9 місяців тому

    We have used the ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!

  • @kamalof09
    @kamalof09 11 місяців тому +1

    cost

  • @user-eu9jw1pj4z
    @user-eu9jw1pj4z 3 роки тому

    When i can good pemfc and orca 2 device

  • @NyomanSuryasa
    @NyomanSuryasa 3 роки тому +1

    How to make diy fuel cell.?

    • @NyomanSuryasa
      @NyomanSuryasa 3 роки тому

      Can you explaint how to make diy fuel cell. For we are build together. Really 10Kw fuel cell????

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому +1

      DIY fuel cell is a bit tricky. We did this a few years ago and had issues with leaks and sealing. If you did want to try the core components are a membrane made from a material called nafion. Normally we get catalyst coated membranes which have a layer of carbon and platinum on it. You then lay a layer of carbon paper on top of this which we call a gas diffusion layer. Finally you need to sandwich this in between some graphite plates with channels machined into them and hold them together with some insulated steel plates. Might to better to buy off a shelf fuel cell where its easier to integrate the system.

  • @eduardodaquiljr9637
    @eduardodaquiljr9637 7 місяців тому

    Fiel cell to Battery to inverter = AC voltage.

  • @esquire9445
    @esquire9445 2 роки тому

    I kept thinking he would get around to showing us how he built the unit in the picture… nope.

  • @colinelvin7209
    @colinelvin7209 3 роки тому +1

    Great lecture on the science of hydrogen but misleadingly titled. Doesnt show how to make anything

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  3 роки тому

      Thanks. Yeah, I suppose I was presenting our system design and schematic rather than making the fuel cell itself but a fair point.

  • @Irczyn
    @Irczyn Рік тому

    achhh talking again, i was thinking its working hydrohen cell show...
    Everyone knows that, practice is wanted

  • @sterlingbruno5196
    @sterlingbruno5196 2 роки тому

    9kw cannot power 3 homes.

  • @mabihinafff942
    @mabihinafff942 3 роки тому

    رقم واحد مخ القمر الشمسي رسول الله الاسرائيلي المنير

  • @WIZ56575
    @WIZ56575 2 роки тому +1

    There's nothing in the video that shows how to actually make this generator I don't understand you just talk about different app different aspects of the generator without showing any type of DIY how to actually put it together Can you give us a response

  • @gfhrb39qq
    @gfhrb39qq 11 місяців тому

    You are COMPLICATE THINGS, you can get HYDROGEN from everything.
    So BLIND.

  • @Mass-jab-death-2025
    @Mass-jab-death-2025 Рік тому

    This made me so angry. So much loss to heat !

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  Рік тому

      You're right that the efficiency isn't perfect with fuel cell efficiency ~50%. This is still better than many internal combustion engines at ~30% but room for improvement. Combined heat and power units have been proposed which recover this waste heat to increase the effective efficiency. Heating in general is a huge challenge.

  • @Firetiger93
    @Firetiger93 14 днів тому +1

    Wonder if you could add a system like this to a boat and hook up additional solar panels and make your own hydrogen fuel?

    • @BillyWu
      @BillyWu  11 днів тому +1

      Fuel cell systems could certainly power boats. You could have a solar system also but would need to have an electrolyser to split the water to hydrogen and then compress it for storage which is a bit costly and complex at small scale. A battery system could be a simpler and more efficient way to collect solar; working alongside a fuel cell system

    • @Firetiger93
      @Firetiger93 11 днів тому

      @@BillyWu If I understand how fuel cells work then its comparable to a normal gas engine as far as power density but with hydrogen as fuel. If you have a solar/battery setup and the fuel cells as the backup you could effectively live off grid and never need to invest anything more than the initial cost of the whole system rather than having to rely on something like a diesel engine. I love the idea of only having to earn enough for repairs and food on a boat and this could be an option someday for making boat living a more viable option.

  • @saleeshjoseph
    @saleeshjoseph 2 роки тому +1

    Is your email id in video is valid to send email.