Page 55 - North American Clean Energy March April 2016

e process uses electricity from a wind farm to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, through electrolysis. e hydrogen is stored in a magnesium slurry that can
be safely stored on site or transported to where it is needed. e slurry is heated to release the hydrogen to fuel gas turbines, which drive generators. Discharged slurry is “recharged” at wind farms.
Figures 1 and 2 show the di erence between a wind farm backed by a fossil fuel plant, which limits the actual renewable energy output to around 50 percent, compared to a similar scenario with hydrogen slurry storage technology in place.
is technology has signi cant cost advantages over current battery storage technologies, as well as the potential to transform a wind farm into a dispatchable plant without need for a fossil fuel backup. When the wind blows hard, part of the energy streams directly to the grid, while the rest goes to storage. When the wind dies down, energy ows from the storage system to the grid.
Breakthrough energy storage
Last fall, technology titan Bill Gates gave the clean energy industry a shot in the arm, or perhaps a breath of fresh air, when he led a group of billionaires in launching the Breakthrough Energy Coalition.
“We will look for novel technologies as well as ways to make existing technologies dramatically cheaper, more e cient, or more scalable,” Gates stated in his ve principals guiding the coalition’s e ort. He also singled out storage as a key factor “on the path to a zero-carbon future,” while lamenting renewables’ intermittency, persistent dependence on fossil fuels, and the high cost of storage.
Aggressive innovation and investment is necessary to making meaningful advances in storage technology which will help clean energy reach its true potential.
Ken Brown is the CEO and Managing Partner of Safe Hydrogen, LLC, a storage technology company based in Massachusetts.
Safe Hydrogen, LLC
www.safehydrogen.com
Detachable self-rescue device
3M Personal Safety Division and 3M’s Capital Safety business have introduced the DBI-SALA Self-Rescue, a detachable self-rescue device. e device easily connects to a worker’s current safety harness, providing a fast, e ective method of escape from suspension, while minimizing risk for the wearer, coworkers, and rescue personnel.
Self-Rescue features a patent-pending EZ-Link D-ring to simplify connection, a secondary rescue ring for assisted rescue, and a sealed, padded package to protect the descent device from damage during use. In an e ort to ensure reliable performance in the eld, Self-Rescue has gone through rigorous testing. e sealed design allows the product to perform as expected after it has been soaked in water for two hours and frozen in temperatures of negative 40°C. With 50- or 100-ft versions available, the self-rescue device is among the most exible and adaptable ever created.
3M | www.3m.com
Capital Safety | www.capitalsafety.com
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