The hydrogen era is not the future - it is now here, says BMW and presented on 11. May in Berlin its "Clean Energy" fleet. This are the world's first 15 serial cars running on hydrogen, and some of them are the first with a fuel cell - though not for propulsion, but for the electrical supply of the periphery. "We do not aim at the car which consumes three, two or one liter [per 100 km]", but to drive without any emissions, said BMW development head Burkhard Goeschel. His comment on infrastructure: "Our vision is to have ... in 2005 a hydrogen filling station near BMW Group centers in Germany. ... Until 2010 there should be a sufficient network of hydrogen filling stations all over Europe". If the infrastructure makes progress, "I could well imagine that by 2020 at least half of you will drive a new car running on hydrogen." Prices will be equivalent to those for conventional cars and fuels.

Bavaria's minister for economy, Otto Wiesheu, held the "Fuel Cell Day" on 8. May in Munich . He stressed the economical importance of the field: "The development of the fuel cell technology and its broad application opens new business fields and secures jobs". In front of the building there were eight vehicles with hydrogen and/or fuel cells on display. Two bus prototypes were for the first time shown to the public. In 2002 at the latest Wiesheu will start a fleet test with 10 city buses and a sequel project for the airport.

Erhard Schubert, head of the hydrogen projects of Opel, called hydrogen the long term fuel, and any transitional solutions shall not incur too great investments. General Motors would therefore not support hydrogen. The greatest challenge according to him is the development of hydrogen storage for vehicles.

China and Italy will jointly develop hydrogen as new clean energy carrier. This was decided on 9. June in Beijing. The Italian delegation was headed by physics Nobel laureate Rubbia who was also received by Vice Prime Minister Li Lanqing. One focus of the joint work will be the generation of hydrogen from coal. China's Vice minister for science and technology called hydrogen technology a means to reconcile economic growth and protection of the environment. (China Daily, 10. June 2000)

The first European ship running on hydrogen and a fuel cell only was inaugurated on 19. June in Bonn with the city's mayor Dieckmann present. The boat is called "Hydra" and is equipped with an alkaline fuel cell (5 kW) and a hydride tank for 32 Nm³ hydrogen. After three weeks the boat will be brought to Leipzig where the bulk of its use will happen. (See No. 5/98 "Boats")

One item on the agenda of the annual meeting of the Canadian Hydrogen Association was a look back. The field has developed with a speed which even the optimists had not expected. Geoffrey Ballard remembered that there was a time when nobody would believe that a fuel cell could move a vehicle - until the first Ballard bus was running ten years ago. Today the principle is no longer a topic, but everybody talks only about cost reduction. Those doing the talking include all major car manufacturers of the world and a number of the greatest oil companies.

Three markets are apparent for the near future: cars, small power stations, and portable generators. In sparsely populated areas in the USA there are said to be up to 50.000 potential customers who could get power from a fuel cell at half the costs of a grid connection. And the new technology is also used for emergency power supplies. (Montreal Gazette, 1. June 2000)

A new publication reports about calculations on the chemisorption of hydrogen on single-walled graphite nanotubes (SWNT). When a certain coverage is exceeded the hydrogen prefers to make bonds with itself instead of the wall, so that molecular hydrogen exists in the tube. The theoretical storage factors go up to 16,7 % weight related, corresponding to a density of 190 kg/m³ (compare with 71 kg/m³ for LH₂!). (S. M. Lee et al., Applied Physics Letters 76 (2000) 2877-9)

Two months after leaving the Global Climate Coalition the US oil company has acquired a 20 % share in  Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) for 67 M$. Texaco vice president Wicker called this a potential game changing situation. Texaco CEO Peter I. Bijur told the World Petroleum Congress in Calgary on 15. June that Texaco and other companies that once narrowly defined themselves as oil companies are strategically investing in technologies that just 20 years ago they brushed off as a weak threat. "Today, we know they represent our future", he said, and: "I do believe that – ultimately and inevitably – we will see the emergence of the hydrogen economy."

The Korean car company has agreed with International Fuel Cells to build two to four SUVs with a PEM fuel cell and a hydrogen tank. The cell will deliver 75 kW, exceeding the performance of the standard model. Hyundai will also join the California Fuel Cell Partnership. (Reuters, 8. June 2000)

Johnson Matthey has demonstrated a "Dual Fuel" processor which can generate hydrogen from natural gas and LPG (propane, butane) equally well. It can be switched at any time. The idea behind is that fuel cell users in urban areas will mainly use natural gas, which is not always available in rural regions.

An expertise for the government of the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg indicates the danger that the medium sized industry of the state might miss the changes of technology. This is said to be apparent in the field of fuel cells, among other things. The car manufacturers are so far almost inactive. The demise of the combustion engine would therefore hit the heart of the business, which would incur the loss of many jobs. The regional producers of heatings as well are not present at all in the field. It is mentioned that the USA and Japan are supporting the market introduction with funds. (Suedwest Presse, 27. May 2000)

Europe's first heating station on the basis of a PEM cell (and the second in the world) is running since 19. June at Bewag in Berlin. The cell has been developed by Ballard, and for Europe it is produced and marketed by Alstom. The output is 250 kW_el and 230 kW_th. The plant is a joint project of Bewag with HEW, EdF, PreussenElektra and VEAG. 40 % of the project costs of 3.75 MEuro are EU funds. The fuel is natural gas which is reformed internally. From 2003 or 2004 such plants will be produced commercially. Apart from the cell there is also an innovation park to acquaint the public with the new technology.

Europe's first fuel cell which generates electricity and heat from sewage gas is running since 11. May in the sewage plant of Rodenkirchen near Cologne. This use of the former waste product not only reduces the consumption of energy but also the greenhouse gas emissions. The project involves 1.25 MEuro. The plant will supply about half of the electric power and a part of the heat consumption of the sewage plant. This results in an annual saving of 5 GWh energy and a CO₂ reduction of about 1000 t. (http://www.brennstoffzelle-koeln.de/; see No. 5/98 "Cologne")

A house for nine families in the city of Ludwigshafen is supplied by a fuel cell plant in the basement since 3. May for the next three years. Project partners are Wingas from Kassel (natural gas), Technische Werke Ludwigshafen (TWL, city utility) and the housing company Gewoge. There will be about 250 kEuro investment costs. TWL said that there are market analyses according to which the fuel cell would achieve a marked share of 15 %. This, however, would take another 5 to 10 years. (Mannheimer Morgen, 4. May 2000)

The energy company RWE from Essen believes that soon a lot of energy will be generated in decentral systems. A key component among them, according to press reports, is the solid oxide fuel cell which will be marketed broadly from 2004 on. In 2010 at the latest about 14 % of today's power sales (25 TWh annually) will be generated like this. A RWE spokesman confirmed that the company sees the fuel cell as middle and long range perspective, but said that the figure of 14 % be "rather far-fetched". (Berliner Zeitung, 27. May 2000; Koelnische Rundschau, 30. May 2000; see No. 4/99 "Solid Oxide")

Japanese researchers have developed a solid oxide fuel cell with a cerium based electrolyte which is able to process hydrocarbons as ethane and propane even at the comparatively low temperature of 500 °C. They avoid the problem that the carbon forms soot which after a while blocks the path of the ions through the electrolyte. This is why solid oxide fuel cells usually work at 800 °C. The lower temperature would make it possible to use less costly materials. (T. Hibino et al., Science 288 (2000) 2031-3)

The Rhoen-Klinikum hospital in Bad Neustadt (Bavaria) will start to operate a molten carbonate fuel cell of MTU from Munich. Unlike three existing power stations the cell works almost without noise, which is not quite unimportant for a hospital. Apart from the hospital itself MTU and a regional natural gas utility are part of the project. There are also funds from the Bavarian government.

The Japanese ministry for international trade and industry (MITI) supports the fuel cell initiative of DaimlerChrysler Japan Holding Ltd. and Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Co., the greatest Japanese energy producer. Both had started in October 1999 to pave the way for fuel cell cars in Japan. Another partner is Mazda, a subsidiary of Ford, which is a partner of DaimlerChrysler in the fuel cell alliance. Both contribute one fuel cell vehicle each, Nippon Mitsubishi Oil the fuel. Test runs with methanol, hydrogen and a modified gasoline are planned for early 2001 in Yokohama . (Handelsblatt, 10. April 2000; s. No. 5/99 "Japanese infrastructure")

Renault is now partner of BMW and Delphi Automotive Systems in the development of a solid oxide fuel cell as replacement for the conventional car battery. The work will be extended to Diesel systems; so far they involved only gasoline. The devices developed by Delphi will be used by BMW and Renault for their respective own cars during the next five years.

A study made for the Federal Environmental Agency (UBA) proves how much man influences the climate. The method used is based on observational data only and thus not impaired by errors made during interpretation. The change of the temperature of the air near ground is influenced by human activities to about 80 %. 60 % are due to the anthropogenic greenhouse effect. UBA president Troge said that the results remove some uncertainty and show that climate protection is an urgent necessity. (UBA press release No. 24/00 of 8. June 2000)

Reinhard Klimmt, federal minister for transportation, expects a decision on a new and environmental friendly fuel for cars for the near future. The talks in the "Transport Energy Strategy" are now centered on natural gas, methanol, and hydrogen. "We will come to an agreement on one of these fuels during the next months", Klimmt said. (Welt am Sonntag, 7. May 2000; see No. 1/00 "Strategy" and No. 3/98 "Initiative")

A somewhat controversial paper on "the beginning of the solar age in transportation" was published on 26. May by Rezzo Schlauch, chairman of the Green fraction in the German federal parliament, energy expert Michaele Hustedt and transport expert Albert Schmidt. They say that the car not not be avoided, but that it shall become more compatible with environment and independent from oil, the price of which they expect to rise soon. Hydrogen will be a key component in a new transport system. This means for research politics: "This comprises the research ... into gas production from biomass ... and technologies for storage and transport of hydrogen." About infrastructure and market introduction they say: "A distribution network for solar hydrogen has to be installed within 10 years. Then, newly sold vehicles will have to be able to fill up with hydrogen. Politics must assist in the development of a common strategy for marked introduction which will have to be agreed upon with the European partners."

The European Commission will fund the development of a fuel cell car with 90 MEuro, according to a statement of Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin on 29. May in Brussels. The aim is a device for transportation which combines the comfort of a normal car or bus with zero pollutant emission. Most important topics in this context are hydrogen storage and the creation of an infrastructure. In the field of research the storage in graphite nanostructures is one of the most important points.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Technology held a workshop on 16. and 17. May in Ulm on "Hydrogen energy - Future demand for state support of research and development". Participants commented favorably on the receptiveness of the officials from the ministry. Electrolysis and storage as well as system integration were identified as most rewarding objects for funding.