Hydrogen Technical Publications
Technical information about hydrogen published in technical reports, conference proceedings, journal articles, and websites is provided here. Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.
General
Hydrogen Briefing to the Department of Energy (PDF 2 MB), presentation by Dan Rastler, Electric Power Research Institute, May 27, 2008. Focuses on industrial hydrogen market and home hydrogen electrolyzer studies.
Hydrogen Data Book
DOE's Hydrogen Data Book offers a wide range of information about hydrogen and fuel cells, with a focus on hydrogen properties, hydrogen production and delivery data, and fuel cell vehicles. The Hydrogen Data Book is part of the Hydrogen Analysis Resource Center, which provides reliable data that can serve as the basis for hydrogen-related calculations, modeling, and other analytical activities.
Hydrogen Overview Book
Hydrogen & Our Energy Future (PDF 1.6 MB) expands on DOE's series of one-page fact sheets to provide an in-depth look at hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. This overview book provides additional information on the science behind the technology — how it works, benefits over conventional technology, its status, and challenges — and explains how hydrogen and fuel cells fit into our energy portfolio.
2004 Hydrogen Knowledge and Opinions Survey - To better understand what people know and don't know about hydrogen, DOE initiated a multi-year national survey project in 2003. Following a literature review (PDF 280 KB) of previous survey efforts, DOE conducted a baseline survey of four key audiences—the public, students, state and local government officials, and potential end users in transportation, businesses needing uninterruptible power supplies, and large power users—in 2004. This data is used to guide the ongoing development of DOE's hydrogen education strategy. Repeat surveys are planned for 2008 and 2011 to measure changes in knowledge and opinions over time. For more information, refer to the overview presentation (PDF 975 KB) on the survey. The 2004 DOE Hydrogen Baseline Survey document is very large; report sections are available as an individual Adobe Acrobat PDFs.
- Title Page and Table of Contents (PDF 175 KB)
- Executive Summary (PDF 230 KB)
- Main Report (PDF 735 KB)
- Appendix A - Survey Instruments (PDF 289 KB)
- Appendix B - Federal Register Notices (PDF 436 KB)
- Appendix C - Total Counts for Each Survey Question (PDF 450 KB)
- Appendix D - Copies of Prepared Letters (PDF 161 KB)
- Appendix E - Subpopulations of Large Scale End Users (PDF 135 KB)
Basic Research Needs for the Hydrogen Economy (PDF 7.24 MB) - February 2004 Update to the report of the Basic Energy Sciences Workshop on Hydrogen Production, Storage, and Use, held May 13-15, 2003.
Consumer Views on Transportation and Energy (PDF 812 KB) - Technical report (NREL/TP-620-34468), E. Steiner, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, August 2003.
Hydrogen Supply: Cost Estimate for Hydrogen Pathways - Scoping Analysis (PDF 1.5 MB) - Subcontractor report (NREL/SR-540-32525) by D. Simbeck and E. Chang, SFA Pacific, Inc., Mountain View, California, report prepared for National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, November 2002.
IEA Agreement on the Production and Utilization of Hydrogen: 2000 Annual Report (PDF 2.2 MB) - Annual report (TP-510-31287), edited by C. C. Elam, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, 2001.
Survey of the Economics of Hydrogen Technologies (PDF 1.1 MB) - Technical report (NREL/TP-570-27079), C.E.G. Padró and V. Putsche, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, September 1999.
Well-to-Wheel Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Advanced Fuel/Vehicle Systems - North American Analysis - Technical report prepared by General Motors Corporation, BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, June 30, 2001.
- Volume 1: Executive Summary Report (PDF 737 KB)
- Volume 2 (PDF 493 KB)
- Volume 3 (PDF 2.0 MB)
- Appendix A: Probability Distribution Functions (PDF 308 KB)
- Appendix B: Complete Well-to-Tank Results (PDF 230 KB)
Production
Boundary Analysis for H2 Production by Fermentation (PDF 279 KB) - Technical Report (NREL/SR-560-36129) National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Tim Eggeman, May 2005.
Summary of Electrolytic Hydrogen Production (PDF 737 KB) - Technical Report (NREL/MP-560-35948) National Renewable Energy Laboratory, J. Ivy, April 2004.
Updated Cost Analysis of Photobiological Hydrogen Production from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Green Algae (PDF 679 KB) - Technical Report (NREL/MP-650-35593), Wade A. Amos, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, January 2004.
Hydrogen Storage in Wind Turbine Towers: Cost Analysis and Conceptual Design (PDF 367 KB) - Technical Report (NREL/CP-500-34851), National Renewable Energy Laboratory, R. Kottenstette and J. Cotrell, September 2003.
Update of Hydrogen from Biomass-Determination of the Delivered Cost of Hydrogen (PDF 1.5 MB) - Technical Report (NREL/MP-510-33112), National Renewable Energy Laboratory, P.L. Spath, M. Mann, W.A. Amos, December 2003.
Process Analysis Work for the DOE Hydrogen Program- 2001 (PDF 363 KB)- Proceedings of the DOE 2002 Hydrogen Program Review, P.L. Spath, et al. (2002).
Life Cycle Assessment of Renewable Hydrogen Production via Wind/Electrolysis (PDF 415 KB) - Technical Report (NREL/TP-560-35404), National Renewable Energy Laboratory, M. Mann and P. Spath, February 2004.
Biomass to Hydrogen: State of the Art and Research Challenges (PDF 519 KB) This report of the International Energy Agency Hydrogen Program reviews primarily thermal production routes of biomass to hydrogen including, gasification, pyrolysis, partial oxidation and supercritical conversion. It also discusses conversion of storable intermediates like pyrolysis oils, methanol, ethanol and methane (2001).
Assessment of Natural Gas Splitting with a Concentrating Solar Reactor for Hydrogen Production (PDF 868 KB) - Technical report NREL/TP-510-31949, P. L. Spath and W. A. Amos, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, April 2002.
Bioreactor Design Studies for a Hydrogen-Producing Bacterium (PDF 425 KB) - Journal article by E. J. Wolfrum and A.S. Watt, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, published in Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Vols. 98-100, 2002, pp. 611-25.
Hydrogen Production Facilities Plant Performance and Cost Comparisons: Final Report, March 2002 (PDF 2.4 MB) - Report prepared for the USDOE National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) by Parsons Infrastructure and Technology Group, Inc., Reading, Pennsylvania, 2002.
Life Cycle Assessment of Hydrogen Production via Natural Gas Steam Reforming (PDF 635 KB) - A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment on conventional steam methane reforming, including environmental impacts.
Optimized Hydrogen and Electricity Generation from Wind (PDF 337 KB) - Technical report (NREL/TP-500-34364), L.J. Fingersh, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, June 2003.
Production of Hydrogen from Peanut Shells (PDF 178 KB) - A short report on the production of renewable hydrogen from agricultural residues, in the near-term time frame and at a comparable cost to existing methane reforming technologies.
Storage
Technical Assessment: Cryo-Compressed Hydrogen Storage for Vehicular Applications (PDF 3.2 MB) - Technical report describing DOE's assessment of storing hydrogen at cryogenic temperatures within a pressure vessel onboard a vehicle. The report includes an overview of technical progress to date, including the potential to meet DOE onboard storage targets, as well an independent reviews of system cost and energy analyses of the technology. Completed by Rajesh Ahluwalia (Argonne National Lab) and Kurtis McKenney (TIAX), with input from Salvador Aceves (Lawrence Livermore National Lab) and Tobias Brunner (BMW). (Updated June 2008)
Materials Down Select Decisions Made Within the Department of Energy Chemical Hydrogen Storage Center of Excellence (PDF 384 KB) - Technical report describing DOE's Chemical Hydrogen Storage Center of Excellence investigation into various hydrogen storage materials and progress towards meeting DOE's hydrogen storage targets. The report presents a review of the material status as related to DOE hydrogen storage targets and explains the basis for the down select decisions. (August 2008).
Reaction of Aluminum with Water to Produce Hydrogen: A Study of Issues Related to the Use of Aluminum for On-Board Vehicular Hydrogen Storage (PDF 566 KB) - Produced in 2008 by DOE, this report focuses on the key issues as well as advantages and disadvantages associated with using the reaction between aluminum metal and water for on-board vehicular hydrogen storage.
Best Practices for the Characterization of Hydrogen Storage Materials (PDF 4 MB) - Reference guide of common methodologies and protocols for measuring critical performance properties of advanced hydrogen storage materials. Helps users clearly communicate the relevant performance properties of new materials as they are discovered and tested. (May 2008)
Materials Down-selection Decisions Made Within the Department of Energy Metal Hydride Center of Excellence (PDF 568 KB) - Technical report describing DOE's Metal Hydride Center of Excellence assessment of the progress of various materials under investigation within the center towards potentially meeting DOE's hydrogen storage targets. The report presents a review of the material systems and the basis for the go/no-go decision for each. (October 2007).
Geometry, Heat Removal and Kinetics Scoping Models for Hydrogen Storage Systems (PDF 6.2 MB) - Technical report describing a numerical scoping model for preliminary system design assessments, including kinetics, scaling and heat removal parameters, of reversible metal hydride hydrogen storage systems. Completed by Bruce J. Hardy of Savannah River National Laboratory, November 16, 2007. Savannah River National Laboratory is a partner in the DOE Metal Hydride Center of Excellence.
Integrated Hydrogen Storage System Model (PDF 5.9 MB) - Technical report describing a detailed numerical model for reversible metal hydride hydrogen storage systems that couples reaction kinetics with heat and mass transfer, for both hydriding and dehydriding. Completed by Bruce J. Hardy of Savannah River National Laboratory, November 16, 2007. Savannah River National Laboratory is a partner in the DOE Metal Hydride Center of Excellence.
No-Go Decision on Sodium Borohydride Hydrolysis for Vehicular Hydrogen Storage (PDF 615 KB) - An independent review panel recently assessed progress in sodium borohydride R&D towards meeting DOE's near-term hydrogen storage targets as well as the potential to meet long-term targets. Based on the recommendations of the review panel, the DOE Hydrogen Program made the following decisions: 1) Discontinue hydrolysis of sodium borohydride R&D for vehicular hydrogen storage applications, and 2) Continue related R&D applicable to cost effective initial production of other borane-based species for amine borane vehicular hydrogen storage approaches. (December 2007)
Ammonia-Borane and Related N-B-H Compounds and Materials: Safety Aspects, Properties, and Applications (PDF 417 KB) - Technical report on amine-borane complexes and their potential use for hydrogen storage. Completed under DOE Cooperative Agreement DE-FC36-05GO15060, Clinton F. Lane, Northern Arizona University, April 2006. Northern Arizona University is a partner in the DOE Chemical Hydrogen Storage Center of Excellence.
Go/No-Go Decision on Pure, Undoped, Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Vehicular Hydrogen Storage (PDF 245 KB) - Statement by DOE Hydrogen Program describing decision process related to discontinuing (a "no-go" decision) only future applied R&D investment in pure, undoped, single walled carbon nanotubes for vehicular hydrogen storage. This document also describes certain areas of carbon nanotube research (such as metal-doped hybrid materials) that may warrant additional R&D investment. (October 2006)
High Density Hydrogen Storage System Demonstration Using NaAlH4 Complex Compound Hydrides (PDF 3 MB) - Presentation by D. Mosher et al, United Technologies Research Center, prepared under DOE Cooperative Agreement DE-FC36-02AL-67610, December 16, 2006. This presentation describes the development of a complex metal hydride system prototype and the assessment of its gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen storage capacity.
Potential Roles of Ammonia in a Hydrogen Economy: A Study of Issues Related to the Use of Ammonia for On-Board Vehicular Hydrogen Storage - Produced in February 2006 by DOE, this report focuses on the key issues and advantages and disadvantages associated with using ammonia for on-board vehicular hydrogen storage.
Review of Chemical Processes for the Synthesis of Sodium Borohydride (PDF 404 KB) - Technical report prepared under DOE Cooperative Agreement DE-FC36-04GO14008 by Ying Wu, Michael Kelly, and Jeffrey Ortega, Millennium Cell Inc., August 2004.
IEA Agreement on the Production and Utilization of Hydrogen, Task 12: Metal Hydrides and Carbon for Hydrogen Storage, Executive Summary (PDF 88 KB) - Overview of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Hydrogen Program Task 12, Metal Hydrides and Carbon for Hydrogen Storage efforts. (Sunatech, Inc, edited by Gary Sandrock, 2001).
Optimization of Single-Wall Nanotube Synthesis For Hydrogen Storage (PDF 83 KB) - Final task report (CH-590-31288), A.C. Dillon, T. Gennett, J. L. Alleman, K.M. Jones, P.A. Parilla and M.J. Heben, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, 2001.
Costs of Storing and Transporting Hydrogen (PDF 1.3 MB) - Technical Report (NREL/TP-570-25106), Wade A. Amos, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, November 1998.