Sponsors and students develop clean hydrogen power system

First-time Interdisciplinary Capstone sponsors Arzon Solar and SEC Energy are moving toward a breakthrough in making hydrogen a renewable, safe and portable energy source. And Team 25020 is contributing to their progress.

“We’re creating a more sustainable future for hydrogen as an energy source,” said student project leader Utah Bryant, an engineering management major.

Since a hydrogen-fueled engine was invented nearly 200 years ago, engineers and scientists have worked to make hydrogen a mainstream fuel source. Expense and the use of fossil fuels for production hindered its progress until the advances of the past 25 years or so. 

The team is designing and building a small prototype of a system that will use solar power to generate and store hydrogen, then convert it into electricity – aiming to produce a daily total around 7% of what the average Tucson customer uses. Students will also create a detailed plan that would scale the project to generate up to 80 times the energy output.

Arzon Solar gave the team access to its solar generation equipment at the Solar Zone at UA Tech Park to create and test its system. The students are using solar panels to generate energy that powers an electrolyzer. This machine produces hydrogen and oxygen by combining purified water with electrolytes. The hydrogen goes into a storage vessel to be converted into electricity by a fuel cell, and the oxygen is vented.

The sponsors envision clean hydrogen as a complementary source to solar, which generates electricity only during daylight. Eventually, houses and businesses with solar power may have accompanying hydrogen generation systems that boost overall efficiency. 

“Through this system, we will be able to make clean energy at night. The applications can be tremendous,” said Jay Tourgoutian, principal project manager for SEC Energy, a company providing construction management services and solar development expertise.

Despite the roadblocks to hydrogen fuel adoption, the gas offers major advantages. Hydrogen can be stored indefinitely in tanks with minimal evaporation loss, making it ideal for seasonal storage or backup power for extended periods, said Bryant. It can also be transported by trucks, so producers could generate hydrogen using solar power and then move the fuel where needed, such as to fueling stations or remote places reliant on power generators.

A Wildcat venture

Arzon Solar is a concentrated solar photovoltaic technology company. When its founder and chief technology officer, Vahan Garboushian, was a University of Arizona engineering student, he knew his involvement wouldn’t end with graduation.

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“I always thought, ‘I will be back to start a business or somehow contribute to the university,’” he said.

Garboushian previously founded a company called Amonix Inc., which partnered with the university to develop the Solar Zone in 2011. At the 223-acre research park, Tucson Electric Power and companies – now including Arzon Solar – produce power as well as test, evaluate and demonstrate solar technologies.

Garboushian stays in touch with college contacts. When he heard about the Interdisciplinary Capstone program, he was interested because of the benefits for both sponsors and students, he said. 

This capstone project is an early step for Arzon Solar and SEC to explore the commercial possibilities for clean hydrogen. The companies will likely continue working with the university, said Tourgoutian, whether through a subsequent student project or another type of partnership.

“I expect the students will do an outstanding job. From there, we need more testing, research and development to do this at scale,” he said. “We’re optimistic. These are exciting times.”