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2012: A Hydrogen Test Bed at Cornell
Several auto manufacturers will release hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles before 2016. These hydrogen-electric hybrids require compressed hydrogen fuel, but relatively little is known about renewable methods of hydrogen production. The industry has recently focused on electrolysis as the most promising method of commercial hydrogen production. This timely project will determine if an alternative, biorenewable way to produce hydrogen–converting biomass to synthesis gas (syngas), and then to hydrogen–can compete economically with electrolysis, offering more efficient regional production and delivery of compressed hydrogen fuel.
Investigators: Elizabeth Fisher, Alfred Center, Paul Mutolo