Kevin Harrison examines a wind turbine. Researchers intend to explore the potential of using wind-generated electricity to produce hydrogen for fuel cells. (Photo: Chuck Kimmerle/University Relations)

Wind energy may provide an economical key to unlocking our most abundant energy source

With the most wind resources of any of the lower 48 states in the Union, North Dakota has the opportunity to become a leader in developing uses for wind energy. A multidisciplinary research team at UND is working to harness wind power to produce hydrogen for use in fuel cells.

Hydrogen, widely touted as the fuel of the future, is difficult to generate cheaply and efficiently without adding to the problem of polluting our air, water, and land. Hydrogen used in fuel cells, to generate electricity to power homes or vehicles, emits nothing more than warm water vapor as the byproduct. Researchers at UND’s School of Engineering and Mines and Energy and Environmental Research Center believe that wind energy could be an inexpensive, emission-free, renewable, and reliable power source for hydrogen generation.

The researchers plan to use wind turbines to generate electricity, powering an electrolyzer to split water into its component parts of hydrogen and oxygen. The resulting hydrogen gas would then be stored for later use in power production or as fuel for cars. The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $420,000 grant for further investigation, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has signed on as a partner. With $50,000 matching funds from UND, research and testing has begun, and an evaluation project will be implemented on campus this fall.

The team includes researchers from the mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineering departments, industrial technology, the EERC, and the NREL. Students also are involved, at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

This kind of interdisciplinary cooperation happens more and more often, says Hossein Salehfar, associate professor of electrical engineering and one of the lead investigators. “Projects like this extend beyond one person’s work,” he said. “Cross-discipline involvement brings in new ideas and energy.”

Hydrogen, which can be produced from a variety of sources, including fossil fuels, nuclear energy, coal, natural gas, biomass, and water, is expected to help overcome the energy-related environmental, national security, health, and sustainability issues facing the United States. To realize the projected benefits, though, hydrogen must be produced cleanly and affordably. Studies indicate that wind power could be one of the cleanest and cheapest ways to do that.

The challenge, says Michael Mann, associate professor of chemical engineering and the project’s principal investigator, is to integrate the control systems for the wind turbine, the electrolyzer, and the hydrogen production process. A complicated array of software, electronics, electric motors, and other components must work together.

UND’s unique mix of disciplines may be the key to solving the problem. Along with faculty who are interested in developing renewable energy alternatives, the combination is attracting a new breed of students who are enthusiastic about the subject, Mann said.

One of them is Kevin Harrison, a Ph.D. candidate in UND’s energy engineering program. He said the opportunity for cross-disciplinary involvement, along with the University’s resources and the reputation of the EERC, drew him to UND. The New York native earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Rochester and his master’s degree at UND in electrical engineering.

Interested in renewable energy, Harrison worked with UND faculty members to devise a way of better controlling wind turbines to produce hydrogen more efficiently. The resulting proposal to the Department of Energy brought an invitation to conduct some of his work at the NREL’s National Wind Technology Laboratory near Boulder, Colo. “The wind/hydrogen interface is aligned well with their goals at NREL,” Harrison said.

He now divides his time between UND and NREL, where he has helped design and build a facility to test electrolyzers and hydrogen fuel cells. This fall he will help install a complementary demonstration system with a wind turbine and hydrogen fuel cell in UND’s Upson engineering complex.

“If you look back at fuel sources from the beginning, from burning wood to oil to natural gas, you’ll see a progression of the fuels we use as human beings,” Harrison said. “The amount of hydrogen in the fuels has been increasing. Ultimately, hydrogen holds the most promise to decrease our environmental impact, improve self-sufficiency as a country, and improve human health.” One of the biggest obstacles, though, is the cost of hydrogen production.

The research at UND may help overcome some of the obstacles that face a hydrogen economy, including the cost of the hydrogen itself, researchers believe. And by harnessing the power of the wind, researchers will help the nation and the state meet growing energy needs.