Integration and Optimization of Hydrogen Production with Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Technology in Offshore Floating Platforms

OTEC is a clean, renewable energy resource capable of producing nationally-significant quantities of hydrogen in at-sea floating plants located in warm, tropical water. During phase I, Makai has developed an analytical model to technically balance and financially evaluate a large-scale OTEC-driven hydrogen (or alternate fuel) plant and industry. This computer tool technically links and balances system components while providing resulting total costs. The model has been used as a means of comparison between the OTEC-hydrogen path and competitive hydrogen paths such as coal, natural gas, and nuclear. It was concluded in phase I that OTEC is both a technically and economically feasible hydrogen production pathway, it has the potential to be cost competitive with other renewable technologies and should be considered a legitimate player in a future hydrogen economy. The principle efforts in phase II will be to expand on the OTEC-hydrogen model developed in Phase I, develop a conceptual design of a large at-sea plant to supply hydrogen (or alternate fuels) for the US Navy or civilian users, and provide strong technical and economic evaluation and justification (if merited) for this energy source in the near future.