HYDROGEN FUELED BOILERS-will they be the boiler of the future.

Hydrogen Boilers -Although this technology might appear to be new, it has been for a while. Hydrogen boilers were set for a rollout thirty years ago. What froze the programs was the decrease in other energy sources.

In 2023 The issue is no longer just the cost of the fuel, but the reduction of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This is evident due to a lack of a flue.

There are companies who have products in testing phases. These include:

·??????? Bosch???????????????????????????????????????????????? Designed for domestic use.

·??????? BDR-Therma???????????????????????????????????? Designed for domestic use.

·??????? Hydrogen Technologies -Superior boiler?? Designed for the commercial industrial marketplace.

We are familiar with natural gas, oil, and propane boilers. How is a hydrogen boiler different. Although Currently Bosch and BDR produce hybrid systems. A hybrid system is a natural gas boiler with the ability to burn hydrogen. Will this reduce co2 emissions yes, will the systems be efficient-to a point. These two are the first products currently being evaluated, however there has been no word from either one if they plan to expand the capacity and btus to reach the commercial-industrial market.

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Hydrogen Technologies-A us based manufacturer system started with a clean sheet design. By using a clean sheet, they were able to create a system that is almost 100% efficient, using few moving parts. The system is a water tube boiler, using heated water surrounding the tubes where they are a heat exchanger. The system does not require a large burner but a simple ignitor. There are no motors and blowers. An exothermic reaction creates the catalyst to heat the water.

An exothermic reaction is a reaction in which energy is released in the form of light or heat. Thus in an exothermic reaction, energy is transferred into the surroundings rather than taking energy from the surroundings as in an?endothermic reaction. In an exothermic reaction, the change in enthalpy?????????? ??( ΔH) will be negative.? Link to the scientific paper-https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/exothermic-reaction

This in turn heats the water surrounding the tubes. The water for the boiler loop and the water used for heating the tubes are separate.

The boiler has what the company calls a reaction box-which is like a flame box. This process does not produce carbon or any emission-there is a lack of a flue stack. Outside vendors performed combustion tests to ensure the efficiency. The result is 100% of the fuel usage.

The only limitation of the boilers is that the diameter of the tubes can be no larger than 10ft around.

There are similarities with conventional boilers-a fuel train are required, as well as an exterior pump to send the water or steam through the loop.

I would recommend that if you are installing a hydrogen boiler-you should inspect the piping to ensure that there is proper insulation, steam traps work, and radiators are clean and function. There is no use in having a super-efficient boiler if you incur heat loss in the distribution.

Currently the company is updating the operational software using OPto22 and the company writes its own software. There are plans to make the software compatible with Bacnet-however there is no definite date available.

According to the manufacturer the first boiler to be introduced can produce 1 megawatt of power or 3,412,000 btus.

Current availability

Bosch & BDR are only available as of now in Europe.

Hydrogen Technologies is going through testing and then purchased directly from the company.

I strongly believe that in time you will see more Hydrogen based boilers in the US. Especially as the cost of electricity and natural gas goes up, onsite production of hydrogen combined with a hydrogen boiler will have a great Roi. There are also laws passed around the country that block the new installation of natural gas to new construction. Another factor is that for companies forced by the investors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

I would like to thank Hydrogen Technologies and credit Bosch and BDR products and the theories behind the use of hydrogen for a boiler. If you have any questions, or disagree with anything I wrote please e-mail me at [email protected]

Written By: Ross Goldstein, MBA, CEM, ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?? Business Coach Consultant for commercial industrial HVAC contractors Sustainable HVAC/ESG/CEM consultant.