Hydrogen News

Hannover Fair 2004

This year's Group exhibit „Hydrogen and Fuel Cells“ on the Hannover Fair gave a clear signal for a positive future development. The fair as such suffered a considerable drop in terms of visitors and exhibitors. Last year the Group exhibit „Hydrogen and Fuel Cells“ also was smaller as far as the area is concerned. But this year the drop had almost vanished.

Little by little products for the end consumer enter the market. Ballard distributes a small generator called AirGen. It makes 1,2 kW electrical power from hydrogen. At this time, however, they sell it only in North America. The price is about 6500 $.

The state initiatives from Mecklenburg - Western Pomerania and Hesse had booths of their own which hosted small and medium enterprises and research institutes. The Fuel Cell Technology Centre from Duisburg showed an APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) for sailing yachts and other upper class watercraft.

Most prominent among the VIP guests this year was again Federal Chancellor Schroeder; it happens rarely that he does not visit the presentation on his opening walk. He was joined by environment minister Trittin. Another guest was economy minister Clement. Brandenburg's prime minister Platzeck was a close follower, and also his colleague Althaus from Thuringia could be seen.

The fair is changing: it becomes more and more specialized and an event for experts. The hydrogen group exhibit is part of this move: it shifts more and more from a research to an economical topic. There was a time when it was shown in the research hall. For a number of years now it is firmly rooted in the energy halls. This is in phase with the changing profile of the exhibitors. There are not only companies working directly with hydrogen and fuel cells, but also exhibitors offering the periphery such as test systems, materials, and services.

California

Governor Schwarzenegger plans to introduce a more or less comprehensive network of hydrogen filling stations until 2010, and he makes it urgent (see No. 1/04 „California“). 200 stations are needed. 21 of them exist or will be in operation until the end of this year. This is not only for the environment or the good of drivers and car makers. California must also meet federal clean-air standards by 2010 or lose billions of dollars in highway funds. In the presence of the media Schwarzenegger signed a „Hydrogen Highway“ executive order which puts state authorities under obligation to cooperate with companies and research institutes in the installation of the filling station network. He would even make use of tax drops and subsidies — which certainly means something taking into account that he was not elected because of his promises about hydrogen but for the fear of the imminent collapse of the state budget.

Framework

The successful proposals from the „Sustainable Growth“ section of the 6. research framework program of the European Commission have now been shaped into contracts, and work started during the last weeks.

One hydrogen relevant activity is an Integrated Project called StorHy; it is about the storage of hydrogen. Objective and technical content of the project under the coordination of the Austrian company Magna Steyr is the development of a hydrogen storage for automotive applications. Gaseous, liquid, and solid body storage as well as new technologies and materials will be considered. The 36 partners had a start meeting early March in Graz (Austria). Present were representatives of car makers and suppliers, gas producers, research institutes, and of the EU. The project terminates 2008 and has a total volume of 18,7 M€. (Kleine Zeitung, 2. March 2004)

Under the name HySafe (Hydrogen Safety) a „Network of Excellence“ started at the same time. This type or project is dedicated not so much to the solution of specific problems but rather to the improvement of the cooperation of the participants and a better integration. HySafe brings 25 European partners together under the coordination of the Karlsruhe Research Center; they will do risk estimation, information dissemination, standardization and regulation as well as education. Another point on the agenda is the creation of a virtual laboratory.

In Brussels they are already making the 7. framework program. The information service CORDIS has opened a new website about it. It belongs to the web pages about the European Research Space and comprises both information and links to the documents published so far.

Istanbul

UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) founds an International Centre for Hydrogen Energy Technology (ICHET) in Istanbul. Turkey will cover the complete costs of 40 M$. This will not only help Turkey to overcome the dependence on oil, but the center will also transfer the existing technologies to other countries in order to help them to rely more on renewable sources. UNIDO Director-General Carlos Magariños said: „At present, more than two billion people, one third of humanity, have no access to energy. Hydrogen is the ideal fuel, it’s cheap and does not affect the level of pollution.”

An international conference will be held in July 2005 in Istanbul (see event calendar). A delegation of members of the Turkish parliament came to Hannover and had a close look at the group exhibit „Hydrogen and Fuel Cells“ on the industrial fair.

Opel's Marathon

General Motors will test the reliability and everyday suitability of its prototype HydroGen 3 and at the same time make some PR for the technology. For this purpose a 10.000 km long trip across Europe will start on 3. May. The route leads from Europe's most northern city Hammerfest (Norway) through 14 countries to Portugal's capital Lisbon and then to nearby Cabo da Roca, the westernmost tip of the European mainland. Pieces of the route in Germany will be the one from Copenhagen via Hamburg to Amsterdam and later from Paris via home base Ruesselsheim to Zurich; the lap from there to Salzburg leads through Germany as well.

Iceland

Since October 2003 three fuel cell buses operate in Iceland's capital Reykjavik. They circulate on a city line leading from the fishing port across the center of the city to some living and shopping quarters. Some experience has been gathered during these months.

Drivers and maintenance workers have a positive opinion about the new technology. The judgment of the general public is positive as well. This is one of the first results of an acceptances study being made by students in parallel to the driving operation. A first round of interviews was made in March, and another will follow in December. (About acceptance see also the news item „No bus today?“)

The project company Icelandic New Energy will make guided tours to Icelandic hydrogen projects for visitors from the country and abroad during the summer months.

Fuel Cells

Cold Cell

Honda announces further progress in the development of fuel cells working at temperatures below zero as well. A prototype of the FCX type made a test drive with a Honda stack. The car had been parked outside for a whole night at temperatures down to –11 °C; after this it started and could be driven without problems.

(Solar Access, 2. March 2004)

Krefeld

A living quarter in Fischeln, a part of Krefeld (NW Germany), will soon be supplied with heat from a high temperature fuel cell (molten carbonate). The cell comes from RWE Fuel Cells and will be operated by Fernwaermeversorgung Niederrhein. The heat output of 180 kW will supply 40 flats during the winter and up to 300 during the summer. The 245 kW electrical power are fed into the Krefeld city grid. State energy minister Horstmann said during the groundbreaking ceremony: „The supply of electricity and heat at the same time on the basis of a highly efficient fuel cell can revolutionize the future home energy supply. Not only can new technologies make their entry in our buildings, but the energy suppliers might also offer services.“ The state of North Rhine - Westphalia contributes almost 0,9 M€ to the total project volume of 3.2 M€ in Krefeld.

Bits and pieces

Medis Technologies Ltd. has made an agreement with Kensington Technology Group concerning the distribution of Medis products. Kensington is a leading manufacturer of computer accessories. Medis develops small fuel cells for the operation of mobile phones, digital cameras, MP3 players, games, organizers, and other portable devices. Before the end of this year Medis will start to distribute such energy packs in Kensington's shops.

(Press release of 10. March 2004)

New company

On 1. April Celanese AG has transferred its fuel cell activities to the new company PEMEAS Fuel Cell Technologies GmbH with seat in the industrial park of Hoechst in Frankfurt. The money for PEMEAS comes from a consortium of investors led by Conduit Ventures. The new company's most important product is a membrane electrode unit (MEA) with a new membrane which can operate at temperatures up to 200 °C. This facilitates operation and reduces the demand to the purity of the hydrogen.

(Press release of 15. April 2004)

Energy and Climate

Record heat

There is more and more proof that our climate changes in a way we have to worry about; the latest come from the university of Bern (Switzerland) where climate dates from quite different sources for the last 500 years have been compiled. The trend is obvious: since the Middle Ages the average temperatures are on the rise, and especially quick in the recent past. The coldest winter in Europe was found to have been in 1708/09, the hottest so far was in 1989/90. The hottest summer of the whole period was that of last year. And there was never such a sequence of hot summers as between 1994 and 2003. All the nine hottest years of recorded climate history were between 1989 and 2003.

(J. Luterbacher et al., Science 303 (2004) 1499-1503)

Shell

Early this year Shell reduced the reserves showing up in its books in several steps by a total of 22 % (s. No. 1/04 „Overestimated“). At the same time documents surfaced which show that this was by no means the prompt reaction to new insights, but the former production manager Walter van de Vijver knew back in February 2002 that there was a considerable gap between internal and external data. He told this former Shell CEO Watts and other top managers. Watts and van de Vijver did not agree about how to proceed, but both kept the news from leaking. Not before summer 2003 there was some serious thinking how to handle this. Such data is important for the value of the shares, and the stock exchanges do not like it at all when it is withheld; there are investigations now in the USA, Great Britain and The Netherlands. Watts, van de Vijver, and finance head Judith Boynton have meanwhile quitted their jobs.

(DER SPIEGEL online, 20. April 2004)

Politics

Parliamentary evening

DWV's first parliamentary evening was held on 23. March. A total of about 50 people met in a building of Bankgesellschaft Berlin just beside the Brandenburg Gate.

The vice chairman of the committee on environment, protection of nature, and nuclear safety of the Bundestag (federal parliament), Ulrich Petzold (CDU), gave a greeting address to the participants. He stressed that hydrogen and fuel cells offer not only ecological but also economical advantages. What the economy needs are clear and wise decisions on the one hand and reliable boundary conditions on the other, making a certain time horizon for research and investment foreseeable. But unfortunately: „Very many members of your association have the impression, and it is certainly not unjustified, that politics is losing the still existing advantage in Germany in the hydrogen and fuel cell field.“ He called the expertise of DWV one driving force for the further development.

DVW board members continued in the program with short, but straightforward statements about important subjects. These were strategies, ways to get hydrogen without CO2, infrastructure, fuel cells, safety, education and the international context. This was followed by a discussion which was later continued in free style accompanied by some food and drinks.

The echo to the statements and the whole program was very positive. Some guests already said that they would ask for contributions of other events held by their party or parliamentary group. This was certainly not the last event of this kind.

Lower Saxony

The state government of Lower Saxony made a press conference on 30. April to present the „Fuel Cell State Initiative“. The ministers for economy, research, and environment were present and stressed the high strategic value of the topic. 18 M€ have been earmarked for the time until 2007, and this in spite of the difficult budget situation; the matter is simply important. But Lower Saxony has a big handicap in comparison to other German states which started earlier. The most important partners are Volkswagen AG and the energy supplier EWE from Oldenburg.

What else we have found ...

No bus today?

„Is it possible that your fuel cell buses drive through my part of town? They must be more silent than the normal buses, because we do not wake up around 6 o'clock in the morning from the street noise. I am very grateful.“ (Question of a citizen of Reykjavik to the office running the hydrogen bus project; see „Iceland“)

Remark: In order to make hydrogen and fuel cells popular you must let people hear about them. But sometimes it may be useful to let them hear nothing.