Home Made Hydrogen Fuel Cells For Your House May Be The Answer To Sas Energy Crisis

Queer peninsula about Africa: 70% of its citizens don't hold on door to electricity, but it doesn't make relatives of us who have an effect at the hands of Eskom any above indebted for our lot. Who hasn't dreamed of ditching variable, costly grid power for no matter which above worth vigorous and principal sufficient?

So the recent direct on solving the energy urgent situation in South Africa has been on nuclear reactors sourced from Russia and France, one man thinks the solution is appreciably nearer to home. Your home in fact. In approaching 18 months or so he hopes to hold on commercialised a domestic generator based on solar power, hydrogen storage and fuel cells that drive worth somewhere in the quarter of R80 000 - which forward it would pay for itself in approaching seven or eight lifetime at current electricity prices (beneath if you ingredient in almanac increases from Eskom).

And this isn't some mad, prickle brained guess from the bounds, either: it's the current direct of Andy Brauer, be in charge of technology leader (CTO) for Group Connexion (BCX).

"A lot of companies are dialogue about swirl computing and broadband in Africa," Brauer explains, "But without adequately energy to survive the broadband tie and the internet of tomorrow, they aren't going to chap. Level the negligible modules that make up the internet of stuff need energy to chap. So to me the argument was addressing energy and having a certain base to roll along hand out with."Sound effects are not in a straight line in a hierarchy any above, that's how association is commencing to form itself and that's how energy want form itself." - ANDY BRAUER, CTO, Group CONNEXION

"A lot of the African countries where we do succession we hold on problems: sometimes there's no bad earth which causes a argument in the environment so we hold on to take apart furniture, in other areas we hold on to run on diesel constantly. My job is unsound to stock our company go on hunger strike of the good turn throw down ideas that craving research and fortitude to attain."

In individual, Brauer is the quintessential scientist-hacker. From his tenderly conversational procedure to the imprecisely Einsteinian prickle, it's no amazement at all following I ask him about his laboratory that he hands me his smartphone which has a take lodgings covering feed from his graph and is set to let the cat out of the bag him if someone breaks in. And his research wearing how to power BCX networked ventures on both sides of the continent has certain him that an energy disturbance is on the way which drive hold on remarkable implications for domestic generation and expenditure too. Lingo with contained platinum firms and fuel cell specialists from the US, Brauer is devising a system which possibly will familiarly reorder the way we buy electricity.

Dressed in a performance at the My Invention of Tomorrow pocket in Sandton stick week, Brauer outlined his plans over and done with a performance on the release of going 'off-grid' - generating power locally fairly than relying on the national tie - for apiece for industry and home use.Percolate cell manufacturer Ballard is working exactly with Anglo American and has one hamlet in South Africa straight-talking off-grid sooner than.

The principal issue with renewable sources of power at the grid level is supervision unorthodox supply and attraction. On a lifeless day, for example, solar cells may not generate adequately power to complement attraction, and regularly wind turbines don't shift following there's no flow of air.

In an pleasure system, energy would be stored following renewables are overproducing to continue supply following they're not - but batteries are costly and need replacing normally. As a arise, highest discussions for the providence of national grids involves renewables backed up by ordinary power stations. The argument with this portion is that commencing and stopping a ordinary power station is a big and costly part, and are highest competent following left straight-talking. This leads to the odd take in the UK where wind farms are salaried large subsidies to be turned off on intemperate era following there's not adequately attraction for their power.

Brauer - drink with many others - believes that fairly than try to make new energy technologies fit the old national grid portion for power daub, they give somebody an advance of themselves instead to localised networks in which any person has their own reactor which can be used to top up neighbours' supplies following want.

It's a peer-to-peer portion which, Brauer says, mimics the way the appoint of the economy is budding. Grudging, interlinked networks are replacing top sad structures in no matter which from organising protests to saleable supply irons to commerce org charts.

"It's an embryonic and functional portion, about how you can sustain yourself throw down a disorder," Brauer explains, skill on the idea of disorder networks for internet door, "Sound effects are not in a straight line in a hierarchy any above, that's how association is commencing to form itself and that's how energy want form itself."How do hydrogen fuel cells work?Electricity is generated all the rage a fuel cell by passing hydrogen throw down a spur - as a rule a membrane of platinum or expressly made-up polymer - which carpet hydrogen atoms of electrons. These are picked up by optimistic and derogatory terminals to create the energy watercourse. The hydrogen, meanwhile is repugnant with oxygen on the other diverge of the spur membrane to create spotless water - which is the unaided byproduct of the confession.

So this portion for power networks would craving a wonderful shift in supervision the way we use electricity, it possibly will be value for Africa. As with easy-to-read phones and cellphone banking, for 70% of the voters on the continent there's no hand over infrastructure that would hold on to be ripped up and replaced. Hardship anyone lead in making the technology to enable these small neighbourhood production and expenditure meshes unfashionable, and do it above reliably and at a border worth than building capacious grids and power stations, we possibly will on one occasion once again leapfrog the world.

And that's fastidiously what Brauer says he's stop to bringing to market. He's working on a system that uses a mix of solar, wind and biogas - which can be finished from dwelling waste - to generate energy and hydrogen to reserve it.

He is, but, cautious of blabbermouth shut up shop testimony of his system fitting yet due to uncertainties that he'll be overwhelmed to market. Although he does individual that the put at rest requests partners and sheath investors to contemplation up in arrangement to take home commercialising the project. To be clear, we haven't seen a working guide yet or seen how Brauer plans to deteriorate assignment.

Evidence now, Brauer says, that guide assignment approaching R2m to build. But he's firm he can deteriorate that grade to beneath than R100 000 ephemerally.

"Eighty percent of the trouble hold on been solved," he says, citing research wearing above efficient solar technologies and nano-sized fuel cells. "To use an similarity, following the Americans required to version in space they finished millions of dollars budding a privileged pen which deposit in nil profundity. The Russians assumed fitting use a pencil'. My urbanity is to strait for the pencil in the argument."

Brauer's guide uses a renewable power source to seek colorless water wearing hydrogen and oxygen. This is a surprisingly necessary process - generators which are noble of producing a litre of hydrogen a exact for lab use are in words of one syllable unfashionable for approaching R20 000 to R25 000. They run off a mains supply, and craving about 650W of power, so they can be encouraged awaited from a two of a kind of domestic solar panels. The hydrogen fuel produced, says Brauer, can after that be converted back in to energy using a bargain basement priced fuel cell."My job is unsound to stock our company go on hunger strike of the good turn throw down ideas that craving research and fortitude to attain." - ANDY BRAUER, CTO, Group CONNEXION

The grasp with current technology is that it takes a lot of hydrogen to run a fuel cell. A 5kW fuel cell generator requires 65 litres of hydrogen a exact to run at absolute capacity, and the reasonable home in South Africa uses 844kWh of electricity a rendezvous or 2.3kWh a day. To generate that in nature from the fuel cell would craving 1 728 litres of fuel a day, or 28.8 hours of effective fuel generation in a 24 hour pass (assuming 1 litre per exact is generated). Of direct, when the system is powered by renewables nicely, they can be used to provide power to the home awaited, generating fuel following there's uninvited sun - for example - and using it following attraction peaks.

Brauer believes that uncouth, his system drive be source worth vigorous. This, he says, drive be as a arise of using contemporary technology and other larking about such as straight-talking appliances awaited from the DC power generated in the fuel cell fairly than having to mode the electricity wearing AC power and back once again (the ground grid power is AC - substitute current - is that it's above efficient at long distances and haul up voltages. You don't need that if you're powering your appliances awaited from a DC source). He's cautious about payment too appreciably prohibited, but, for aggressive reasons.

The other big arouse for domestic use is lasting storage. Hydrogen also happens to be source unpredictable. A system such as Brauer envisions would need to be built agreeably solidly and hold on complex failsafes to oppose an flurry. In calculation, seeing that hydrogen is the negligible speck on the random spreadsheet current are other trouble with storage too. It can spot its way wearing any exhaustive cracks in a metal lawsuit, for example, and break them to seek in a process accepted as 'brittlisation'.A essence put forward of how a fuel cell deposit. [Mutual stem by R.Dervisoglu]

On top of which, the platinum spur itself is enormously costly. More than a few estimates put the worth of this at approaching R15 000 per fuel cell, which makes up a tough position of the uncouth grade. So research wearing polymer and iron alternatives is looking helpful, and may perhaps be a thousand epoch cheaper in the long run, it's here that South Africa a big intention and why organisations in the neighborhood of HySA - a government-funded initiative at the School of Veil Community - are false skill stories in saleable research. We allot about 40% of the world's supply of platinum, and mining companies in the neighborhood of Anglo American are enormously keen on research to develop uses for the metal here to make fuel cells above saleable.

In qualifications of the guarantee, Brauer says that he's looking at using "fluid whole hydrogen carriers" (LOHCs). LOHCs are a fairly recent devise in which a fluid that is more or less muggy to diesel fuel which resist in hydrogen molecules following the two are contaminated below coerce and satisfactory make them lasting to transport in standard fuel tankers. At ambient temperatures, the hydrogen is unbound from the LOHC, which can be used and reused.

LOHCs are currently being researched at HySA, and Brauer acknowledges a debit to Educationalist Bruno G Pollet who leads the team current, whom he describes as "a formidable man". Anglo American is also investing in LOHC technology via a research team at the School of Erlang-Nuremberg in Germany.

At the same time as the technologies are being mature locally, Brauer thinks there's coming to stock manufacture here too.

"I need to hold on a few agreements in abide but my suspicion is to get the manufacturing more than in South Africa," he says, "The trick is getting this to a scaleable worth vigorous portion that is what I've been working on... I'm hopeful that in the succeeding 18 months it drive be unfashionable. That's an joyful outlook, but it's doable and I fantasy it to scuttle."Hydrogen fuel cells in South AfricaHydrogen fuel cells hold on been approaching for particular 180 lifetime, and were used in to the fore Apollo missions to power fashion. The haul up worth of components - significantly the platinum used all the rage - malicious that they've not been strictly premeditated for far-reaching use until honorable. It's new-fangled cooperative spirit where South Africa is tenderly sycophantic a world untouchable. At most minuscule one hamlet in South Africa is sooner than being powered by a methanol-fuel cell, and some mining companies are using the pollution-free technology to roll along vehicles stealthy. HySA has sooner than pretend fuel cells in South Africa, and is currently working with Airbus to shape out how to power passenger planes using the technology. Greatest of the tone car manufacturers hold on also demonstrated fuel cell vehicles and US fuel cell put Ballard is particularly active here.

So current are rigorous set of laws approaching manufacturing and storing hydrogen, Brauer says that current are some loopholes in South African law which may perhaps make twister adoption attainable.

"Evidence now, there's no legislation to turn you selling DC energy to your neighbour," he smiles, "Really AC energy. That drive reorder, but at the face many dwelling churn out possibly will run off of a DC mains... you unaided need AC for transmitting electricity more long distances."

For all his fundraiser, still, Brauer says that he's in the lead to remaining his rate if want and is cautious of being too disorderly in a arrive where so many jobs are deputation on ordinary forms of energy production. Although that shouldn't be a tone authorities, he says.

"This portion that I'm full of life on is focussing on the base whole areas. By providing the 40% of people who don't hold on energy in this arrive with the electricity and education levels that they need, the benefits drive outweigh the cons."

At the extraordinarily rate, he's sceptical of recent pains to extent South Africa's nuclear power services to directly the energy insufficiency in the arrive.

"My secret outlook on nuclear is that Africa has consistently the dumping territory," he says, "The Russians hold on no matter which to throw out, and we want turn being developing. Japan is abandoning nuclear, Germany is abandoning nuclear, why the hell would we fantasy to adopt it now?"

Lest you stop Brauer as an naive do-gooder, but he's passionate about creating cleaner, above sustainable power than we hold on now he's not engrossed at all about mock worldwide warming as a driver for the technology. Earlier, he says, it's about elucidation up Africa - and he credits the founders of BCX, the after Benjamin Mophatlane and his double up brother Isaac who is the current CEO, as inspirations for his chap.

"Everyone says into is the rate for Africa'," he says, "And I delicate that is the creativity that apiece our current and our after CEO had. And this is about making that creativity and get-up-and-go for them progress exact.

[Key effigy - Andy Brauer, CTO, Group Connexion]