HYDROGEN FROM COAL - A DOE PERSPECTIVE

The United States Department of Energy's Hydrogen from Coal Program is a multi-year research and development program designed to achieve the President's 2003 vision for progress to a national hydrogen economy. The program works in conjunction with the private sector and the U.S. national laboratories to develop cost-effective technologies to convert coal into hydrogen. Major goals of the program are (i) demonstrate by 2015, a 60 percent efficient central station to produce hydrogen and power from coal at a cost that is 25 percent lower than current coal based technology, (ii) optimize production pathways to produce hydrogen in decentralized locations. The first approach utilizes advances in water gas shift reaction technologies and separation membranes to obtain pure hydrogen that can be used in power generation and transportation applications. The second seeks to produce hydrogen rich liquids fuels and synthetic natural gas from the products of coal gasification by 2012 at a delivered cost less than $3.00/kg of hydrogen. This presentation provides an overview of DOE hydrogen research program and its major accomplishments.