ARPA-E awards $35M to 16 REFUEL projects for energy-dense carbon-neutral liquid fuels; leveraging ammonia

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GRA

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Via GCC: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/12/20161217-refuel.html

The Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) has selected 16 projects for a combined $35 million in funding under the new program “Renewable Energy to Fuels Through Utilization of Energy-Dense Liquids (REFUEL)”. (Earlier post.) The 16 REFUEL projects seek to develop scalable technologies for converting water and molecules from the air into energy-dense, carbon-neutral liquid fuels (CNLFs) using electrical energy from renewable sources. REFUEL projects will convert low-cost renewable energy into a transportable chemical fuel and use these fuels for transportation applications, while reducing production costs and environmental impact. . . .

The program is focused in two areas: (1) the synthesis of CNLFs using intermittent renewable energy sources and water and air (N2 and CO2) as the only chemical input streams; and (2) the conversion of CNLFs delivered to the end point to another form of energy (e.g. hydrogen or electricity). . . .
 
As renewable fuel for heavy fleet use use, ammonia fuel is an easier way to transport hydrogen and makes more sense than liquid hydrogen.
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https://nh3fuelassociation.org/introduction/
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sendler2112 said:
As renewable fuel for heavy fleet use use, ammonia fuel is an easier way to transport hydrogen and makes more sense than liquid hydrogen.
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https://nh3fuelassociation.org/introduction/
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OTOH, I'd be far more worried about an ammonia leak in an enclosed space like a parking garage or tunnel than an H2 leak, but if we can make sustainable liquid drop-in biofuels commercially viable, that would obviously be the easiest option for fossil-fuel free transportation. However, even using algal biofuels grown in the ocean, it doesn't appear that we have anywhere near enough to meet our transportation needs; 10% is a current estimate for the U.S. in our waters.
 
sendler2112 said:
The concept is to find a way to harvest excess electrical output from whatever source is available and convert it to liquid fuel for transportation..
Yeah, I know, but the question (as always) is whether we've got the excess energy for the conversion process. I look forward to seeing how this goes, along with the other options.
 
We must use our current energy wealth and focus our efforts on all energy production fronts to eventually replace fossil fuel consumption for various reasons. Fossil fuels will be barely a blip on the timeline of human existence
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