Hydrogen News

School contest

On 1. Juli the winners of this year's school contest „Fuel Cell Box“ in the German state of North Rhine-Westfalia were honored. Four teams from Duisburg, Moenchengladbach (2x), und Bergkamen were selected from about 100 participating. The task had been to develop a fuel cell driven transport vehicle by means of a fuel cell building set („Fuel Cell Box“) and another set of parts plus to describe in writing how environmentally benign traffic could look like. „We want to make our youth acquainted with the fuel cell and to wake up their curiosity for the new technology. Because we are sure that driving with fuel cells will be as normal for them as driving with an Otto engine today“, as Dr. Frank-Michael Baumann said it, head of the State Initiative Future Energies NRW. The four winning teams received as price a hydrogen and fuel cell model car „HyRunner GT“ each.

Daimler

DaimlerChrysler intends to sell about 100.000 fuel cell cars per year in 2015. The final maturity for serial production can be expected between 2012 and 2015, according to a statement of the research head Prof. Herbert Kohler on 27. June in Singapore. But even in ten years from now the main customers for the zero emission vehicles would be large companies like logistics companies in city traffic. DaimlerChrysler also announced in Singapore a new generation of fuel cell cars. Soon a new B class will use the drive. The range has doubled from 200 to 400 km. The fuel cell will be in the floor, just as in the case of the A class.

Lower Saxony

A solar hydrogen filling station was opened on 29. June on the ground of the Volkswagen Technology Center at Isenbuettel near Gifhorn in the presence of Hans-Heinrich Sander, Lower Saxony's minister for environment. The plant makes it possible to produce at least a part of the fuel for the fuel cell cars and test racks developed there on site by means of sunlight. Sander said: „I am very happy that the start of the operation of this solar hydrogen filling station marks the begin of the hydrogen age also in Lower Saxony. Since fossil resources become more and more scarce hydrogen is one of the fuels of the future, beside SunFuel, a synthetic Diesel from biomass“. Hartmut Maertens, head of the Volkswagen fuel cell development, said: „The hydrogen fuel cell drive has the greatest long term potential for greenhouse gas reduction. And this in particular when the hydrogen is generated in a regenerative way from sun or wind. This is why we make the decisions for tomorrow today.“

(VW press release of 29. June 2005)

On Air

At Huerth there is a „Hydrogen Community“ (IG H2) located at the chemistry park which on 11. August presented a first application based on hydrogen: a radio transmission vehicle running on hydrogen by means of a fuel cell. The fuel cell system makes 3,5 kW. No generator noise will be heard during the transmission, and it can be used in buildings as well. Transmission can be guaranteed for several hours, depending on the hydrogen storage. Batteries could not do this for more than half an hour.

(Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger, 12. August 2005)

Safety

Metal hydrides with grain sizes in the nm range are considered as interesting hydrogen storage media. But there is still a lot of research ahead until they can be used practically, and this includes safety related research. At Research Center Karlsruhe a tube was filled with about 100 ml of a sodium alanate with titanium added and grains in the nm scale which as hydrogen content of more than 7 % weight related; this hydride has been developed by FZK itself. The tube was closed at both ends and heated. At 130 °C und 9 bar the pressure of the hydrogen released from the powder made a burst disk give and the hot powder was ejected and dispersed by the pressure.

The central result: there was no ignition of the powder or the whole dust cloud, unlike first expectations. It appears that the hydrogen ejected at the same time prevents a fast reaction of the material with oxygen from the air. So the material had time enough to create a thin passive layer on the surface of the powder particles. The conclusion from the experiments is that an accident in the operation of such a vessel is not necessarily followed by an explosion. This result will be of great meaning for the development of safe hydrogen storages for fuel cell cars.

(Press release of FZ Karlsruhe of 27. June 2005)

Petten

On 7. July Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research, opened a new test facility for hydrogen and fuel cells at the Commission's Institute for Energy at Petten (The Netherlands). The new facilities are part of the Commission's endeavour to provide policy-makers and industry with independent evaluation of the performance of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Potočnik said: „We are all aware of the need to find clean, safe and affordable sources of energy, as energy demand rises, and Europe becomes ever more dependent on imported energy. The potential of hydrogen is very exciting and can provide one element of a future sustainable energy mix. By developing these new facilities, the Commission is showing its clear commitment to exploring this potential.“ The operating conditions of fuel cells and hydrogen storages will be simulated for their whole lifetime, from arctic to tropical and from motorway driving to forest tracks. The effects of extreme environmental conditions and fast variations of them are another item on the list. During the current research framework program (2002-2006) the EU spends 275 M€ for hydrogen research. In comparison Japan spends some 260 and the USA 235 M€ in 2005 alone.

(Press release of the European Commission)

On Lease

The Spallino family is a quite inconspicuous average family from Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles region. Just their car is a bit unusual. In July Honda gave one of their FCX fuel cell cars to the family for everyday use for a period of two years on leasing basis. So the fuel will now be hydrogen. Costs per month for leasing, maintenance, and insurance are 500 $, fuel on top. Honda expects the first use in the framework of a family to produce information about the everyday suitability of the FCX, in addition to the things learned from the test fleet. More private users will follow.

(Honda press release of 29. June 2005)

Fuel Cells

For schools

An electro scooter was presented to the pupils of the physics group of the Helmholtz Gymnasium at Hilden (Germany) on 22. July by Andreas Graichen, fuel cell expert of 3M as part of a sponsoring initiative of the company. The scooter just does not yet drive. After the summer holidays the class will develop a fuel cell drive for the vehicle. Dr. Johann Pleschinger, physics teacher and responsible for the project, is happy about the marvelous challenge for the young scientists: „It is easy to wake the enthusiasm of pupils for this important future topic, in particular when they can be part of a practical project like this.“

Fuel cell technology is simply perfect for learning and investigating. „The use of hydrogen as energy carrier is probably the most promising approach in the field of renewable energies. But at the same time the new technology is still in its infancy, and you can really do something new“, declared 3M scientist Graichen.

(3M press release)

World Champion

The Hot Module molten carbonate fuel cell by MTU which produces power and hot steam in the Michelin tire factory at Karlsruhe has now produced more than 3,7 GWh electrical power during 21.000 operating hours, according to the operating company EnBW. This is the greatest amount of energy ever made by a plant of this type in the world. The output of the cell is up to 250 kW electrically and 180 kW thermally. „The molten carbonate fuel cell has convincingly proven its reliability", said Professor Thomas Hartkopf, board member for technology at EnBW.

Mobile homes

Beginning in September mobile home maker Hymer will equip two of its types with a fuel cell for energy supply. In the S class it will be part of the standard equipment and extra accessory for 3 k€ in the B class. The cell is coupled with the car battery and runs on methanol. One 5 l cartridge of the fuel will cost about 20 € and last for a week. The electrical output is 50 W. As soon as the battery voltage drops below 12.5 V a regulator starts the fuel cell. Even during the cold season the vehicle has now its own power without vent gases and noise, as long as there is methanol.

Energy and Climate

On the agenda

A joint study by the insurance company Allianz and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has investigated the effects of climate change on finance business. One result is that the risk of a damage caused by global warming increases by about 2 ... 4 % per year, according to Andrew Torrance, head of the British subsidiary Allianz Cornhill.

Board member Joachim Faber said that climate change has become a „strategic risk factor“. The effects like an increase in storms, melting of the arctic ice, and more droughts and inundations are already real. Such events have caused losses in the range of billions during the past years. „In the interest or our customers and stake holders we must keep these risks in mind when we accept to insure a risk or to invest money or give loans“, Faber stated. It is likely that the fees will have to rise. The company has already decided to increase its financial commitment for renewable energies in order to reduce the effects of global warming in the long term.

(DER SPIEGEL online, 29. June 2005)

Matter of Costs

A study by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) says that the economical damage by extreme weather events caused by global warming has increased enormously during the last three decades. There is an increasing danger of irreversible and dangerous climate damage unless greenhouse emissions are stabilized on the present level. Quick political actions for climate protection could prevent damage to the global economy of about 200 trillion US-$ (200 10¹²) in the time from now to 2050.

Even if mankind would suddenly stop burning coal, gas, oil, and gasoline altogether we would still see a rise of the global climate for several decades. Until 2100 the global mean temperature will rise by up to 5 °C, the study says. Effective climate protection would cost about 1 % of the global GSP per year. But if the world would start climate protection in earnest as late as 2030 about 46 trillion $ per year would have to be spent. This is more than the total economical power of the whole mankind. The world would be finished, ecologically and economically.

(DIW press release of 10. August 2005)

Scotland

A project planned in Scotland aims at improving the output of the North Sea oil fields and at the same time producing clean energy. ConocoPhillips, Shell, and Scottish and Southern Energy will split natural gas by steam reforming into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Hydrogen will be used as input for a gas turbine power station with an output of 350 MW. The CO₂ will go into a pipeline leading to the Miller oil field about 250 off the coast where it will be introduced in the ground under pressure. The emission of CO₂ to the atmosphere could thus be reduced by more than 90 % in comparison to conventional processes. Originally the production from the Miller field was planned to be stopped in 2006 or 2007. Pressurizing with CO₂ is hoped to yield another 15 to 20 years lifetime and an extra production of 40 million Barrel. Operation could start in 2009. The investment would be about 600 M$. If everything runs as expected about 1,3 Mt CO₂ per year could disappear in the hole, while the power generated could theoretically supply one quarter of British homes. BP Group Chief Executive Lord Browne said that if the process was applied to just 5 % of the new electricity generating capacity that the world is projected to require by 2050, such projects would have the potential to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by around one billion tons a year.

(Renewable Energy Access, 7. July 2005)

Biofuel

Two US scientists give bad marks to the sustainability of biofuels. Converting corn, soy, and sun flowers needs more energy than can be extracted later from the fuel. They calculated the energy consumption for the plant production (production of pesticides and manure, use of agricultural machines, irrigation, milling, and transport of the cereals) and added the cost for fermenting and distilling the ethanol. They did not include the cost for environmental damage and getting rid of dangerous products. The result is that the conversion of corn to ethanol demands 29 % more energy than the fuel finally contains. The figure for soy is 27 %. Sun flowers come even out with a minus of 118 %.

(Natural Resources Research, issue 14:1, S. 65)

Remark: We hope that nobody is really surprised to learn that the conversion of energy is associated with losses. Thermodynamics' second theorem is not that new. And in terms of efficiency there is only one thing which is even more crazier than using biofuels: using fossil hydrocarbons. One liter fuel from the filling station is the result of 23 t of prehistoric biomass. Talk about losses!

Politics

Diesel to be expelled?

Almost all great German cities plan to introduce restricted areas for diesel cars in the next year. Some cities like Berlin and Frankfurt am Main could extend this to the whole inner city. Environment zones of some kind are planned in more or less every great city. The federal government is now thinking about the details of a marking procedure for the affected vehicles. These are about 3.8 million of cars and one million vans licensed before 1999. Since the beginning of 2005 there is a new EU regulation about fine particulate matter which sets strict limits for the concentration; they must not be exceeded on more than 35 days per year. In some German cities this threshold was reached already in the spring.

What else we have found ...

Risky business

„How dangerous hydrogen can be“ was the start of a news item on 5. July by ORF (Austrian Radio and TV) about an incident which had happened the day before in a pharmacy at Kirchbichl (Tyrol). A sculptor had wanted to buy hydrogen for cleaning an old piece of furniture. When the pharmacy help wanted to fill it from the storage bottle into the plastic bottle which the customer had brought with him there happened an explosion which injured both of them by glass fragments flying about.

Remark: Hydrogen has many positive properties, but we do not think it has a great future as cleaning agent. And you can not simply fill it from one bottle into another. So we conclude that the stuff was in reality hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). This is usually traded in watery solution, is a great solvent (also bleaching agent - ever heard of „hydrogen blond“?) and reacts violently if not treated accordingly. Never mind, in the past we had news items telling us that now buses are running on hydrogen, and extensive technical measures had banned the danger of explosions of the latter.