Stony Brook University Awarded Over $4.9 Million Grant for Efficient Hydrogen Storage Demonstration Project
Stony Brook University is the recipient of over $4.9 million grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). These funds have been designated to develop a clean hydrogen research demonstration project for a low-pressure, ambient-temperature hydrogen-storage system to be used at a Northwell Health Hospital site in order to improve resiliency and reliability of a healthcare system’s energy operations.
This storage system looks to address how high volumetric density energy storage under mild conditions of both temperature and pressure can be developed, especially in densely populated areas with high-energy demand and no single system available. This system uses a hybrid approach, utilizing the outcome of multi-year technology development and analysis coming from Stony Brook’s Institute of Gas Innovation and Technology (I-GIT), located in the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center, the New York State’s Center of Excellence in Energy. The large-scale storage system combines hydrogen production and will store it in a solid adsorbent system for facile storage and release of hydrogen on-demand under mild conditions.
This demonstration project is a step forward to store hydrogen in solid adsorbents at scale to establish the process feasibility of such systems for safe deployment. The selection of modular units in the system at the hospital site will attempt to ensure that the system capacity can expand or contract to meet varying customer demands. Once successfully demonstrated, the system can be replicated across several industry sectors including hospitals and data centers to not only store and deliver reliable energy but provide energy security.
“As a recognized leader in energy storage, Stony Brook University is shaping the future of clean energy through innovation and research, including in this pioneering hydrogen storage project,” said Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith. “The investment by NYSERDA to support this project will enable significant advances in flexible energy storage that can meet dynamic industrial and consumer demand. Demonstrating this novel technology in a hospital system will ensure that patients and healthcare workers are not subject to power outages or shortages in their critical care systems. This project reflects a collaboration between Stony Brook and seven industrial partners representing the entire hydrogen value chain, further strengthening New York’s leadership role in clean energy innovation.”
“There is a global race to develop highly efficient systems for large-scale energy storage that can operate under ambient temperature and moderate pressures in an off-grid mode, said Devinder Mahajan, PhD, Professor of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering and Director of the Institute of Gas Innovation and Technology (I-GIT), who is also principal investigator of the project. I-GIT has adopted the Power-to-Products (P2X) concept with the aim to produce and store fuels in modular systems with a minimum Carbon Intensity (CI) score, a measure of reduced emissions.
This project will demonstrate a large-scale hydrogen storage system that will integrate an electrolyzer, hydrogen storage system, and a fuel cell stack to deliver power on-demand for multiple applications, such as back-up power and EV chargers. While the I-GIT team that also includes Professors T. Venkatesh and Clive Clayton will provide technical expertise, a consortium of partner companies, Northwell Health, ConEdison, Plug, H2B2, Hydrexia, BrainDrip, are providing over $6 million in cost-share and a host site, bringing the total project cost to over $11 million, and will ensure that the system is replicated for commercial deployment. This project is part of a larger hybrid concept that is developed and patented by the Research Foundation to link renewables with storable energy molecules. This recognition and funding by NYSERDA for this promising hydrogen storage project will help create future systems to produce safe and cleaner energy for industrial and residential use. [Quote from Dean Singer]??
“This advancement is a great example of the power of partnerships and the long and successful history of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center supported by the state of New York,” said Dr. Kevin Gardner, Vice President for Research and Innovation. “A productive energy innovation ecosystem yields major advancements and gets them to the demonstration phase as is being done here.”
“I-GIT was formed in 2018 in partnership with National Grid, to provide an industry-university collaborative platform and develop advanced technologies for the benefit of New York State customers,” said Robert B. Catell, Chairman of the Board of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC). “The strategic vision of the institute is now paying off as it makes inroads into technology demonstration, in this case with funding for hydrogen storage from NYSERDA. The expanded industry I-GIT membership that now includes ConEdison and VJ Technologies will ensure a pipeline of technology demonstration projects will follow.”
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