Emergency Hydrogen Refueler for Individual Consumer Fuel Cell Vehicles

The Department of Energy is soliciting an emergency hydrogen refueler for an individual consumer fuel cell vehicle. With sparse hydrogen filling stations at present, operators of fuel cell powered vehicles can experience range anxiety lessening the appeal of these vehicles. Skyhaven Systems, LLC is developing an emergency hydrogen refueler that can be stored in the vehicle trunk and used by the consumer to refill the vehicle if they run out of hydrogen fuel away from a hydrogen fueling station. A chemical hydride and water conduit system were developed and demonstrated in a Phase I program to safely react producing hydrogen gas with the requisite purity for a fuel cell vehicle. Material and refueler optimization focused on reacting 100% of the chemical hydride to hydrogen in a refueling period on the order of 15 minutes. Operational prototype hydrogen refuelers will be developed in the Phase II project that can produce 750 g of hydrogen gas to refill a fuel cell vehicle for a 50 mile driving range. The Phase II project will focus on material optimization, refueler design, codes and standards, hazmat and reliability assessment, manufacturing of the refueler, and prototype testing. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: Performance metrics for this refueler include a total mass of 10 kg, a compact space of 11 liters, a reliable system with no moving parts, and a $199 sale price. With these competitive metrics, fuel cell vehicle owners can economically store this refueler in the car trunk being assured that they will not be stranded if they run out of hydrogen gas far removed from a refueling station.