Hydrogen News

Convoy of BMW cars across Munich

A convoy of 28 BMW Hydrogen 7 vehicles on May 28 in Munich demonstrated that fun of driving and sustainable mobility are feasible at the same time. The route passed a number of Munich sights, beginning at Koenigsplatz, further along the Ludwigstrasse to the Victory Gate. Other stations were Maximilianeum, the old city and finally Theresienwiese.

(BMW press release of May 28 2008)

First Belgian hydrogen filling station opened

On 3 June TOTAL and the Flemish ministry for economy, enterprises, science, innovation, and foreign trade opened the first hydrogen filling station of Belgium in Brussels. The technology for the storage of the cryogenic liquid hydrogen was developed by Linde. The filling station is located at the highway E19 to Paris and is part of a partnership between BMW and TOTAL.

(Linde press release of 3. June 2008)

London Taxis go green

During the Olympic Games in London 2012 there will be zero-emission taxis in the streets of London. An agreement signed on 21. May by the fuel cell developer Intelligent Energy, Lotus Engineering Ltd, LTI (London Taxis International) Ltd and TRW Conekt foresees a fleet of classical London taxis equipped with hydrogen and fuel cells, making them free of emissions. The vehicles will electro hybrids which can circulate for a full day without refilling. The top speed is 120 km/h, and the accelerations is better than that of conventional vehicles. The hydrogen tanks will be refilled at the depot within a few minutes.

(Intelligent Energy press release of 21. May 2008)

More hydrogen buses for Berlin?

The Berlin transport utility BVG might purchase 50 more city buses running on hydrogen during the next years. A decision about the million Euro project is expected for this year. The first buses could be delivered already in 2009, and all 50 new hydrogen buses could be operating by 2016 at the latest. The decisive factor for the investment will be whether or not purchase and operation will be supported financially. There are funding programs along these lines by the federal ministry of transport. According to its own statements BVG is already running 14 buses running on hydrogen, making it the transport utility with the greatest fleet in the world using this innovative technology which is friendly to the environment. Substituting Diesel by hydrogen had the effect that according to BVG during 2007 some 130 t CO₂ were not emitted to the atmosphere. BVG is also a partner in the program „Clean Energy Partnership“ which is a joint activity of vehicle makers, energy suppliers, and users.

(Berliner Morgenpost, 5. June 2008)

Novel tank for liquid hydrogen

Researchers of BMW and partners from other companies have developed a novel tank from composite material for the storage of liquid hydrogen. Its weight is just one third of that of a conventional double tank from steel. An adaptable shape allows a lot of flexibility. The subsystems are integrated into the tank wall, which means that they occupy less space in the car and are better accessible for maintenance. The concept of the interior tank is modular which means that it is easy to produce. BMW Group Research and Technology presented the tank during the final event of the EU project StorHy on 3.and 4. June at Poissy near Paris. during the last four and half years BMW and 34 partners from leading European aerospace companies, car makers and suppliers as well as leading universities and research institutes have investigated means and ways to store hydrogen better than now, either compressed, cryogenically, or in solids. The financial volume of the project was 18.7 M €, of which 10.7 M € were EU funding.

(Press release of 4. June 2008)

Linde shows fork lift with hydrogen ICE

On the CEMAT fair in Hannover from 27. to 31. May Linde Material Handling presented the world's first fork lift with direct injecting hydrogen internal combustion engine and compressor charging. The ready-to-use concept vehicle carries 3 tons, is made for high efficiency and can deliver maximum power also in hydrogen mode. The fuel is transported in a low-weight pressure vessel. One filling with almost 26 l hydrogen under a pressure of 350 bar is equivalent to 2.3 l Diesel. Fork lifts and similar vehicles are seen as possible market for the introduction of hydrogen vehicles, even earlier than cars, because they frequently operate in fleets which facilitates the installation of the infrastructure in central filling stations. And many gas producers or chemical companies generate „waste“ hydrogen, which can be used for hydrogen vehicles. When the first serial hydrogen product will enter the market is not yet certain. Linde Material Handling thinks that fork lifts running on hydrogen could be economical already by 2015. Until then further optimizations will be developed, and the vehicles will be tested in first field projects.

(Press release of 26. May 2008)

General Motors calls for faster installation of the infrastructure

At the recent National Hydrogen Association Conference in Sacramento (California, USA) Larry Burns, General Motors vice-president for Research and Development, challenged government and the oil industry to build 40 hydrogen refuelling stations in southern California. "While automakers continue to commit resources to the development of full-performance, affordable and durable fuel cell-electric vehicles, there appears to be comparatively little parallel investment and resource allocation for development and deployment of commercially ready retail hydrogen infrastructure," said Burns. But getting this process started is something of the highest importance. He said that a comprehensive supply is easier to make than many people would think it to be. According to Burns, "a network of just 12,000 hydrogen stations would put hydrogen within two miles (3.2 kilometres) of 70 per cent of the U.S. population," a far more attainable goal than replacing all of the estimated 170,000 gasoline stations currently operating in the United States. Even "if these stations cost $2 million each," says Burns, "the total cost of $24 billion is not overwhelming," considering the cumulative profits of the oil industry were $123 billion U.S. in 2007 alone. Burns also said the production of hydrogen should not be a problem for the future, since global production is slated to rise to 81 billion kilograms by 2011, half of which is used by oil refineries to remove sulphur from "dirty" crude. Burns noted that the hydrogen being used to refine oil into gasoline would be enough to fuel 135 million fuel-cell powered vehicles, which would significantly reduce the world's dependence on fossil fuels.

Fuel Cells

Fuel cells take to the air

During the Berlin Aviation Show (ILA) Airbus presented for the first time its activities on fuel cells on board of an experimental version of the A320. The system delivers a maximum of 20 kW electrical energy and can do so immediately at low operating temperature. Airbus sees a great potential of the fuel cell to significantly decrease emissions, fuel consumption, and noise.

(Airbus press release of 28. May 2008)

Toyota takes part in project on stationary fuel cells

For the third year in sequence Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) provides fuel cell units for cogeneration in private homes in the framework of a government program. The units deliver 1 kW, run on town gas, generate electrical power, and use waste heat for heating the homes. They are part of a major demonstration project for stationary fuel cells of the Japanese ministry for economy, trade, and industry (METI). Toyota provides 24 fuel cell units for the project partner Toho Gas Co., Ltd.. They will be installed in the three central Japanese districts Aichi, Gifu, and Mie in private homes to gain data on the further development of the technology for commercial use. The cogeneration units developed jointly by Toyota and Aisin Seiki comprise a stationary fuel cell and a hot water storage. Recent improvements like a modified heat recovery cycle could improve the efficiency of heat recovery by about 20 % without a penalty in power output. This results in a significant reduction of energy consumption and CO₂ emissions of the homes.

(Toyota press release of 14. May 2008)

Daimler buses have circulated more than 2 Million km

The 36 Daimler buses running on fuel cells have now exceeded the mark of 2.000.000 km, during which they have transported seven million passengers. They gather continuously data for the further improvement of the system. The drive has an efficiency of up to 60 %, about twice that of a Diesel motor. The fuel cell feeds an electro motor with 200 kW. The range is 300 km, the top speed 80 km/h. The hydrogen travels in pressure vessels for 350 bar on the roof. The bus can fit 70 passengers. The vehicles are very popular with the customers because they are running silently, softly, and without emissions.

(Press release of 29. May 2008)

Sony presents fuel cell for portable electronics

Sony has presented the prototype of a fuel cell which is a further step towards miniaturization of the technology. The dimensions of the type are 50x30 mm, making it about as large as a matchbox. It contains also the control chip and a Lithium Ion battery. Sony says the output of 3 W is enough to run mobile phones, navigation devices, and MP3 players. A filling of 10 cm₃ of methanol makes a running time of 14 hours possible. The advantage in comparison to the previous products is the hybrid construction which makes it possible to get energy both from the fuel and the integrated battery. Methanol is said to be easier to get and to handle than hydrogen. Sony plans to commercialize the technology in the near future. Exact statements about the market start or the price were not made.

(Press release of 6. May 2008)

Energy and Climate

TOTAL says oil supply problems are possible

The global oil production will soon reach its peak. This message is definitely not new — rather the source from which it was heard recently: the French state-owned fuel company TOTAL. The company estimates that the production will rise much slower than expected by the International Energy Agency. The daily production is expected to stabilize on a level of about 100 million barrel. After this there will be no further growth, and even this level will be difficult to keep, said chairman Christophe de Margerie in the economy newspaper Les Echos. He gave geopolitical and geological problems as reasons. Thus TOTAL is much more pessimistic than the International Energy Agency (IEA). The latter expects a rise of the daily production from 87 million barrel now to 116 in 2030. „IEA will soon find that they were to optimistic“, said TOTAL head strategist Jean-Jacques Mosconi according to the newspaper. There is not only a problem of the capacities, but also of the reserves.

TOTAL is the first oil company confirming the so-called Peak Oil theory. It says that the oil production will peak one day, and after this it can not be increased any more even with the greatest effort. This leads to an oil shortage. One prominent proponent of this theory is the independent Energy Watch Group, of which experts of Ludwig-Boelkow-Systemtechnik are members. They say that the production peak was probably already in 2006. From now on the oil production would drop. By 2020 it will be only 58 million barrel. „As far as oil is concerned, the future is behind us“, said Josef Auer, energy expert of Deutsche Bank Research.

(SPIEGEL online, 3. June 2008)

Politics

Brussels gives the green light for the JTI

In late May European Parliament and European Council have approved the project of the European Commission to found a JTI (Joint Technology Initiative) on hydrogen and fuel cells. The JTI, officially known as Joint Undertaking for Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (JU-FCH), will be a private-public partnership of new type which will implement the research objectives of the EU in this field and support the market introduction in a large scale. The most important members are the European Commission and the European industry which is represented by an association which was founded especially for this purpose; the European research institutes are represented similarly. The funding by the Commission will be 470 M € from funds of the 7^th research framework program distributed over six years; industry will provide at least as much. First calls are expected for autumn.

(Press release of the European Hydrogen Association (EHA) of 2. June 2008)

Further Reading

Planet Hydrogen - The Taming of the Proton

Thorsteinn Sigfusson: Planet Hydrogen - The Taming of the Proton; The Coxmoor Publishing Company, Longborough (UK) 2008. ISBN 978-1-901892-27-7, 230 p., 32 €.

The Icelandic author is one of the best known persons in the international hydrogen community. His new book is addressed to industrials, scientists, and generally to all who are interested in the present state and the future of hydrogen technology. It considers the relationship of hydrogen to other renewable energies, production, storage, and use as well as the global efforts to understand and to use it as part of a comprehensive future energy strategy. Apart from a summary of the state of science and technology the author offers a trip around the world in 18 legs: he presents the countries in the world which are the most important drivers for hydrogen and fuel cells.

What else we have found ...

Bull market for donkeys

Many Turkish farmers can not afford the Diesel fuel any more after the price shot from about one Euro last year to 1,55 €/l now. So they leave the tractor alone and have re-discovered the donkey. The newspaper Zaman reports that in the central Anatolian province Yozgat about 4400 of the useful animals have been sold, about twice as much as in the year before. Of course everything has a price, even a donkey. Within one year it rose in rural areas of central Anatolia from some 26 to up to 180 €, almost 600 %.

Remark: The rise of the oil price appears to be reluctand and reasonable in comparison to this. But let's be honest: a donkey has much more to offer. It fills up all alone, small repairs are done automatically, maybe with some support, and it even reproduces by its own. Which tractor can offer this?