Hydrogen Energy Projects

Products and Services

(left-Hydrogen Powered Vehicle at Hydrogen Fueling Station at Xerox, right-Solar Panels generating hydrogen at Xerox)

(left Hamilton Sundstrand's SPE^® Electrolyzer Hydrogen Generators, right PV panels at Xerox)

Outline of Services

Development
and
Deployment

Consulting

Consulting contracting for renewable hydrogen energy technologies involving:, project development and deployment, media, public relations, event planning, fundraising, marketing, and promotions.

Project Deployment

• Project Management, Directing

• Vehicle Conversions and Hydrogen Generation Systems

• Contract Administration and Implementation

• Technical and Labor Supervision

• Site Construction and Installation Supervision

• Regulatory and Permitting Coordination

• Legal Guidance and Representation

• Project Accounting

• Public Education and Media Directing

• Event Planning, Directing, Managing and Coordinating
  

Project Development

• Location Acquisition

• Strategic & Business Alliances

• Team Building and Organization

• Proposal Writing and Editing

• Funding Acquisition

• Contracts Negotiation

• Legal Consulting

• Technical Evaluation

• Regulatory Relations and Management
  

Philosophy

For decades smog has been a growing problem for many parts of the developed world. HyGen Industries philosophy and main goal is the implementation of the hydrogen economy by the beginning of the new millennium. There are two major problems facing the world today; (1), the threat of global warming from the burning of fossil fuels and (2), our dependence on foreign sources for these very same fuels. At the current rate, the world population is projected to grow from the current 6 billion to 14 billion by 2020. This will result in a critical shortage of energy supply, and will exacerbate our dependence on countries who have fossil fuel reserves, not to mention the increase in pollution, especially as the third world catches up with the rest of the world. The health costs due to air pollution in Southern California alone is estimated to be approximately $12-14 billion annually. 60% of the air pollution is from transportation, the other 40% is from stationary sources, of which nearly 1/2 is energy related. The solution - Hydrogen! Renewable hydrogen is the ultimate fuel. It is clean from cradle to grave. Our goal is to spearhead the economical production of renewable hydrogen fuel and establish its infrastructure in California and beyond.

Hydrogen Economy
Development & Deployment Plan
For Products and Services

Both the state and federal governments have mandated new higher standards for vehicle emissions, demanding that some percentage of the automobiles being produced after certain dates must be Zero Emission or Equivalent Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV/EZEV). The strongest of these mandates requires that 10% of all new vehicles sold in California must achieve these standards by 2010. This means that when 50,000 state government fleet vehicles are replaced, they must be replaced by electric, hydrogen, etc., as well as 150 thousand new vehicles sold annually in California. The Federal mandates require that by 2003, 75% of all state and federal government fleets are converted to alternative fuels, 90% of fuel providers and 40% of private fleets (70% by 2006). This mandate creates and defines the primary HyGen Industries "market niche."

HyGen Industries has already started this by developing the Clean Air Now Solar Hydrogen Vehicle Project at Xerox in El Segundo (L.A.) California. We are also moving forward to install fueling stations for the expansion and deployment of fully operational hydrogen vehicle fleets, and solar hydrogen generating facilities to make your community totally self sufficient for fleet transportation and energy needs.

Having started this process moving, we are putting in motion the likely next steps.

1) Letters of Intent/Commitment:

Herein you will find a price list for hydrogen vehicle conversions, as well as cost estimates for fueling stations and generation systems. After a technical analysis, you, your company and/or organization, or likely prospects, commit to converting their fleet to fuel with hydrogen and install a fueling station/generator. No up front money will be required at this time for systems, just for the analysis. All that will be needed is to provide a letter of commitment to do so. Providing the fuel will be easy as most areas have bulk hydrogen producers that can deliver, except in remote areas (check with us before deciding on delivery rather than on-site generation). We will provide you with a hydrogen supplier in your area.

2) Hydrogen/Hythane Fueling Station Cost:

The cost of a hydrogen fueling station will be contingent upon the size of the fleet to be converted and the duty cycle of that fleet. The station will be self generating with a high efficiency Hamilton Sundstrand SPE^Ò Electrolyzer, and power from the grid provided by  renewable generating facilities in remote areas nearby, or from on-site renewable systems if the space is available and the location viable. The cost is as follows:

• Fueling station facility (w/o the electrolyzer) approximately $150,000.00, approx. $2, 300.00/month, lease/option to buy after 5 yrs. for one dollar.)   fuel storage capacity aprox. 40-50,000 scf. (standard cubic feet) and will fill 2-3 vehicles/day with out re-generation, but daily deliveries will be necessary. With electrolyzer included-2-3X additional fueling capacity can be expected depending on the electrolyzer capacity, the result is that no deliveries will be needed.

• Fueling station with electrolyzer/on-site generator is an additional $0.62/watt - $7.00/watt depending on system size and type of technology deployed.

• For home systems, we plan to develop a less expensive small home generator package that will fuel-up one vehicle per 8 hours by slow fill. This will likely take place upon full commercialization and economies of scale can make one economically feasible.  A fast fill will cost more for the high pressure compressor.

The range of the vehicles is approx. 150 miles and can operate on pure natural gas as well. At 5,000 psi, the range extends to 250 miles.  So if you do not have an on-site generator and need to have hydrogen delivered, and/or fuel more than 2-3 vehicles/wk., or the 2-3 vehicles consume more than one fill-up/wk., you will need more storage in order to avoid daily deliveries, which can be provided for an additional $1.25/scf. The fueling station includes a fuel mixer to mix natural gas with hydrogen (hythane) to make the fuel last longer and can be hooked up to your current gas line.  Each vehicle holds approx. 3300 scf for a four cylinder 2.9 liter engine (Ford Ranger Pick-Up Truck). On-Board storage will vary depending on the size of the vehicle and the number of storage tanks installed. Vehicle specifications and conversion prices are provided in the next section.

3) Hydrogen Vehicle Conversion:
Volume Production Cost Estimates

Current costs for production of converted 4 cylinder pickup trucks on a 1 to 10 unit basis is in the $50,000 range. This is due to the number of custom made components required and the limited volume of commercial components to be purchased. As the number of vehicles per order is increased, costs can be decreased due to wholesale purchasing of materials and components. Production jigging and fixturing for what are now hand made components will also reduce costs drastically. Labor costs can be reduced as well, since highly skilled fabricators can be largely replaced by specialized operators.

The size of such cost reductions are dependent on the actual numbers of vehicles of a given type produced in a given period of time. Each new type of vehicle will require a period of development, with attendant higher costs, before low cost production is achieved. It should be noted that, at best, converted vehicles will always have a net cost higher than vehicles originally produced for hydrogen fuel. However, conversions are the most economical way to develop the market and the infrastructure for hydrogen fueled vehicles.

Based on the best current experience, the following table shows the cost per unit as production numbers of hydrogen fueled vehicles increase. Predictions become less and less precise as the production numbers increase; however, the data is based on historically typical trends. Hythane vehicle conversions (hydrogen & natural gas mixtures) are approximately 40-50% less at the lower volume production levels. At the higher volume production levels, the cost is very close to that of natural gas vehicles.

NUMBER OF VEHICLES	UNIT COST (DOLLARS)*
1 to 25	$35,000 TO $50,000
25 TO 100	$27,000 TO $35,000
LESS THAN 1000	$16,000 TO $27,000
LESS THAN 10,000	$ 9,000 TO $16,000
MORE THAN 10,000	$ 4,000
*Does not include cost of vehicle

.
A reasonable estimate of production costs indicate that hydrogen fueled vehicles could be produced at least as cheaply as gasoline fueled vehicles in similar quantities. Savings in emission control systems should completely offset the higher cost of fuel storage equipment, and basic engine costs should be the same

(Clean Air Now Solar Hydrogen Generating Facility at Xerox in El Segundo, Ca., Photovoltaics & Electrolyzer)

4) On-Site Generation:

Solar and wind are likely renewable source choices for dependable energy continuity of your energy mix depending on your geographical location, although wind is cheaper.

• Solar is from $2.00/watt for 20 megawatt systems - $6.00/watt for small kilowatt systems.

• Wind is $1.00/watt for multi-megawatt systems - $3.00/watt for smaller kilowatt systems.

In Southern California we do have good sources of both depending on the location, however solar is generally more dependable. In the Pacific Northwest, wind would generally be better, especially along the coast. We can provide fully integrated packages designed for your needs. Hydroelectric and geothermal are generally for larger central generating facilities. We are not aware of any smaller systems on the market, although if you are interested in such, we would be willing to research it for you. Besides, hydroelectric has too many environmental impacts on streams and natural habitat and generally raises concerns within the community, even for a small system.

Ocean wave generation systems will be the next step to the full implementation of the hydrogen economy because it is a dependable 24 hrs. a day, 365 days/yr. generation and we are working with a systems developer to provide wave generators for commercial and small scale generation as well, although it is still a couple of years away from being available on the market. We at HyGen can provide you with economically feasible hydrogen generation facility packages, ready to go on-line to supply you or your customers with on-site fuel generation. If from the beginning you find that you or your prospects are interested in a closed-loop off the grid systems, HyGen will be glad to put together a package price for you. Feel free to call us for an estimate.

Hydrogen Powered Modified

1993 &94 Ford Ranger Vehicle Specifications

A portion of the HyGen Team (From left to right) Roger Ravelo [City of West Hollywood], Tony Rossi, Paul Staples (Chairman, HyGen), James Provenzano (Executive Vice President, HyGen), James Heffel (Project & Systems Engineering, Vehicle Conversion R&D Consultant, HyGen), Bill Kaiser (Vehicle and Vessel Engineering Director, HyGen), Junior Castillo, and Mac McClanahan.

The Prices quoted within this web site are ballpark estimates and are to be used only as a gauge of expected costs, not as a commitment of price on our behalf. For a bonafide price quote we will need to do an analysis of your situation and, in most cases, a site visit.

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