VZCZCXRO8760
PP RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHLZ
DE RUEHRL #1241/01 2531610
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091610Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2127
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 001241 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR OES FENDLEY 
STATE FOR CE 
STATE FOR COMMERCE 
WHITE HOUSE FOR CEQ, NSC 
ENERGY FOR EERE PLEASE PASS TO NSP JENNIFER PEARL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG TRGY TSPL TNGD SENV GM
SUBJECT: HYDROSOL: AN OPPORTUNITY TO COLLABORATE WITH 
GERMANY ON HYDROGEN 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary and Comment: The German Space Agency (DLR) 
has, in conjunction with the International Energy Agency's 
solar-thermal energy cooperative "SolarPACES", developed an 
efficient carbon dioxide (CO2)-free method of harvesting 
hydrogen from water.  Named "HYDROSOL", this is an 
interesting innovation that could bridge key challenges in 
support of USG efforts to develop a hydrogen economy. 
Although the HYDROSOL project is only one of many worldwide 
efforts (including at Sandia National Laboratories) to 
harvest hydrogen, it appears to stand apart from the rest 
with its impressive demonstrated efficiency and absence of 
CO2 emissions or harsh chemical byproducts.  The HYDROSOL 
concept has since evolved into the HYDROSOL-2 project and 
recent agreements have opened the door for U.S. companies to 
collaborate.  This award-winning technology was recognized by 
the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy 
(IPHE--of which the U.S. is a partner) in 2006 for its 
significant potential for large-scale, sustainable, emissions 
free hydrogen production.  If the relevant US-EU intellectual 
property concerns can be resolved, HYDROSOL-2 may offer US 
researchers working on hydrogen an opportunity to collaborate 
with Germany on a promising new technology. End Summary and 
Comment. 
 
HOW IT WORKS: SEPARATING WATER WITH SUNLIGHT 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) HYDROSOL uses a two-stage thermochemical process that 
first releases hydrogen from water by adsorbing the oxygen 
into an oxygen-deficient ferrite structure (the reactor core) 
at superheated temperatures.  When the reactor core is 
saturated with oxygen, additional energy is provided and the 
oxygen is re-released.  The catalytic energy for these two 
reactions is derived entirely from concentrated solar 
radiation.  Using two identical reactor cores housed in 
separate chambers of a solar concentrator, the two stages are 
operated simultaneously (i.e. while one reactor core is 
adsorbing oxygen from water, the other is depleting its 
oxygen).  The functions of the two reactor cores are 
continuously swapped, ensuring that hydrogen is produced 
continuously and not in batches.  According to project 
coordinator Athanasios Konstandopoulos, Director of the 
Chemical Processes Engineering Research Institute/CERTH based 
in Thessaloniki, Greece, each HYDROSOL-2 reactor will produce 
around three kilograms of hydrogen per hour; at hydrogen's 
energy density, this is theoretically equivalent to a power 
output of 119 kilowatt-hours. 
 
HYDROSOL BACKGROUND: AWARDS, BUT IPR CONCERNS WITH U.S. 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) By April 2008, the entire HYDROSOL project had 
spent seven million euros, half of which came from the 
European Union's 5th and 6th European Research Framework 
Programs.  According to Christian Sattler, DLR Research Area 
Manager for Solar Materials Conversion, the USG was not 
invited as a project partner due to concerns about 
intellectual property (IP) rights between the E.U. and U.S. 
The HYDROSOL consortium currently includes research teams 
from Germany, Spain, and Greece, as well as industrial 
partners Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells (UK) and Stobbe Tech 
Ceramics (Denmark).  The project won the European 
Commission's 2006 Descartes Prize for scientific research, 
the 2005 International Global 100 Ecotech Award at the EXPO 
in Japan, and the IPHE Technical Achievement Award in 2006. 
 
COST ANALYSIS: PRICE COMPETITIVE WITH OIL? 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU) According to Sattler, a DLR model (reportedly 
validated by the US Department of Energy--DOE) predicts that 
it will cost between two and five dollars to produce one kg 
of hydrogen (using scaled HYDROSOL technology), correlating 
with an equivalent energy value of $40 to $100 per barrel of 
oil.  (Comment: These calculations do not include costs 
associated with the transportation or storage of hydrogen, 
which could be enormous. End Comment) Sattler noted that the 
dominant cost for the HYDROSOL project is the establishment 
of the infrastructure for a large scale operation.  He added 
that once the infrastructure investment is made, the longer 
the reactor runs and the more economically viable it becomes. 
 
SIMILAR RESEARCH IN THE U.S. 
---------------------------- 
 
BERLIN 00001241  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The U.S. has also conducted a substantial amount of 
research in the area of thermochemical production of hydrogen 
from water with a variety of catalytic processes.  Similar in 
concept to the HYDROSOL reactor, researchers at Sandia 
National Laboratories in New Mexico designed a reactor that 
uses cobalt ferrite rings as the catalyst.  Presently, Sandia 
researchers have embarked on a project called "Sunshine to 
Petrol", which utilizes the aforementioned reactor design to 
synthetically produce methanol (a hydrocarbon used for 
transportation fuel).  Like HYDROSOL, this reactor design is 
used to harvest hydrogen.  However, in a parallel process it 
also removes oxygen from carbon dioxide to collect carbon 
monoxide.  The harvested carbon monoxide and hydrogen are 
then synthesized together using industrial processes to 
create methanol.  The aim of this project is to produce 
methanol as a fuel in a nearly carbon neutral fashion. 
 
THE ROAD FORWARD 
---------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Given the parallel advances in CO2-free hydrogen 
harvesting techniques demonstrated by Sandia National 
Laboratories and the HYDROSOL project, it appears as though 
there may be room for future technical exchange or 
cooperation.  Sattler said improvements in scientific 
research exchanges between the U.S. and E.U. have opened the 
door for HYDROSOL cooperation with many U.S. companies. 
According to Sattler, a big reason for this is the IPHE, 
coordinated by Professor Al Weimer of the University of 
Colorado (Boulder), which DLR joined in 2005.  Sattler said 
DLR continues to investigate ways to foster collaboration 
with the U.S. DOE and specifically mentioned the SolarPACES 
group as an excellent avenue for future collaboration. 
TIMKEN JR