Mobile hydrogen house project
The overall objective of this activity was to give students from various engineering disciplines the opportunity to integrate – within a hybrid energy system aimed at powering a small house – a wind turbine and solar panels with an electrolyzer, a fuel cell, batteries and the relevant auxiliaries and software.
The mobile home is a transportable container with 15 m2 usable space – a bathroom, a kitchen and a living room. Batteries are used to store some of the energy produced by the solar panels and the wind turbine and to supply current to the house appliances. Excess electricity is used to electrolyze water to produce hydrogen, which is then stored in metal hydride tanks. A 2 kW-fuel cell supplies electric power on demand and a hydrogen cooker is utilized in the kitchen.
The system will be shown at public events as part of the ICHET dissemination activities. A long term objective of the project is to demonstrate the product to the public and train engineers in various aspects of renewable technologies. It is expected to help raise public awareness and acceptance of renewable energies and hydrogen fuel cell technologies. ❐
Specifications
- 800 W photovoltaic panels
- 1 kW wind turbine
- 2 kW Fuel cell
- 15 m2 living space