Course detail

Vodíkové hospodářství

FEKT-BPC-H2HAcad. year: 2025/2026

The course covers selected chapters of the closed cycle of energy production/storage/consumption from the perspective of sustainable energy. Students will be introduced to the most progressive ways of converting electricity into chemical bonds of hydrogen molecules - short and long-term hydrogen energy storage with the subsequent possibility of using hydrogen either by reverse conversion to electricity in a fuel cell or by subsequent methanation with the possibility of use in a European-wide natural gas grid. The course is designed from the perspective of continuously building green skills and knowledge in the student and educating him/her to take a responsible global stance in the field of sustainability, climate change, environmental protection and biodiversity with due consideration of environmental, social and economic aspects.  

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

5

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Entry knowledge

The course is designed as an introduction to energy management and therefore requires no prerequisites other than information from the secondary school curriculum.

Knowledge of the basic principles of how to behave and work in the laboratory and in laboratory exercises.

Work in the laboratory is subject to a valid certification as a "person competent to work independently", which students must obtain before starting the course. Information on this certification is provided in the Dean's Directive "Student Familiarization with Safety Regulations."  


Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

Mid-term test: maximum 10 points.

Laboratory assignments: maximum 30 points. 

The minimum number of laboratory assignments and other requirements for successful completion of the course are specified annually in the course instructor's syllabus prior to the start of the course.

Final written examination: maximum 60 points.

The conditions for successful completion of the course are laid down in the annually updated syllabus of the course supervisor. Participation in laboratories and recitations and submission of laboratory reports is mandatory. 

Aims

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the economic and social necessity of replacing fossil fuels with renewable resources. Against this backdrop, the use of hydrogen gas as a possible platform to achieve the goal of decarbonising the fuel cycle will be presented. During the course, the student will be introduced to both the social and economic aspects, as well as the technical details of hydrogen use. Here the students will learn about methods of hydrogen production, storage and transport. The use of hydrogen will be introduced as a conventional fuel, but also in particular as a source of energy in fuel cells. The necessary safety aspects and new infrastructure requirements will also be highlighted. 

The course will provide the students with the necessary basic understanding of the hydrogen economy and its value chain. At the conclusion of the course they will understand the concept of the hydrogen economy as a possible cornerstone for decarbonizing industrial and community activities.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Bahman Zohuri, Hydrogen Energy: Challenges and Solutions for a Cleaner Future, Springer (2028) pp. 283 ISBN 9783319934617 (EN)
Pavel Augusta, Velká kniha o energii, L.A. Consulting Agency, 2001, ISBN 9788023865783, pp. 383. (CS)
Ram B. Gupta, Hydrogen Fuel: Production, Transport, and Storage, (2008) Taylor and Francis, ISBN 978-1-4200-4575-8 , pp. 611. (EN)

Recommended reading

Not applicable.

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme BPC-EMU Bachelor's 3 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

26 hod., optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

Syllabus

1. Introduction to the hydrogen economy. Hydrogen gas production, storage, transport and end use. Environmental impact.

2. Methods of hydrogen production - from fossil sources, electrolysis of water, thermal chemical cycle.

3. Methods of hydrogen storage. Possible methods of transporting hydrogen.

4. Fuel cells. Stoichiometry, fuel and oxygen efficiency, types of fuel cells.

5. Fuel cells and the green economy - use of fuel cells for domestic use, electricity generation in power stations, cars, aircraft, railways.

6. Analysis of economic use and environmental impact, legislation and future trends.

7. Hydrogen safety, detection, measures against fire or explosion.

8. Hydrogen derivatives - ammonia as a carrier of hydrogen bonds.

9. Life cycle analysis of hydrogen use as an energy source and storage solution.

10. Energy markets and global energy resources

11. Energy policy, green transformation and geopolitics

12. Hydrogen economics and its value chain, which is one of the cornerstones of decarbonizing industrial and community activities.

Laboratory exercise

39 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

Syllabus

1. RECITATION: Thermodynamics of chemical bonding, heat of combustion of hydrogen, heat of fusion of water, methane and ammonia. The Nernst equation.

2. RECITATION: Electrolysis and Faraday's laws

3. RECITATION: Kinetics of electrochemical processes. Butler-Volmer equation

4. RECITATION: Practical efficiency of electrochemical processes. Efficiency of a fuel cell

5. RECITATION: Energy requirements of electromobility in the context of the country, the continent and the world.

6. RECITATION: Electricity generation and distribution in the context of the country, the continent and the world.

7. LABORATORY: Hydrogen - its properties and possible laboratory methods of preparation, chemical and electrochemical.

8. LABORATORY: Electrochemical preparation of hydrogen - hydrogen overpotential and catalysis.

9. LABORATORY: Methods of hydrogen detection.

10. LABORATORY: Fuel cell - Measurement of I-V curve of an electrolyzer and a fuel cell

11. LABORATORY: Temperature-dependent characteristics of the fuel cell

12. LABORATORY: Thermal characterization of a hydrogen adsorption storage