2007 Hydrogen Technology Information Service 

The 2007 Hydrogen Technology Information Service offered by Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) will provide a report describing and evaluating the potential for large-scale production of liquid automotive fuels and blend components (such as dimethyl ether and ethanol) from North American hydrogen-deficient carbon feed stocks during a transition to a future hydrogen fuel economy.

The report will focus on the prospects for such fuels to become available in the United States within the next 20 years. Potential feed stocks consist of coal, heavy fossil hydrocarbons from oil shale and tar sand, and bio-matter (such as plant lignins and cellulosic materials). Fuel production from these feed stocks will require both heat and hydrogen.

The study will focus on nuclear plants that may be deployed in the United States that are capable of providing heat and hydrogen for the fuel production process, such as the High-Temperature Gas Reactor, and the relationship of these nuclear plants to liquid fuel production. Other potential energy and hydrogen sources, such as new-generation coal gasification facilities that might evolve from the FutureGen demonstration plant project, will also be discussed.

2007 HYDROGEN TECHNOLOGY REPORT

The 2007 Hydrogen Technology Information Service will provide subscribers with a comprehensive review of the technologies and infrastructure needed for large-scale production of liquid automotive fuels and blend components from North American hydrogen-deficient carbon feed stocks. Specific topics to be addressed are:

Chemical processes for producing liquid automotive fuels from hydrogen-deficient carbon feed stocks

Resource assessment of hydrogen-deficient carbon feed stocks available in North America

• Coal
• Lignite
• Oil shale
• Tar sand (primarily Canada)
• Recent biomass

Conversion processes

• Heat and hydrogen requirements
• Life-cycle environmental impacts
  • Greenhouse gas emissions
  • Waste products

Infrastructure requirements

• Energy and hydrogen sources
  • Nuclear reactors under development
  • High-temperature solar plants
  • Other sources
• Chemical processing facilities
• Distribution facilities

Automotive end-use requirements

• Fuels compatible with current-generation engines
• Future engine requirements

Government programs

• Programs promoting alternative automotive fuels
• Programs supporting infrastructure development
• Regulatory programs affecting fuel production, distribution and use

The report will be prepared by SwRI subject matter experts based on information available to the public which is not subject to United States import/export restrictions. That information will be supplemented by insights and interpretations provided by the SwRI subject matter experts to provide subscribers with a concise source of information on the potential for alternative liquid automotive fuels to become available in the United States within the next 20 years.

2006 Hydrogen Technology Information Service Report

Subscriptions are still available to receive the 2006 Hydrogen Technology Information Service report, “Prospects for Generation of Hydrogen as an Automotive Fuel Using Nuclear Fission Reactors in the United States.”

For more information on the 2007 Hydrogen Technology Information Service, please visit: www.h2info.swri.org

This flyer was published in November 2007. For more information about the 2007 Hydrogen Technology Information Service, contact Joe B. Redfield, Manager, Phone (210) 522-3729,
Fax (210) 522-5720, Engine, Emissions and Vehicle Research Division, Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510.

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