[CCoE Notice] * Seminar * CBB, 106 * 12:30 pm, Tuesday, May 23, 2017 * Bryan Pivovar * Fuel Cell Group Manager in the NREL in Golden *

[Grayson, Audrey A]

***** Seminar *****
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Center for Integrated Bio and Nano Systems
     Tuesday, May 23, 2017
12:30 p.m. (Refreshments and pizza served at 12:00 pm)
Room: 106 CCB
H2 at Scale: Saving the Planet for Future Generations
Bryan Pivovar, Fuel Cell Group Manager
Chemistry and Nanosciences Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO
Abstract: Supplying all of society’s growing energy demands is hard and has been limited to date to the fossil fuel based energy system in place since the start of the industrial age.  Hydrogen, as a flexible, clean energy carrying intermediate, has the potential to be a centerpiece of a future energy system where aggressive market penetration of renewables (wind and solar) are coupled with renewable hydrogen production to meet society’s energy demands using clean, renewable resources and processes.

A number of key recent changes are bringing hydrogen back into the spotlight: 1) Renewable energy is getting cheaper, and penetration levels are increasing at an exponential pace; 2) the costs of GHG emissions (climate change) and criteria pollutants (health concerns) are being acknowledged and are reaching a point where society is demanding change (renewable portfolio and zero emission vehicle standards); and 3) commercial viability of fuel cell vehicle technology has been demonstrated (commercial vehicles being sold).  Hydrogen, as an area of R&D interest (from either the federal or private sectors) has had its ups and downs over the past few decades.  Hydrogen has suffered at times from being over-hyped or misunderstood.  Claims of fuel cell commercialization, in particular, were in the past (early 2000’s) overly optimistic to be polite.  The safety concerns of hydrogen have also often been poorly understood or overblown.  These situations have arisen, in part, due to a lack of appreciation for the science and data of hydrogen and hydrogen systems.

This presentation will focus on the role of hydrogen at (grid-)scale and the efforts of a large, national lab team assembled to evaluate the potential of hydrogen to play a critical role in our energy future.  Facts about hydrogen will be shared, as will the vision of how it will fit into our future energy system.

Bio: Bryan Pivovar is Fuel Cell Group Manager in the Chemistry and Nanosciences Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, CO where he oversees NREL’s electrolysis and fuel cell R&D.  He has been a pioneer in several areas of fuel cell development for vehicle applications, taking on leadership roles and organizing workshops for the Department of Energy in the areas of sub-freezing effects, alkaline membranes, and extended surface electrocatalysis.  Since June of 2015, he has been leading a multi-National Laboratory team pursuing ‘Hydrogen at Scale’ as a pathway for deeply decarbonizing our energy system that explores the importance of Hydrogen in transportation and the other energy sectors.  He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and led fuel cell R&D at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) prior to joining NREL. He received the 2012 Tobias Young Investigator Award from the Electrochemical Society and has co-authored over 100 papers in the general area of fuel cells and electrolysis.

Contact Prof. Stanko Brankovic (srbranko at Central.UH.EDU<mailto:srbranko at Central.UH.EDU>) if you would like to arrange for a time to meet with Dr. Pivovar.

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