 |
There are a variety of ways to get involved with NREL's hydrogen and fuel cell research activities:
- Work collaboratively with NREL through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs)—this is the most widely used means of industrial collaboration.
- Participate in subcontracted hydrogen research—close to half NREL's budget goes to support DOE-directed research conducted by large and small private companies, universities, research institutes, and consultants
- Pay NREL to conduct research without your collaboration through Work for Others (WFOs) or Sponsored Research—this is an effective way for industry to take advantage of NREL's expertise and unique research facilities.
- Participatee in NREL's research and education partnerships with colleges and universities. NREL and universities engage in joint research projects, subcontracts, task ordering agreements and master agreements; faculty and post-doctoral fellowships and sabbaticals; adjunct faculty arrangements; scientist-faculty exchanges; and facility access, use, and sharing.
- Work with NREL hydrogen and fuel cell researchers through mentored research internships and fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students.
In addition, NREL's hydrogen and fuel cell research facilities are available to industrial and university researchers. The Laboratory may provide trained staff to conduct or direct the work, or activities can be performed entirely by the participating organization's staff.
Using Our Facilities
NREL, through the support of the U.S. Department of Energy, has extensive state-of-the-art facilities for conducting biomass research, including user's facilities for converting renewable feedstocks into a variety of products, including transportation fuels, high-value chemicals, and electricity. These facilities, the Thermochemical Users Facility (TCUF) and the Wind Site Hybrid Test Facility, can be used to test other organizations' feedstock, process, or equipment and can help to reduce the time from the lab to the marketplace for novel biomass technologies. Government agencies, universities, and a variety of industries have taken advantage of the flexibility offered by of these facilities to evaluate and validate their process options.
Thermochemical Users Facility (TCUF)
The state-of-the-art Thermochemical User's Facility (TCUF) consists of several complementary unit operations that can be configured in various arrangements to accommodate the testing and development of various reactors, filters, catalysts, and other unit operations used to produce hydrogen from biomass. The TCUF offers clients the capability to test new processes and feedstocks in a timely and cost-effective manner, and to quickly and safely obtain extensive performance data on their processes or equipment.
The key components in the TCUF are the 0.5 ton-per-day ThermoChemical Process Development Unit (TCPDU), the Catalytic Synthesis Unit, and the Generator Test Cell. The TCPDU can be integrated with the Catalytic Synthesis Unit to produce hydrogen, fuels, and chemicals, or with the generator test cell to produce electricity in a variety of configurations. The TCUF's generator test cell allows researchers to investigate and develop strategies to overcome the challenges associated with integrating biomass gasifiers with power generation equipment. The TCUF facility and laboratories are unique in that they have the capability to analyze products on-line over a wide spectrum of chemical compositions.
Wind Site Hybrid Test Facility
The hybrid-power test bed at the National Wind Technology Center at NREL supports industry in developing and validating innovative wind hybrid systems that incorporate wind energy, solar cells, fuel cells, and diesel or gas generators into power systems that can serve areas with small, isolated communities. The hybrid-power test bed can simulate loads and connect or disconnect storage and various generators as needed. When combined with field-testing and demonstration, this research gives industry the opportunity to bring new hybrid technologies to market.
The hybrid test facility was designed with an emphasis on versatility and flexibility, providing both real and simulated wind and photovoltaic (PV) energy sources. The simulated renewable energy sources will allow repeatable testing and testing under controlled combinations of solar and wind resources. A controllable load bank with both resistive and inductive components simulates village loads up to 80 or 100 kW.
Contact Us
Please contact us if you would like to explore collaboration opportunities with NREL's Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Research.
Robert Remick (303) 275-3830
|
|
