The Hawai‘i Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) is actively involved with several issues of energy storage. One important aspect relates to the increased utilization of renewable resources by electric utilities in the State of Hawai‘i. Some of these resources (such as solar and wind energy) are intermittent and this can present the problem of storing the energy generated when it is not needed, so that it can subsequently be used when it is needed. Among the possible options for storing such energy, HNEI is working with the use of: 1) batteries for energy storage; and 2) electrolyzers operating on solar and wind energy for generating hydrogen, which can be stored and then used to drive fuel cells for generating energy in HNEI’s Hawai‘i Hydrogen Power Park.
Facilities and Labs
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Biomass and Fuels Processing Lab Engaged in biomass resource assessments, the thermochemical conversion of biomass, evaluation of energy conversion and utilization processes, and reforming transition... -
Electrochemical Power Systems Lab Testing and evaluating rechargeable lithium batteries, as well as collecting and analyzing data for various ground vehicle demonstrations.
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Hawai‘i Natural Energy Institute (HNEI) Conducting research, testing and evaluation, and the facilitation of public-private partnerships across a broad range of renewable and enabling technologies.
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Hawai‘i Sustainable Energy Research Facility (HiSERF) Working to accelerate the development of fuel cells for commercial and military operations and evaluating the performance and durability of energy storage...
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Renewable Resources Research Lab Focused on the development of new and innovative uses that convert abundant agricultural crops and by-products into fuels, high-value chemicals,...
