Project thumbnail image
College of Engineering Unit: 
Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering
Project Team Member(s): 
Ashley Kunihiro, Mckinzee Mode and Madisyn Thorne
Project ID: 
CHE-16
Project Description: 

The team was tasked with designing an alkaline electrolysis system utilized for the research and development of hydrogen power for the Hydrogen Power, Production, and Storage (HyPPS) group at NREL. The electrolysis system must fit within the 330’ x 190’ dimensions of the facility footprint and the 12 million USD capital expenditure budget. The average life expectancy of an alkaline stack electrolyzer ranges between 7-10 years. The cost of electricity in the state of Colorado averages 0.109 USD/kWh. The system being designed is expected to withstand 10 MW of energy, estimating the cost of electricity to be 1090 USD/hr and 9.55 million USD/year. The retail cost of hydrogen in the year 2021 was between 8.50 USD/kg and 10.80 USD/kg. The team’s projected hydrogen production for this system is calculated to be 300.03 kg/hr, allowing the annual revenue projection to be an estimated 25.3 million USD. The breakeven cost of the facility is predicted to be 4.28 USD/kg for the 7-year life expectancy of the electrolyzer stack. The team is working on ensuring modularity when developing the electrolyzer so that it can be easily replaced and allow an effective system for over 20 years.


Industry Sponsor(s): 
  • NREL

    • Project Communication Piece(s): 
    AttachmentSize
    PDF icon 2023.expoposter.che_.16.pdf374.75 KB
    Opportunities: 
    This team is open to networking
    This team is open to collaboration opportunities
    This team is open to employment offers

    This team accepts email messages from attendees: 
    kunihira@oregonstate.edu