Why Hydrogen Power | Hydrogen as an Energy Alternative

Hydrogen as an Energy Alternative

A Better Alternative

Oncore Microgrid is delivering hydrogen-powered electric generators to industry because they are a better alternative to fossil fuel systems.

Clean & soot free

Quiet with no mechanical engine

Resilient

Modular & stackable

Self sufficient

The future starts today.

Hydrogen in a Microgrid

Summary

A microgrid is a self-sufficient energy system that serves a discrete local footprint - such as a commercial building or factory. A microgrid may be attached to a centralized utility, but includes its own power generation and energy storage to continue operation should the utility become unavailable. Microgrids offer self-sufficiency, smart energy controls, high resiliency to grid outages, and the ability to reduce or eliminate emissions.

Components

Power Generation: Solar, wind, wave, hydroelectric, or hydrogen fuel cells

Energy Storage: Batteries and hydrogen bottles

Power Consumption: Users that require access to the energy

Microgrid Controller: Orchestrates the uninterrupted flow of power between production, storage, and consumption

Grid-Tied Utility: This is optional, and the microgrid will continue to operate independently when grid power is removed

Role of Hydrogen

Hydrogen’s role in the microgrid is two-fold:

Energy Production: Bottled hydrogen is fed to a fuel cell where it recombines with atmospheric oxygen to make electricity. Clean water is generated in the process.
Energy Storage: Surplus energy can be fed to an electrolyzer that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. A compressor is used to store hydrogen in bottles for later use.

Hydrogen is an exceptional value for long-term energy storage because additional tanks are relatively inexpensive; the same electrolyzer and compressor can be used to fill tanks for 3 days, 7 days, or a month’s worth of backup energy. Hydrogen offers a long-term storage value that batteries alone cannot affordably reach.

Diagram of how a microgrid works on a macro level

Microgrid Solutions

Hydrogen as a Fuel

Hydrogen is an ideal fuel to power industry: it is the most abundant element in the universe, it's naturally occurring, and it can be safely manufactured for use in energy production. Hydrogen is safer than other forms of liquid or gas energy, since it is 14 times lighter than air and escapes vertically at 45 miles per hour to dissipate quickly.

Abundant: a naturally occurring element everywhere on the planet
Available: easily produced anywhere with renewable sources
Green: can be sourced from solar, wind, wave, hydroelectric, and geothermal
Safe: released hydrogen combines with oxygen in the air to make water
Transportable: can be bottled or piped to where it’s needed
Self-Sufficient: skip transportation and produce it on-site
Mass-Storage: indefinite shelf-life for long-term energy storage
Robust: highly reliable systems for production and consumption are dependable
Cost-Effective: well-documented scenarios to produce value across several use cases

Use Cases

Unlike a single-use backup generator, a hydrogen microgrid can return value on a daily basis. Use a microgrid to store power when time-of-day rates are low and then run from that locally stored power when rates are excessive. Excess solar that would otherwise be lost can be bottled as hydrogen to use later or repurposed with hydrogen-fuel vehicles. Meet Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) goals with green hydrogen storage from renewable energy.

Backup Power

Keep the lights on

During instability or blackout, the microgrid will switch to backup power within milliseconds.

Duration of backup power scales affordably with additional tank capacity.

Hydrogen may be replenished via solar power or tanks may be swapped for continuous, uninterrupted operation.

Energy Arbitrage

Store low / use high

Put simply, only buy grid power at the lowest rate, store it as hydrogen, then consume the hydrogen when rates are higher based on time-of-day or peak-shaving.

Oncore software provides automated control to optimize power usage at the lowest total cost.

Solar Production

Bottle the sun

Benefits of net-metering or selling power back to the grid aren't what they used to be.

A hydrogen microgrid can convert unused solar energy into higher-valued hydrogen for later use or sale to third parties.

ESG Goals

Emissions-free power

Water and heat are the only byproducts of a hydrogen fuel cell.

When "green" hydrogen is sourced from renewable production such as solar, wind, geothermal, or hydroelectric - then the entire system is planet-friendly and emissions-free.

Worldwide Financial Support

Major global initiatives for clean hydrogen are underway from the United Nations, European Union, Austria, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and many others. All include recurring themes to invest in technologies that deliver a greater supply of affordable green hydrogen within this decade.

Our nation is vested

The U.S. is vested in a National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, including $8 billion for Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs.

Incentives abound

Significant federal and state tax benefits or rebates are available. Some use cases qualify for 80% or more of cost reimbursement.

Benefits are local

Federal and state support is wonderful, but it's local employees, families, and communities that reap the benefits of clean, quiet, resilient, renewable energy - all delivered from the hydrogen microgrid.

See Financial Incentives

Diverse Applications

Applications for hydrogen power are as diverse as electricity itself. Anywhere electric power is consumed today, fuel cells can produce that power with clean hydrogen and eliminate the unwanted byproducts of legacy fuels. Agribusiness, education, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, state or local governments, federal agencies and the Department of Defense all benefit from hydrogen power. Investments we make in clean hydrogen today will have a high societal ROI across all diverse applications.