Program Summary by Joe Diehl.
Jake Leachman made a presentation on the use of hydrogen in Washington State as an environmentally friendly approach to reducing carbon emissions. Refer to Jake’s PowerPoint slides for more detailed information. Jake noted, this talk is presented on a very high-level basis. There is a lot happening in the news on clean energy. Jake’s presentation covered where we were; where we are today; and where we are going in the future. There is no doubt climate change is a reality!
Currently a major challenge is in the supply change: most hydrogen is delivered in liquid form in a huge tanker truck. In the big picture, 74% of all of the mass in the universe is hydrogen – and 75% of the sun’s mass is hydrogen. Thirteen percent of all atoms on the earth are hydrogen atoms. Jake covered several different types of hydrogen (grey, blue, green, etc.). Washington is building one of the largest plants for green hydrogen production. By the way, nuclear power produces a byproduct known as pink hydrogen.
Jake spoke about combining wind power using hydrogen to produce electrolyte water. A good characteristic of hydrogen, is that it can be compressed. The use of hydrogen is growing as quickly as the historic growth of solar and wind power. Jake noted that Federal funding for the development of hydrogen energy is sorely lacking.
Worldwide, hydrogen energy development has now been embraced by the world. During the pandemic, carbon emissions were reduced; but now they exceed pre-pandemic levels – thus elevating the importance of developing alternative energy sources. Hydrogen can be delivered forty times fast than other energy fuel.
Jake answered questions and answers from Rotary Club members in the remaining time.
Jacob “Jake” Leachman is an Associate Professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Washington State University (WSU). He initiated the Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research (HYPER) laboratory at WSU in 2010 with the intent to advance the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of cryogenic hydrogen systems. He earned a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2005 and a M.S. degree in 2007 from the University of Idaho. His master’s thesis has been adopted as the foundation for hydrogen fueling standards and custody exchange, in addition to winning the Western Association of Graduate Schools Distinguished Thesis Award for 2008. He completed his Ph.D. in the Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010 under the advice of John Pfotenhauer and Greg Nellis. He is the lead author of the reference text “Thermodynamic Properties of Cryogenic Fluids: 2nd Edition”. In 2018, he received the Roger W. Boom Award from the Cryogenics Society of America and is a Senior Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.