For decades, Hydrogen Power has held enormous promise as an alternative to fossil fuels. After all, who wouldn’t want an energy source made from the most abundant element in the universe whose only byproduct is water?
Yet here we are in 2022, and Hydrogen still hasn’t lived up its potential. But, a new hydrogen breakthrough may finally give this promising fuel source its chance to shine.
Even though it may not… look particularly pretty, this innovative hydrogen paste boasts energy densities that give lithium ion batteries a serious run for their money. Will we soon see this goop powering cars, planes, and grids?
Let’s dive in.
As a fuel source, Hydrogen is sort of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
It has many attractive features. For one, it’s the most abundant element in the universe — ranking #1 on the Periodic Table of Elements (those two things aren’t really related, but still…). When it comes to sustainable energy, resource availability is a critical factor.
Lithium, for instance, is number 33, with other elements like Cobalt and Manganese, which are also used in battery construction, falling much further down the list.
But not only is hydrogen incredibly abundant (with a small caveat we’ll get into in a bit), it’s also incredibly clean. As fuel in an electrochemical process, it combines with oxygen, producing electricity, leaving nothing but water as a byproduct. high quality H2O. So, some major wins.
But, Hydrogen also has a dark side.
First, while it is indeed the most abundant element in the universe, in its purest form, it tends to drift off-planet and out into space. The hydrogen that gets left here on Earth tends to form very strong bonds with other elements.
There are a few ways to extract pure hydrogen, but this is where that green footprint tends to get a bit muddy.
One of the most popular methods for extracting hydrogen is called Steam-Methane Reforming — essentially burning methane gas at high pressures and temperatures to separate the hydrogen from the carbon elements. There are two main problems here — 1.) the process itself is very energy intensive and 2.) The end result still produces carbon emissions… yeah… not looking so clean after all.
The “greener” method for extracting hydrogen is called “electrolysis.” This involves running electric currents through water, separating the hydrogen from the oxygen. The problem here is that it still requires loads of electricity and tons of water. Studies reveal that electrolysis loses about 30% of its energy from the splitting process itself, then another 26% from transporting the hydrogen to the fuel station, leaving only about half of the initial energy before the hydrogen enev makes it into your vehicle.
Then there’s transportation. Hydrogen typically has to either be stored on sight where it’s extracted, or shipped around in huge, pressurized tanks.
With no real infrastructure for fueling hydrogen cells, the technology just hasn’t taken off as some anticipated.
We’ve covered more of the drawbacks of hydrogen in previous videos which you can check out here.
But hydrogen may still have its moment to shine, thanks to… this
Yeah, it may not look pretty, but according to its creators at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, this gray goop may solve many of hydrogen power’s biggest issues.
It’s called Power Paste and it’s made by combining hydrogen and magnesium with metal salts and a compound called Ester — formed by a reaction between alcohol and acid.
The two elements are combined at around 662 degrees F at five to six times atmospheric pressure to form magnesium hydride.
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The result is this energy dense gray goop which the company says could be easily stored and shipped inside cartridges at room temperature and remains completely stable until it reaches about 482 degrees F (250 C) — so no need to worry about the fuel cells exploding in the parking lot on a hot summer’s day!
To release the energy, a plunger releases the paste into a chamber where it reacts with water at a controlled rate, where it’s converted into electricity around a proton exchange membrane.
One major benefit of the technology is that it resolves the storage and transportation issue. The paste boasts an energy density equal to a 700-bar tank of H2 of the same weight.
This cartridge system could also make refueling much more practical. The developers imagine drivers simply being able to pull into a service station and swapping out their old cartridge for a new one.They even suggest that Powerpaste could be supplied via standard fuel lines with “relatively inexpensive equipment.” We’ll break down what costs could look like in abit.
What really makes this a huge breakthrough, though, is its energy density. Powerpaste has a specific energy around 10X greater than Lithium Ion Batteries.
What would that look like in the real world?
A standard range Tesla Model S battery weighs about 1,060 pounds (480 kg) with a capacity of roughly 75 kWh which has a usable range of about 272 mi, or about 437 km.
A traditional, 8.5 gallon hydrogen fuel tank typically carries enough fuel for 400 miles of range (643 km), weighing roughly about 76 lb (34 kg).
A cartridge of the same weight using power paste could theoretically push yy range to about 3,000 km! That could take you from San Diego to Seattle and still leave you with 1,000 more km! For the average commuter, that would mean needing to refuel about 1x per month!
Now, while Powerpaste boasts really high energy density, it stumbles a bit when it comes to efficiency.
Lithium Ion batteries are the efficiency champions, running at about 95% efficiency, meaning nearly every kWh stored in the battery gets converted into usable energy (moving your car forward).
Gasoline is notoriously inefficient — at around 17%, so after factoring in chemical transformations and waste heat, you’re using less than ⅕ of your tank to move your car. Seriously… how did we ever get duped into using this stuff!
Traditional hydrogen fuel sits at around 60% efficiency.
How does Powerpaste stack up? Right now, the developers say it maintains an efficiency rate of about 50% — which is significantly higher than gasoline but still quite a bit behind Lithium Ion Batteries and traditional hydrogen cells.
So, is that case closed on the economic viability of PowerPaste? Well — what does the data say?
So let’s say it takes around 80kWh to fully charge a 75 kWh battery (there can be some energy leakage).
Right now, at the time of this video, in San Diego — electricity costs 34 ¢/kWh.
0.35 x 80kWh = $28 to fully charge your Tesla (assuming you don’t have home solar or a battery pack).
That 75 kWh battery can take us about 437 km. At 95% efficiency, you’d use about 71.25 kWh. But basically, you get about 437 km for $28 or about $0.06/km. With the average daily commute in America sitting around 41 miles (about 65 km), you’d need to fully charge roughly 4 times in a month — bringing that total monthly cost to about $112.
Hydrogen fuel costs roughly $16 a gallon. So our 8.5 gallon tank costs about $130 to fill up. It’ll take us about 643 km. That comes out to roughly $.20/ km. .33/ mi
So now let’s take a look at a Powerpaste fuel cell which, remember, has 10X the energy density of the li-ion battery. Which means our similarly weighted fuel cell gives us 475kWh of sweet gray goop under the hood!.
As of this video, there are no hard numbers on how much these fuel cartridges would cost, let alone service fees. But let’s assume for now that the cost per kWh is comparable to the cost of residential energy — $0.35/ kWh. So this swap now costs us $166.25. But, remember, the paste only has a 50% efficiency rating —so that 475kWh, we end up with 237.5 kWh of usable energy.
If 75 kWh got us 437km of distance — about 6.7 km/ kWh — then even at 50% efficiency, the powerpaste cell takes us 1,600 km!
Which… still comes out to about $0.10/ km Which is about half the cost of traditional hydrogen, but still about 2x more than Li Ion.
So, yeah, as of right now — EVs still make way more sense for the typical consumer. Not only is electricity cheaper —even with historically high prices— it’s also plentiful. I can always recharge at home. And If you use home solar, it basically eliminates the cost of fuel.
While hydrogen is abundant — to refuel your car would still require swapping out the old cartridge for a new one — meaning you’d have to be someone’s customer. Beholden to prices and supply chain issues which we all know can be a huge pain. EVs just don’t face that problem. Even with 10x less range, EVs still come out on top, at least for now.
So maybe the average commuter car isn’t the best application. But what about other major CO2 emitters like airplanes? Where weight is a bigger factor than cost — aerial vehicles could be a potential application.
Since current battery technology is far too heavy for planes to use and still maintain efficiency and cost effectiveness, using power paste with higher energy density could still make sense. It’d be lighter than batteries and cheaper than standard fossil fuel!
In fact, the developers of Powerpaste see a future in which their lightweight, energy-dense sludge could power things like drones, underwater vehicles, medical devices, and portable outdoor camping equipment or backup generators.
Then there’s possible grid level applications. Say, an offshore wind farm with a steady supply of seawater to refuel electric ships!
So it’s very possible that powerpaste could find a home that makes sense.
Now, there are still a handful of questions surrounding powerpaste — namely what happens to the by-products? After all, since we’re no longer using pure hydrogen, we no longer get water at the end. It’s possible that the leftover magnesium and metal salts could be recycled, though that would involve developing some kind of infrastructure that doesn’t yet exist.
While power paste may look like the hideous Mr. Hyde, is it possible that it could be more like Dr. Jekyll?
Will Powerpaste finally allow hydrogen energy to catch up with Battery technology — or is it yet another pipe dream? Should we even still be looking into hydrogen fuel cells at all anymore with battery technology proving itself so efficient? Let us know in the comments below.