JGC has developed a compact hydrogen generation system which is applicable as a hydrogen source for automobile and stationary fuel cells. In this system, hydrogen gas is produced by steam-reforming DME (dimethyl ether) which is regarded as a promising source of clean fuel. This system is the product of an excellent technology which has attained the compactness, rapid starting, high process efficiency, and quick load responsiveness that are required for the automobile-mounted type.
This development research, which was sponsored by an independent administrative corporation, the Japan Oil, Gas, and Minerals National Corporation, started in fiscal 2003 and extended over a period of four years.
Features
Meets the design requirements for the automobile-mounted type (30 kW system)
- Compactness: 70 liters in volume
- Rapid starting: Five minutes
- High process efficiency: 77% (LHV)
- Quick load responsiveness: 10±2 seconds (30→100%, 100→30%)
A compact system that can also serve as a small stationary hydrogen generation unit applicable to fuel cells for household, commercial, and other uses.
Clean fuel is ensured as the product hydrogen contains virtually no CO.
High-purity hydrogen gas can be produced by CO2 separation from product gas.
Applications
Fuel cell systems for automobiles
Stationary fuel cell systems
Hydrogen production systems for hydrogen stations
High-purity hydrogen production systems for semiconductor manufacturing
Development Status
System development completed for a 1 kW system
System development completed for a 3 kW compact system
Basic performance verification completed for a 30 kW system
Prototype system design completed for a 30 kW compact system
