BIO

Sara Casimiro is a second-year student originally from Daytona Beach. She enjoys developing her analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills through her research project. Outside of academics, Sara enjoys spending time at the beach, reading, and watching comedy. She looks forward to using the skills gained from the program to succeed in her future endeavors.

Hydrogen Energy: Production of Electricity using Fuel Cells and Hydrogen-burning Generators

Abstract

This project is an exploratory study of the use of hydrogen for sustainable energy systems. The use of hydrogen as a green and sustainable fuel produced from renewable energy sources is one of the solutions being developed for addressing the global warming challenge and moving our energy systems to sustainable platforms without losing the modern comforts of life. While hydrogen has a lower volumetric energy density (kJ/L) than fossil fuels such as coal, diesel, and jet fuel (kerosine), its gravimetric energy density (MJ/kg) is greater. Hydrogen produces electricity in two ways: fuel cells and hydrogen-burning generators.
The primary benefit of hydrogen is that it is generated from water by electrolysis using electricity, and when it is used to generate electricity, water is the only product released. Hydrogen is attractive because it can serve as a mass energy storage medium to bridge the gap between the production and demand of electricity when we depend on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy, which are intermittent. Fuel cells and hydrogen-burning generators generate electricity. Fuel cells use hydrogen to be the source of electricity for 1 MW-level loads and to produce electricity in hydrogen-fueled electric cars, delivery vans and semi-trucks.
The project explored hydrogen as a green energy carrier and a large-scale energy storage medium to enable the rapid integration of renewable energy sources into the electric grid. The goal of this project is to explore, learn, and share the knowledge of the potential of hydrogen as a sustainable green fuel.

Keywords: Green Energy, Hydrogen, Net Zero