Hydrogen News

Hydrogen airborne

Hamburg's mayor Ole von Beust and many journalists witnessed on 7 July 2009 the start of the world's first airborne plane propelled by a fuel cell and steered by a pilot on the airport of Hamburg. It is an Antares DLR-H2 by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The Antares generates no CO₂ and much less noise than comparable motor gliders. The propulsion was developed by the DLR institute for Technical Thermodynamics together with the partners Lange Aviation, BASF Fuel Cells, and Serenergy (Denmark).

The Antares DLR-H2 is based on the motor glider Antares 20E by Lange Aviation with a wing span of 20 m. With the fuel cell propulsion Antares has a range of 750 km with a flying time of five hours. The heart and the major innovation is the direct drive by a highly efficient fuel cell developed by DLR. This system delivers up to 25 kW electrical power while only 10 kW are necessary in cruise. The efficiency in this phase is about 52 %. The total efficiency of the drive train from tank to propeller is about 44 %, about twice that of conventional propulsions based on combustion technologies.

Reshuffled

The positions in the triangle Daimler – Ford – Ballard have been redistributed again. Ford Motor has sold its shares in the common daughter company to Daimler, according to a report by Bloomberg. Ford said that the work on fuel cells will be continued internally. Unchanged remain the conditions in the other common daughter Automotive Fuel Cell of which 50.1 % belong to Daimler, 30 % to Ford, and 19.9 % to Ballard Power Systems.

(Fuel Cell Works, 25. June 2009)

Positive summary by Opel

Ten HydroGen4 by Opel circulate in Berlin since December 2008 as contribution to the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP). The regular operation of the cars in quite different profiles makes it possible to gather a wide range of performance and filling data. Meanwhile the fourth generation has run 1.5 million km in the hand of customers and has been refilled 11.000 times. „The feedback from our partners about their daily experience with vehicles and fillings are very promising and helpful“ according to Dr. Lars Peter Thiesen, head of the hydrogen and fuel cell introduction strategy for GM and Opel in Europe. „The vehicles are very reliable in the hard everyday operation in city traffic and clearly demonstrate the potential of hydrogen technology. The further development of the fuel cell drive train sets clear signs: new technical information from the field test in Berlin have been introduced into the further development of the vehicles. The data made it possible to make further improvements regarding reliability, performance, and consumption.“

CEP is a European lighthouse project for the demonstration of everyday suitability of hydrogen for fuel in road vehicles with support by the German federal ministry for transport, building, and city development.

(Press release of 28. August 2009)

General Motors keeps going towards hydrogen cars

General Motors had always stressed the intention to be in the front of the development of fuel cell technology. Many were not quite certain about how reliable this is considering the changes happening in the company now. But the company underlined to remain active in the field. About 2012 they hope to present a fuel cell vehicle suitable for serial production. „Technology leadership is one of the pillars of the company“, said Alan Taub, GM's executive director of research and development. „That is going to remain, and it will probably be emphasized as part of the brand of GM.“

(Automotive News, 13. August 2009)

Considerable progress has been made by GM in the development of the fuel cell. The 5^th generation delivers 93 kW, just like before, but is clearly smaller. The costs were reduced by less use of expensive platinum as catalyst. Only some 30 g are necessary now, compared to 80 g previously. In the next generation less than 10 g will be necessary. The life expectancy of the cells is expected to rise from 80.000 to 120.000 miles.

(Autobloggreen, 17. August 2009)

Another new filling station in Berlin

On 12^th August Wolfgang Tiefensee, federal minister for transport, celebrated the roofing ceremony for a new hydrogen filling station together with TOTAL, StatoilHydro, and Linde. It is the first of four new filling stations which will be built within the coming two years in Berlin with support from the federal ministry for transport. Tiefensee commented: „Here we put the future into the tank. Hydrogen and fuel cell technology is clean, efficient, and powerful - on land, on water, and in the air. Building new hydrogen filling stations will further drive electro mobility ahead. After more than 100 years combustion engine and domination by natural oil electromobility, battery, and fuel cell indicate the change of a technological era in transport."

Hydrogen will be dispensed in liquid (from September 2009) and gaseous form (from February 2010) from dispensers for 35 and 70 MPa. StatoilHydro produces hydrogen gas on site by means of electrolysis. The electrolyser is an innovation and can be started and shut down quickly and flexibly. During the project it will be subjected to tests in which the typical demand profiles of wind turbines will be simulated. The filling system communicates both with the storage and the tank of the vehicle to be fillid up to generate the necessary pressure.

Linde delivers liquid hydrogen from Germany's only industrial hydrogen liquefaction plant in Leuna (near Leipzig). Filling is done by means of a fully automatic coupling quickly and user friendly. Technical highlight: a small power station uses the hydrogen gas escaping from the liquid tank due to evaporation to run a fuel cell which supplies power and heat to the station.

Dropping the pilot

Larry Burns, 58, General Motors vice president for research, development, and strategical planning and one of the most important drivers for hydrogen, batteries, less consumption and similar objectives, will leave the company after 40 years. His step is seen as part of the changes the company is experiencing now. Other factors may be debates in the old company leadership and budget cuts. Burns was the driving force behind the development of types as HyWire and Chevrolet Sequel. Nothing is known about his plans for the future. Most people do not expect that he will simply grow roses and care for the grandchildren.

Fuel Cells

Smart Fuel Cell enhances the product range

SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG from Brunnthal has extended the range of portable fuel cells for mobile homes, boats, camping etc. and presents the type EOY 2200 on the Caravansalon at Duesseldorf this year. It provides even more independence from the grid with 38 % more energy than the previous top type EFOY 1600 and a capacity of 2200 Wh per day. The specific energy costs dropped by some 7 %. Methanol is available from more than 1200 shops all over Europe.

(Press release of 18. July 2009)

Fuel cell charger from Toshiba

Before October the Japanese electronics company Toshiba will offer an external battery charger comprising a fuel cell running on methanol. This portable device will be able to charge phones, music devices, and games off a wall outlet. The product had been announced for spring, but was delayed. Toshiba intends to bring further fuel cell products to the market. For 2015 they plan sales in the fuel cell sector of a volume of 1,7 G$.

(PC World, 5. August 2009)

Catalysis without platinum

In the framework of a project of the Japanese New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) the company Showa Denko K.K. has developed catalysts for PEM cells which do not need platinum or metals of the platinum group. They are based on niobium or titanium oxide and comprise also carbon and nitrogen. During the project they performed for 500 hours, which is just 10 % of what is necessary for practical purposes but much more than what comparable catalysts could do. Production costs of 500 ¥ (3,70 €) per kW were given, about 1/20 of what must be paid for platinum at current prices. The company says that the new catalysts have also a lower solubility than platinum which makes them last longer.

(Fuel Cell Works, 16. July 2009)

Promising membrane

A research group based at the University of California Riverside reports about the development of a new fuel cell membrane which might replace the current Nafion and even make the use of other than noble metals like cobalt, nickel, iron, and silver as catalysts possible. It is a hydroxide exchange membrane. The group has found a power density of 250 mW/cm² for such an alkaline membrane. They say that by switching from an acidic medium to a basic membrane fuel cells have the potential to solve the problems of catalyst cost and durability while achieving high power and energy density. The fuel efficiency is improved by reducing crossover. And the cells are more flexible in terms of fuel because they are able to use fuels from fossil origin or biomass.

(Sh. Gu et al., Angewandte Chemie 48 (2009) 6499-502)

Energy and Climate

New book by Stern

In 2006 a report by the British economist Nicholas Stern made headlines in which he tried to estimate the economical effects of climate change. In time for the Copenhagen climate summit in December he presented on 28. August the German version of a new book under the title The Global Deal. How to face climate change and create a new era of growth and prosperity.

Stern finds that climate protection should be „a child's play“ for the world considering how much is at stake. A global warming of 5 °C until 2100 in comparison to the change of industrialisation „would redefine the areas of settlement of mankind“. The refuge of hundreds of millions would mean war based on all experience. So climate change is essentially a matter of risk management.

Termination of global deforestation, dissemination of climate friendly technologies, and support of adaption to the unavoidable effects of the climate change which is already happening can be done for about 200 G$ per year starting in 2020. Considering that the world inland product is 60 T$ Sterns thinks this should be feasible.

(Der Tagesspiegel, 29. August 2009)

China to control metal exports

Press reports say that Chinese government circles discuss a draft for a law limiting the export of various metals necessary for battery and electric vehicles. Lithium and its compounds are not on the list, but Terbium, Dysprosium, Yttrium, Thulium, and Lutetium. The export of other metals like Europium, Cerium, Neodymium and Lanthanum could be limited to 35.000 t per year. China is the origin of about 95 % of the rare metals produced in the world.

(cars21.com, 29. August 2009)

Politics

US Congress throws a spanner into DoE's wheels

Stephen Chu, US energy secretary, was not favourable disposed towards hydrogen when he submitted his first budget draft to Congress. It was cut out completely, leaving just 68 M$ left of a total of previously 169 M$ hydrogen funding. But parliament had a different opinion. The House inserted a funding of 153 M$ in the draft, the Senate even 190 M$. Funding for hydrogen fuel is back in the drafts explicitly in about the old height. A joint committee of the two houses has to agree on a final text after the summer break in September.

Patrick Serfass, spokesman of the National Hydrogen Association, expressed his satisfaction about this end of the discussions. He said that congress was very well informed about the importance of the topic and made clear that the use of renewable energy must be promoted using the whole width of the field instead of working selectively. He also underlined that the funding of hydrogen was not to the disadvantage of battery research or production, a fact which was favourably received by the battery and fuel cell community.

What else we have found ...

Light and easy

A bird's feather is a marvellous design; just ask your canary. It is durable, robust, and light but also flexible and resistive. It can store large amounts of air in microcrystalline pores. Could this be used for other gases than air?

We could and should, according to scientists from the University of Delaware. During a conference in June they presented a process for making a carbonised and highly porous fibre material from hen's feathers which can absorb as much hydrogen as metal hydrides or even more. At this time the group says it can store enough hydrogen to let a normal car run for 480 km. Hydrogen would amount for 2 % of the tank weight. They hope that an improvement of the storage capacity to six or more weight percent is possible. A number of safety concerns would disappear because the storage is done neither at high pressures nor low temperatures; the carbon material is also much lighter than metal hydrides.

Supply problems are not to be expected any time soon. More than five billion chickens are slaughtered per year in the EU alone, resulting in vast amounts of feathers.

Remark: Every peasant should have a hen in the pot on Sunday, was the wish of king Henri IV. of France 400 years ago. Well, maybe every driver will have his hen house in the tank a few years from now.