Hydrogen News

Linde

On 24. February Linde AG held an „International Hydrogen Day“ in Berlin. The message was: building an infrastructure for hydrogen as fuel for road transport is possible with reasonable efforts. This is the result of a study made by the English expert David Hart for Linde. Building an infrastructure for the whole of Europe until 2020 would cost just 3,5 G€, which as half the annual research expenses of Microsoft, according to Linde chairman Wolfgang Reitzle. In detail:

• Setting up an infrastructure in Germany for the supply of 1.9 million cars until 2020 would cost 870 M€ or 467 € per car.
• A central production and storage of hydrogen could supply hydrogen for 41 million cars with an investment of about 18.5 G€.
• Investors could expect gains after 10 to 15 years. And: the price for hydrogen is only half that of gasoline. The high taxation of gasoline could make hydrogen competitive even today.

The amount of 3.5 G€ are the most optimistic result. The study discusses other cases as well. Each time the costs are below 5 G€. Reitzle's result: „The results of this study are a clear signal to us. A transition to the hydrogen economy is feasible.“ Here a few figures for comparison: China invests 36 G$ in the preparation of the Olympic Games, building the new train line from Cologne to Frankfurt required 5.5 G€, and 99 km highway from Goettingen to Halle cost 1.2 G€.

As a first step Linde proposes to fit a highway ring with hydrogen. It would be about 1800 km long and would run from Berlin over Munich, Stuttgart, Cologne, Duesseldorf, Hannover, and Wolfsburg back to Berlin. A total of about 35 filling stations generally 50 km apart from each other, each both for gaseous and liquefied hydrogen, would have to be built, the major part of them at filling stations already existing. The route touches important development centers and production sites of must German car makers. So the producers could test the everyday suitability of their drives under real life conditions. Filling stations already existing in Berlin and Munich could be integrated. Linde estimates the costs to be not more than 30 M€. Extensions of the highway ring in Germany to other EU countries could be done in a second step.

Wolfgang Clement, federal minister for economy, was the political top speaker of the day. He closed his speech by saying: „I am certain that ... [hydrogen technology] will come, and from the German side we will contribute what we can. The federal government and the ministry which is at this time under my responsibility are highly interested in the development of hydrogen technology and the future use of hydrogen as energy carrier.“ In this context he referred to the joint action plan for environmental friendly and efficient energy, development, and climate protection which Federal Chancellor Schroeder and US president Bush had agreed upon the day before (see the news item „Action plan“).

California's governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had sent a video message in which he wished the participants good success and mentioned that he is supporting the steps to zero emission fuel with a lot of personal commitment.

Favorites

It took a while to set up the filling station, but now the three zero-emission CUTE buses are traveling through London as well. First results are favorable. A spokesman of the London transport company said that the reliability of the vehicles is excellent and that they are very popular with passengers.

Hannover

The Group Exhibit on hydrogen and fuel cells in the framework of the Hannover Fair is a central event of its kind in Europe, if not the world. This year it is held for the 11. time under the heading “Go to where the Market is!". Organizer Arno A. Evers said: „Only here in Hannover you meet so many international exhibitors from the field, in many cases represented by the heads of development or of the company as a whole“. In Hall 13 all participants can get information from high-ranking representatives of the 90 exhibitors from 18 countries. Many of the sub-topics become tangible.

Rising steeply

The European spacecraft Ariane 5 ECA made its first successful flight on 13. February. A first test in December 2002 had to be terminated after a short time by blowing the rocket up because it was no longer under control. This time everything went smoothly. Unlike the previous version the third stage of this type is propelled by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. This enhances the payload from 6,5 to 9 t.

Biking leisurely

Masterflex AG from Gelsenkirchen and Hawk Bikes E&M GmbH, Berlin, jointly develop an innovative bicycle for loads („Cargobike“) which is fitted with Masterflex fuel cells. Hydrogen infrastructure and storage technology are expected to be available already in mid 2005. The joint project is co-funded by the European Fund for Regional Development (EFRE) and the state of North Rhine-Westfalia. The first Cargobikes ready for the market will be presented to the public before the end of 2005.

(Masterflex press release of 28. January 2005)

BMW

BMW will give the hydrogen car to the customer within the next three years. Research head Raymond Freymann said this in a newspaper interview. The car will be more expensive than the ordinary gasoline version, but in case of a BMW series 7 car this appears to be not the most important aspect.

(Netzeitung, 16. February 2005)

Fuel Cells

Endurance

The Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies at Dresden has presented a new high-temperature fuel cell which is said to be able to run for 40 000 hours, much longer than conventional ones. What makes the big difference is between the individual cells making up the stack. They are never exactly plane upon each other due to small curvatures; this gives rise to a contact resistance impeding the current. The Fraunhofer researchers have filled the stack with an elastic material which evens out these places. The resistance drops drastically, and the cell can generate 45 % of the energy generated in it as electrical power. The total efficiency is about 90 %. There is little room for more. A serial development would be possible in three or four years. The costs per cell would be between 1000 and 2000 Euro.

Exhibition

The first Fuel Cell Expo which was held from 19. to 21. January in Tokyo went very much to the satisfaction of the organizers. 237 exhibitors from 12 countries had come; five of them were from Germany. More than 20 000 visitors came to see what they showed. The exhibits were from hydrogen generation and storage, reforming, test benches, accessories, materials, processes etc. Leading representatives of the participating companies, both from the technical and from the general domain, were present and informed the potential customers.

In parallel to the exhibition there was a technical conference which had been prepared by Dr. Ken-ichiro Ota, chairman of the Hydrogen Energy Systems Society of Japan (HESS). The program comprised topics such as fuel cell market, stack materials, reformers, cars, stationary fuel cells, mobile fuel cells, etc. The conference was fully booked months ago, and the presentations were televised in another hall. There were 3000 participants. Additionally research institutes from Japan, Korea, and Australia presented their results.

Jumping over the pond

The US company IdaTech has opened an office in Herten, Germany, under the name IDATECH Fuel Cells GmbH. This will benefit sales, service, and development, the latter in particular due to the ties to the numerous companies and research institutes in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

(Press release of 24. February 2005)

Energy and Climate

Beyond the point of no return

In the long term climate change is the most important single problem which our planet faces. This was the result of a commission of scientists from the British Institute for Public Policy Research, the Center for American Progress (USA), and the Australia Institute. „An ecological time bomb is ticking away“, said Stephen Byers from UK, one of the two co-chairmen. It is important to cut carbon emissions, double the research spending on technology, involve China and India and above all to get the USA into the boat. Byers is a close confidant of British Prime Minister Blair. The London government welcomed the report. Blair has acknowledged the importance of U.S. cooperation, but concedes Washington is unlikely to join the Kyoto process formally.

(AP, 25. January 2005)

Fossil fuels not needed

Until 2020 about 40 GW of the German power generating capacity have to be replaced, either for age or for abandoning nuclear power. A study of the Institute for Sustainable Solutions and Innovations done for EUROSOLAR states that this can be done without new coal or gas power stations. Until 2020 about 62 GW generating power can be provided on the basis of renewable energies. This is a „minimum calculation“ simply extrapolating the current trend. Saving energy could even make it possible to replace more power stations or to produce eco-power for the export, thus contributing to climate protection more actively. The unnecessary addition of gas and even more of coal stations, on the other hand, would mean more greenhouse gases for decades to come, thus barricading the development of renewable energies.

Growth

Almost 10 % of the electrical power in Germany came from renewable sources last year. The quota rose from 7.9 auf 9.3 %, which corresponds to 55.9 TWh. Wind power with 44 % was ahead of hydropower (38 %) for the first time. Photovoltaics delivers now 700 MW, of which 300 were added last year. Also in heat supply the renewables could slightly increase their market share to 4.2 %. Biofuels exceeded the limit of one million tons (10,9 TWh) for the first time in 2004. According to the Federal Association for Renewable Energies these sources saved about 70 million tons of CO₂ in power and heat generation. More than 130 000 people are employed in this branch of the economy.

Politics

China

China's government puts the foot on the brake concerning energy consumption for transport. With the turn of the year a new environment law became effective demanding that the gas consumption of all new cars remain below a limit. This is between 6.2 l per 100 km for small cars and 15.5 for small vans, depending on the weight. A car like the Volkswagen Golf (1150 kg weight) must not consume more than 8.8 l, a utility vehicle as the VW Touareg (gut 1700 kg) not more than 12 l. In 2008 the values will be further reduced to 8 or 10.7 l, respectively. About 80 % of the cars sold by German manufacturers could no longer be sold from 2008 onward. The US manufacturers have the same problem. Only the types by Peugeot and Citroen meet already all rules for 2008.

(die tageszeitung, 31. December 2004)

Action plan

Germany and the USA have agreed upon a joint action plan for environmentally friendly and efficient energy, development, and climate protection during the visit of US president Bush in Germany on 23. February. It comprises five points; the fourth under the heading „Innovation for future energy systems“ discusses hydrogen and fuel cells only. After a reference to current joint activities the text says: „Germany and the United States cooperate on bilateral and multilateral basis in the development of fuel cells running on hydrogen for use in transport and in stationary power generation. A close cooperation in the research and development efforts of the USA and Germany for future energy and transport systems, including fuel cells and hydrogen, will play a key role in making these technologies available and competitive.“

What else we have found ...

Matter of honor

The National Hydrogen Association, our US partner association, has named US president Bush, California's governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and a number of other politicians as honorary members for the year 2005 to honor their commitment for hydrogen technology. They are entitled to join board meetings and serve in committees. It is not yet quite clear to which extent they will make use of these privileges, but at least president Bush will address the annual meeting of the association.

Remark: We should start pondering about who in Germany would be eligible for such a honor. Unfortunately our statutes provide the possibility of a honorary membership, but not of a temporary one. Awarding somebody first and kicking him out later might be politically imprudent. The list of speakers for our next annual meeting does not mention Mr. Schroeder, at least not yet.