Hydrogen News

EHA

The general meeting of the European Hydrogen Association (EHA) was held on 11. June at Utrecht (The Netherlands). Prof. Lars Sjunnesson from Sweden, member of the High Level Group of the European Commission, was elected as president, Georges Fratacci (France) as vice president, Ulrich Schmidtchen (Germany) as secretary, and Christer Morén (Sweden) as treasurer.

EHA will enhance its work for the support of hydrogen and fuel cells on an international level. One of the most important things in Europe will be the interaction with the European Commission. Other partners are the International Energy Agency and the International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Tasks for the moment are the organization of the European Hydrogen Energy Conference (EHEC) to be held from 2. to 5. September in Grenoble (France) and of the World Hydrogen Energy Conference 2006 in Lyon.

(See our press release 5/03 of 20. June 2003)

Madrid

The first Mercedes-Benz Citaro city bus with fuel cells was presented to the mayor of the city of Madrid on 5. May. It is the first of three zero emission buses to be used by the Madrid transport company in daily operation. 12 m long Mercedes-Benz Citaro with fuel cell drive has a range of about 200 km and a capacity of up to 70 passengers. The fuel cell unit with an output of more than 200 kW as well as the gas cylinders with hydrogen compressed to 350 bar are mounted on the roof of the buses. The maximum speed is 80 km/h. The electric motor and the automatic gear are in the rear of the bus.

Congress

The International German Hydrogen Energy Congress 2004 will be held on 11. and 12. February in Essen (Germany). The international element will be stronger than in the first event of this kind held in November 2002. Wolfgang Clement, federal minister for economy and labor, will be the patron. The three parts of the congress will be the conference, the exhibition, and „Hydrogen for the Youth“.

GM and Dow

The two US companies will work together to push the hydrogen technology. General Motors needs hydrogen for fuel cell cars, and Dow Chemical has it. An agreement made in May says that GM will provide fuel cells for the most important Dow factory in Freeport (Texas). Dow will supply them with hydrogen, and they will produce power for Dow. The output will be 35 MW. The duration of the project will be two years, and the start will be this year. In case of success it can be enlarged to other factories, including those in Germany. In this case it is possible that Dow buys or leases 500 fuel cell modules during this decade. The advantage for General Motors is that they can use a certain number of fuel cells for practical purposes, even if this purpose is not to move a car, and that they can use the experience gathered to improve the reliability of their systems.

(Reuters, 7. May 2003)

Bad for the environment?

Definitely funny ideas about hydrogen and the environment can be found in a paper recently published in Science (T. K. Tromp et al., Science 300 (2003) 1740-2; see our press release 4/03). The authors assume that all processes based on fossil fuels will be replaced by others based on hydrogen, and that between 10 and 20 % of the hydrogen gets lost during handling. From this they deduce values for the hydrogen concentration near the ground. Applying methods of climatology they find that the water content of the stratosphere would rise, which would cool it, which in turn would significantly delay the closing of the ozone holes. 

There is no discussion that every energy carrier, including hydrogen, must be investigated for its total ecological effect. The superficial, not always serious way it has been done here, however, raises questions. In a press release DWV criticized among other things that losses of 10 or 20 % are taken from thin air, both for present and future applications. The literature quoted as proof does not support the statements, sometimes it says the contrary.

L-B-Systemtechnik GmbH has published a more elaborate and more scientific discussion of the paper in the Hyweb (www.hyweb.de/gazette-e). We regret to have to say that this paper is no contribution to serious scientific discussion.

Washington

On 7. May General Motors started the operation of a demonstration fleet of hydrogen cars in the US federal capital. GM head Rick Wagoner and a few congressmen made test rides. A total of 10000 rides is planned over a period of two years. Congressmen, officials, lobbyists, and other persons from politics will have a chance to experience the new technology first-hand. Starting in autumn the fleet will be supplied at the first public hydrogen filling station of the USA.

(GM press release of 7. May 2003)

House brand

Shell Hydrogen and the Belgian company Vandenborre Technologies made an agreement in June about the marketing of a device developed by Vandenborre which is essentially a domestic hydrogen filling station. It is a small electrolyzer making hydrogen from tap water. The owner of a hydrogen car (with gas tank) can connect the vehicle to the device in the evening, and in the morning he has a full tank. During the year to come the partners will try a prototype in a field test in a European market. In their eyes this is a contribution to the development of a hydrogen infrastructure.

Aviation

The first flight of the first manned fuel cell aircraft might happen before the end of this year. There is an experimental plane from Boeing (with a one-man crew) the propeller of which is driven only by a fuel cell delivering 25 kW in flight. Additional energy from batteries is necessary for the start. But Boeing sees a future for fuel cells in aviation not so much as propulsion energy, but rather for peripheral power supply (light, heating, entertainment, other systems). Today this is done by an APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) which is essentially a small engine. Using fuel cells here could significantly reduce the emissions. The cells are not only cleaner, they also have less moving parts and about twice the efficiency.

(New Scientist, 12. May 2003)

Full speed

The internal combustion engine with hydrogen is not only cleaner, but has also a higher output potential than conventional gasoline motors. This was a statement by Dr. Burkhard Goeschel, BMW head of development, during a conference in Vienna. He said that the BMW engineers have opened a quite new potential by ideal combustion control together with optimum fuel/air ratio. „The research results already achieved are impressive“, he said, „the power is higher that what gasoline motors can do today.“ Goeschel also: „Our objective is to realize a total efficiency of 50 %.“

(BMW press release of 16. May 2003)

Singapore

The South East Asian state intends to install the first public hydrogen filling station of the region. BP and Air Products will build it in the frame of an existing BP station. The operation will start in the first quarter of the next year. Also next year DaimlerChrysler will operate seven hydrogen cars in Singapore for test purposes. The filling station will cost between 0,5 and 1 M$ and will be able to service eleven cars per day.

(AP, 24. May 2003)

Freight

DaimlerChrysler and the delivery service UPS will integrate hydrogen cars in a commercial fleet for the first time in the USA. One car of the F-Cell type (based on the A class) with a Ballard fuel cell will be used for mail delivery near the end of this summer. From next year a Dodge Sprinter van will deliver parcels. Both vehicles will have their base at Ann Arbor (Michigan). A hydrogen filling station will be built there at the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory of the US environment authority EPA.

(AP, 20. May 2003)

Fuel Cells

Eats everything

Researchers at the University of Texas in Austin have tapped the sugar conversion in plants and animals which is based on enzymes. They glued these enzymes to two fine electrodes and introduced these in a grape. There was a current with a power of 2,4 µW between them. This would be enough to supply for example thermometers in vineyards. Similar bio-fuel cells should be able to generate power from human blood; they might supply small fever thermometers or blood pressure meters. (N. Mano et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 125 (2003) 6588-94)

Colleagues from Saint Louis have set the enzymes to work on all kinds of alcohol. They told a meeting that they have generated energy from Vodka, Gin, white wine, and beer. In five to ten years improved cells of the size of a stamp could be able to supply cell phones or other small devices. (bild der wissenschaft newsticker, 25. March 2003)

Energy and Climate

Fully legal

The Federal Supreme Court of Justice has declared that the Renewable Energies Act (EEG) in Germany is in harmony with the constitution. A North German energy company (Schleswag) had refused to buy power from three private wind power plants and argued that the law obliging it to do so would cut the professional freedom of the company in an unconstitutional way. The court ruled that the obligation for the companies violates neither the principles of professional freedom nor that of equal treatment. Even after the deregulation of the power market in 2000 the suppliers have a „special responsibility for generating energy in a way which is positive for the resources and the environment“.

(Judgments from 11. June 2003, VIII ZR 160/02)

Politics

High Level Group

The High Level Group (HLG) on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells which was installed by the European Commission in October 2002 presented its report on 16. June in Brussels. Members of the group were high-ranking persons from industry, research, and politics. They were to advise the politicians about the decisions necessary to achieve global leadership in the field during the next 20 or 30 years. 

The report contains an urgent recommendation to the Commission to make decisive efforts for the market introduction of hydrogen and fuel cells on all levels. These technologies were said to be a key element of the future. A leading role of Europe is necessary to guarantee economic prosperity and the quality of life. Reference is made to the energetic (partly „aggressive“) efforts of Japan and the USA which have made all this already a fixed part of the politics. The commission is demanded to become active in five areas:

• A political framework embedding the technology in the context of transport and energy politics; 
• A strategic research agenda which bundles Europe's resources; 
• A deployment strategy based on projects with a particular public effect („Lighthouse Projects“);
• A European „Roadmap“ for the transition from fossil fuels to hydrogen and fuel cells; 

A European Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Partnership of the interested parties. 

Work must start immediately to achieve these goals during the next ten or twenty years. 

The presentation of the report was on 16. June during a conference of high-ranking participants. Apart from about 450 experts from all over Europe Romano Prodi had come, president of the European Commission, and the Commissioners Loyola de Palacio (energy and transport), Philippe Busquin (research) and Margot Wallstroem (environment) and secretary of energy Spencer Abraham from the USA. Also present were Claudie Haigneré, French minister for research and new technologies, and Georg Wilhelm Adamowitsch, German State Secretary for economy and labor. 

Commission President Romano Prodi said that hydrogen and fuel cell technology were a strategic decision for Europe. Commissioner de Palacio underlined that they could reduce the EU's dependency from oil and at the same time contribute to a sustainable development. According to research commissioner Philippe Busquin the research activities in the field are too scattered. A common European approach were necessary to achieve an equal technical and economical level. 

DoE head Spencer Abraham said: „I can think of few investments that offer as great a payoff for our collective energy, economic, and environmental security.” He referred to the International Hydrogen Partnership which he had proposed in April and invited the EU and its member states to a common conference about the next steps to this end. We would have to decide: „Will we move forward, each of us, alone, in a manner that likely leads to duplication and the inefficient use of resources? Or will we band together to significantly increase our chance of realizing the full potential of hydrogen?“

Only State Secretary Adamowitsch made a skeptical statement for the German government. He said that renewable energies should better be used directly, and a big push towards the fuel cell might be premature. Politics and industry reacted with indignation and contradiction. 

Cooperation

The European Union and the USA signed an agreement about better cooperation on research on hydrogen and fuel cells on 16. June in Brussels. The EU and their member states will spend about 600 M€ for the development of the new technology between 2002 and 2006. The US government will fund transport and energy programs with 1.7 G$ during the next five years, with a focus on hydrogen and fuel cells. 

In a joint declaration of US president Bush, Commission President Prodi and Council President Simitis on occasion of the summit meeting in late June in Washington the topic was underlined. The statement said among other things: „We affirm our commitment ... to collaborate on accelerating the development of the hydrogen economy as part of our broadening cooperation on energy. ... We see the potential of the hydrogen economy in establishing a secure energy supply through clean and environmentally sound systems. ... This effort will enable us to ... provide a strong and broad foundation for the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy and other partnerships in support of the hydrogen economy.“