Hydrogen News
European Conference
The 1st European Hydrogen Energy Conference (EHEC) was held from 2.-5. September in Grenoble. It is the successor of the former „Hypothesis“ series. More than 450 participants from 34 countries were present. The next EHEC will be held in October 2005 in Madrid.
Political support from Paris and Brussels was remarkable. European energy commissioner Loyola de Palacio and research commissioner Busquin were present or represented (see „Platform“). The French ministries for economy, research, and energy had participated in the funding. All politicians in France were still under the impression of the „canicule“, the heat wave in August which had demanded almost 15.000 victims. (See „Many did not like it hot“.)
The focus of the contents has shifted with the years from technical and scientific details to economical matters. It appears that everybody expects hydrogen and fuel cells to become an important economical factor. The issue is not whether, but how and how to do it best and where to participate in the whole development.
One topic was how to generate the hydrogen. The present EU production could supply between 15 and 25 million cars, but this would not be a sustainable system because it is mainly made from natural gas. Carlo Rubbia, Nobel price winner and now head of the Italian environment agency ENEA and Prof. Winter from Germany discussed transition solutions in which nuclear energy and coal fill the gap to the renewable energies.
Hamburg filling station
The filling station for the three Hamburg city buses in the framework of the EU project CUTE (Clean Urban Transport for Europe) was opened on 15. September. This part of the CUTE project serves for testing the technology under realistic operating condition. Mario Mettbach, transport senator, and environment senator Peter Rehaag were there for the Hamburg senate.
Half of the project (6 M€) is funded by the European Union (2.1 M€), the German Federal Ministry for Economy and Employment (0.9 M€), the rest by the industrial partners Hochbahn (transport utility), HEW (energy utility) and bp. DaimlerChrysler provided the three buses, Norwegian Norsk Hydro Electrolysers the electrolyser.
The buses store hydrogen in pressure cylinders on the roof under a pressure of up to 300 bar. The fuel cell generate 280 kW. One tank filling is enough for 250 km, and the maximum speed is 70 km/h.
On 13. October the city of Luxemburg also opened its CUTE filling station. A total of ten European cities participate in the experiment.
Sweden
Sweden's first hydrogen filling station was opened on 11. September in Malmoe. It is operated by the energy provider Sydkraft, the hydrogen technology by Stuart / Vandenborre. Both pure hydrogen and a mixture with natural gas are dispensed. The hydrogen is made by electrolysis, the power comes from wind turbines. About 700 Nm3 per day are generated, enough for about 25 cars. A similar station for buses is being built in Stockholm in the framework of the CUTE Project.
(Stuart press release of 11. September 2003)
Media forum
Linde AG made a „Media Forum Hydrogen“ on 1. October. There was a program of presentations and a demonstration experiment about the safety technological properties of hydrogen. The focus was on mobile applications.
DWV board member Reinhold Wurster gave a statement under the title „Germany has lost the leas“ and gave a critical review of the recent past. There is no hydrogen funding worth mentioning on the federal level in Germany. Prestigious projects of the past were finished without practical effects. Even the EU support is far less than what happens in Japan and the USA. As recently as 2000 hydrogen cars were not allowed at all on public roads in Japan. The government made pressure to change the regulations. Now there are ten hydrogen filling stations only in the Tokyo area.
Wurster's statement on generation: „Hydrogen is available at short notice in large amounts and in an ecologically reasonable way. Hydrogen is generated in many processes of the chemical industry, for example.“ This surplus would be enough for 350.000 to 650.000 cars. The overcapacities of the power generators are another source, in particular in hydro power stations. These could be used „worldwide for the large scale generation of hydrogen from renewable energy sources – without building one single new power station.“
Hydrogen Expo
The third H2-Expo was held from 9. to 11. October in Hamburg; this is the only dedicated fair for the topic in Germany and also in Europe. There was a clear decrease of the number of exhibitors to 45 in comparison to the last year. No decrease at all could be felt in the interest of the visitors. All exhibitors report that there were more visitors, and they also commented favorably on the qualification of the visitors and the level of the discussions.
DWV chairman Dr. Johannes Toepler said at the opening that the developments necessary in the long term must be started now, just as in the USA or Japan. Toepler reminded the Federal Government to the statement made by the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Joschka Fischer, who had told the UN plenary meeting: „It must be in the interest of all states to bring about the transition from the oil to the hydrogen age as quickly as possible“. (See our press release 8/03 of 9. October 2003.)
Simone Probst, state secretary in the Federal Environment ministry, called hydrogen the „ideal fuel of the future“ and underlined its future significance in particular for transportation. (Press release of the Federal Environment Ministry of 9. November 2003; compare „China project“)
Wind and hydrogen
An energy storage system tailored to the needs of wind turbine parks will be developed by the Canadian electrolyser maker Stuart, the Norwegian utility Statkraft and the Spanish Corporación Energía Hidroeléctrica de Navarra (EHN). Electrolysers and fuel cells can serve as buffer to harmonize the fluctuating wind park energy production and the equally fluctuating power demand.
Iceland
Iceland continues to build the „Hydrogen Society“. The present state was presented by Jón Björn Skúlason, head of Icelandic New Energy, on 11. October in Hamburg. 60 % of the Icelanders live in the capital Reykjavik, almost all others near the coast at or near the only great road around the island. Only four filling stations outside Reykjavik are necessary for a complete supply with hydrogen fuel. In Reykjavik the hydrogen would be generated by electrolysis and distributed by means of a pipeline. In the country there would be an electrolyser at each filling station. Building such an infrastructure would cost between 2.44 and 4.07 billion EURO, depending on the option chosen.
China project
The governments of Germany and China intend to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on „Cooperation in the use of alternative and renewable energies for transport“. The Chinese partner is the ministry for research and technology, for Germany the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing. Federal Minister Manfred Stolpe will sign the Memorandum during the HYFORUM 2004 in Beijing with his Chinese colleagues.
In the document the partners declare their interest in a deeper cooperation for the improvement of energy efficiency and the enhanced development and application of new and renewable energies for road transport. The focus is on the generation of synthetic fuels and hydrogen. The hydrogen will be used for the synthetic fuels and for vehicles. It is the will of the Chinese government that the Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing will be the greenest ever.
Home filling station
Honda and Plug Power demonstrated on 2. October a system which is plugged to the natural gas line and by means of a reformer and a fuel cell can generate hot water and electrical power for the home or feed the latter into the grid while at the same time fill the pressure cylinder of a car. There is enough hydrogen for one filling per day. This takes a few minutes. There is no need for external power.
Boats
On 22. October MTU Friedrichshafen presented in Kressbronn (Lake Constance) the first sailing yacht with fuel cell drive certified by Germanischer Lloyd. The cell is made by Ballard, the system by MTU. The cell generates 4 kW permanently and 20 kW peak. MTU head Rolf Hanssen said that the system is not yet mature for the broad market introduction, but it shows that mobile fuel cell drives can be produced successfully.
(MTU press release of 22. October 2003)
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