Hydrogen News
New publication by DWV and EHA
DWV and the European Hydrogen Association (EHA) have published a new booklet called Hydrogen and Fuel Cells as Strong Partners of Renewable Energy Systems. It discusses issues such as:
- Which is the legal and political framework?
- Might bio fuels be the better hydrogen?
- Is hydrogen fuel affordable?
Some key points and results of the publication are:
- Where the hydrogen comes from in the short, medium, and long term
- Hydrogen as storage medium for power from wind and other renewable sources
- Hydrogen generation costs
- How to build up a hydrogen fuel infrastructure
- Hydrogen is more efficient than biofuels
You can get a hardcopy from us, or you can download it for free from the DWV website (look up the „Veröffentlichungen“ tab on the German homepage). The English version is available from the website of the European Hydrogen Association (EHA).
Hydrogen based on wind power from Brandenburg
The fuel supplier Total and the German power producer Enertrag make a feasibility study on the large scale production of hydrogen from wind power. An electrolyser plant can convert wind power to hydrogen with an efficiency of up to 80 %. In case of success the next phase of the German Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) could run buses of the Berlin transport utility (BVG) as well as cars on green hydrogen for the first time. Hydrogen production from wind power serves also for feeding the power grid according to demand because only the wind power which is really needed is supplied to the grid.
(Press release of 25. June 2008)
World Hydrogen Energy Conference in Australia
From 15. to 19. June the World Hydrogen Energy Conference (WHEC) was held in Brisbane (Australia). 692 participants from 44 nations gave 180 oral and 249 poster presentations, though the place was rather remote for many of them. The invited plenary lectures were of high quality, and the contents reflected the state of the art for the whole hydrogen and fuel cell field. Parallel to the main conference a student seminar with 65 participants and an exhibition were held. One highlight of the exhibition was the German pavilion which was used by the organizers of the next conference to make PR for WHEC 2010 in Essen.
Where will the hydrogen come from? Answers for Germany
The Federal Ministry for Transport asked a number of research institutes to make a study called GermanHy to clarify questions like these:
- Which share of the future fuel supply can be covered by hydrogen?
- From which energy sources can hydrogen be produced economically?
- Which will be the effect of using hydrogen fuel on mobility costs, emissions, use of renewables, and dependence on imported energy?
The results were presented to the minister on 26. June. Here a few highlights from the study:
- Hydrogen can supply some 20 % of the energy demand for transport needed in 2050.
- The dominant distribution mode will initially be the delivery of cryogenic liquid plus pipelines for pressurized gas from 2030 on. On-site production will be an additional regional source.
- The costs for mobility will be similar to the present if the development objectives for fuel cell cars can be met. After an introductory phase the hydrogen costs will be between 3 und 4 €ct/km.
- Hydrogen can reduce the direct CO2 emissions from transport by up to 80 %. The emissions of a car can be reduced to 40 to 20 g CO2/km, depending on the production path.
The conclusions of the study are even more impressive when you know that under the assumption of a depletion of fossil resources an oil price of 248 $/barrel was assumed for 2020. For other scenarios a price of 54 $ was the working basis. In 2020!
Daimler gets more range from more pressure
Daimler has started to convert the cars of its fuel cell fleet from 350 to 700 bar technology. This increases the range of operation by up to 70 %. This means an enhancement from 160 to 270 km per tank filling for the small A class which is used now. The B class F-CELL, which will be produced in a small series in 2010, the range will even be around 400 km. The new stack is some 40 % smaller, delivers 30 % more power, consumes 16 % less, and has good cold start properties. The electric motor delivers a maximum power of 100 kW and a maximum torque of 320 Nm. The consumption is equivalent to 2.9 l Diesel per 100 km.
(Daimler press release of 4. July 2008)
Market introduction the Californian way
The California Fuel Cell Partnership has published its ideas on the market introduction of hydrogen and fuel cell cars. The paper called „Vision for Rollout of Fuel Cell Vehicles and Hydrogen Fuel Stations“ makes statements on the number of vehicles, number and kind of filling stations, costs for installing a hydrogen filling station, and the political support required during the transition. the first three phases are:
- Technology Introduction which is marked by hundreds of fuel cell passenger vehicles, approximately 10 fuel cell buses and the first retail-like hydrogen stations. This is the current phase and is projected to end in 2010.
- Pre-commercial with thousands of vehicles, tens of buses and tens of stations from 2010 through 2013.
- Early Commercial with tens of thousands of vehicles, hundreds of buses, and hundreds of stations, from 2013 through the end of 2016.
„These should not be considered hard numbers”, Executive Director Dunwoody said. „Some companies will enter each phase a little sooner or later.“ The vision acknowledges that during this transition, hydrogen stations will not be profitable and will, therefore, require government support.
„Moving towards a hydrogen future has clear benefits for the environment and the economy,“ Dunwoody stated. „Although the benefits may not be fully realized for years to come, it is time to take the next step toward this transition now.“
Production start for the Honda FCX Clarity
On 16. June Honda started the production of what the call the first „true“ fuel cell vehicle, the Honda FCX Clarity. This is the first Honda which was planned as fuel cell vehicle from scratch. A particular new production line was installed at the Honda Automobile New Model Center in Tochigi (Japan). The car consumes an equivalent of 3.2 l gasoline per 100 km and has a range of 450 km per tank filling. In comparison to the previous generation the range was increased by 30 %, the consumption dropped by 25 %, the stack power per unit volume rose by 50 %, and the Lithium Ion battery is 40 % smaller and 50 % lighter. The combined sales plan for Japan and the USA calls for a few dozen units within a year and about 200 units within three years.
Press release of 15. June 2008
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