On 6. February Ford presented its fuel cell car "Focus" to the EU Commissioner for Energy and Transport, Loyola de Palacio. De Palacio said that the Commission plans a large scale experiment with fuel cell cars in ten major European cities. The objective is to investigate the use of hydrogen motors under market conditions. She did not say when and where the experiment will start. Brussels has no intention to decree which fuel to use, but a sufficient supply must be guaranteed. Alliances in this field between car makers and oil companies would be welcome. (Reuters, 6. February 2001; Mannheimer Morgen, 10. February 2001)

The Focus' first appearance in Germany was on 14. February in Berlin in the presence of Kurt Bodewig, federal minister for transportation. In comparison to the standard vehicle the prototype offers almost the same space conditions; just the seat  beside the driver is a bit higher to accommodate the fuel cell (Ballard Mark 900). A composite tank for compressed hydrogen gas is behind the back seat and occupies a great part of the luggage compartment. The range of 150 km is not yet satisfactory. All possibilities to improve this are investigated, but the decision for a system is not yet mature.

Company spokesmen said that Ford will use a test fleet of 50 vehicles in 2004 in California; around 2007 the test could be extended numerically and geographically, and starting in 2010 a sale to normal customers could be possible.

DaimlerChrysler delivers a fuel cell van of the type Mercedes-Benz Sprinter to the Hamburg delivery service Hermes Versand Service before the end of this year. The vehicle will prove the fitness for everyday use of the new propulsion in practical tests.

Hermes CEO Wolfgang Fuerwentsches said about the project: „As operators of a great vehicle fleet we want to accelerate the development of environmental friendly vans. In the framework of the Hamburg Hydrogen Society we and four other Hamburg companies test already five vans with an Otto motor running on hydrogen. But we think that this technology is a dead end, and the future belongs to the fuel cell. There is already a hydrogen filling station for two years in Hamburg. We hope that vans with fuel cell and electric motor will be produced in series in the foreseeable future and at affordable investment costs.“

The van has a front drive and stores compressed hydrogen gas in tanks in the roof. The well-known filling station in Hamburg will be there to supply it. For the first half year, however, it will run for Hermes in Stuttgart to be close to Nabern, just in case. With an output of the electric motor or 55 kW the Sprinter achieves a maximum speed of 120 km/h and a range of more than 150 km.

(DaimlerChrysler press release of 2. January 2001; see No. 1/99 „Filling station“)

BMW makes a world trip with its prototypes of the 750 hL series. The first stop was in Dubai on 31. January. The government there has a high interest in technologies which can promote the country after the end of the oil era. Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum accepted the patronage of the event and made also a short ride with the clean car. Dubai could become the center of a Middle East hydrogen movement. The TH Munich is making a feasibility study on the construction of a pilot plant for hydrogen generation.

On 12. July the cars will present themselves in Los Angeles, going there via Brussels, Milan, and Tokyo. They have meanwhile made more than 100.000 km without problems.

A „Competence Center for Hydrogen Technology“ will soon exist in Germany's North East. „We foresee the introduction of fuel cells running on hydrogen during the next five years on a broad basis", said Klaus Seehase for the Technology and Trade Center Schwerin/Wismar (TGZ) in Schwerin. A study will evaluate the state of the art, identify infrastructure measures, and service potentials of the universities. The city of Schwerin said that the city's honorary citizen, inventor, and industry leader (and DWV co-founder) Ludwig Boelkow will take part in the establishment of the center. Apart from the Schwerin initiative there are other hydrogen technology projects in Mecklenburg - Western Pomerania, for example in Stralsund, on the island of Ruegen, and in Greifswald.

(Schweriner Volkszeitung, 27. December 2001)

Shell Hydrogen (Amsterdam), Hydro Québec (Montréal) and Gesellschaft fuer Elektrometallurgie (Nuremberg) will create a joint venture for the development, production, and marketing of hydrogen storage systems. A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed at the end of the last year, according to a statement published early February. The center of interest will be on metal hydride systems.

(Press release of 5. February 2001)

The first Italian fuel cell bus will be tested in July 2001 in the North Italian motor metropolis, and it will run in normal service before the end of this year. The bus by Irisbus, a Renault and Iveco subsidiary, runs on hydrogen produced electrolytically, and it has also a battery. The fuel has an output of 60 kW. Depending on the results of an evaluation phase for several years and on the market conditions prevailing then the operator company ATM will decide about the purchase of these zero-emission buses in the second half of this decade. Irisbus plans two more fuel cell bus projects in Paris and Madrid late 2002 / early 2003.

(Hyweb-Gazette, 22. January 2001)

The GEF (Global Environment Facility), an institution of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), plans the use of 30 to 40 hydrogen and fuel cell buses in five countries of the Third world. The countries are Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, India, and China. Some of the cities with the worst air pollution of the world are located in these countries. GEF shoulders about 60 M$ of the total project costs of 130 M$, private companies about 25 M$, and the five countries the rest. It is not yet clear where the buses will come from; there will be a call for tender. GEF expects that such buses will become competitive for conventional technologies between 2007 and 2010 with prices below 500 k$, as soon as more than 1000 of them have been produced.

(Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter, February 2001)

After almost two years of development BMW presented on 17. February the first car supplying its electrical demand not from a battery, but from the gasoline tank by means of a solid oxide fuel cell. In about five years the system will be offered optionally with 5 kW output. A reformer cracks the gasoline under 800 °C in hydrogen and the rest; the hydrogen feeds the cell, and the rest is burnt and provides heat for the reformer. This is almost twice as efficient as the combination of motor, APU, and battery. A saving of about 1 l /100 km in operation appears possible. And the cell does not depend on the operation of the motor. Heating and air condition while the car stands and new electronic systems work better this way.

(BMW press release of 16. February 2001)

The two car makers and the oil company will jointly develop fuel cell cars, according to the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. While the cooperation of the car makers is not new, Exxon is to contribute the reforming of gasoline; the paper reports that this will be the main line of development. The new alliance intends also to create international standards for fuel cell cars.

A joint press release of General Motors and Toyota says that both companies see hydrogen as suitable fuel in the long range and a clean hydrocarbon in the short and medium range. Hydrogen is the only fuel which has the potential to significantly enhance the vehicle efficiency while reducing the emissions. The transition, however, has to take into account that millions of gasoline motors exist today. Strategies making the co-existence of both systems possible are seen to be necessary.

(Financial Times Deutschland, 1. January 2001; GM press release of 8. January 2001)

An expert group of the Science and Technology Agency and private companies headed by Prof. Yoichi Kaya, energy expert at Keio University, has presented a plan for the market introduction of fuel cells until 2010. They will then be an important source of energy for car as well as for electrical power and heat in the home. Phase one, lasting until 2005, is to focus on the development of basic technologies and prototypes, while phase two will bring about the full commercialization of the technology. The costs for a fuel cell car drive will be 350 to 600 EUR in 2010, about the same as for an internal combustion motor. The costs for a fuel cell heating are estimated to be 800 to 1150 EUR. The government is urged to assist the economy by support for the research and bringing up to date the regulations. It could also take the lead in the installation of fuel cells for the electrical and heat supply of public buildings, buy fuel cell cars, and invest in production plants. The group says that once mass production begins around 2010 the market will carry itself.

(Kyodo, 5. January 2001)

The important German utility RWE celebrated on 7. February in Essen an important step to the completion of one of the demonstration plants which it will use to start in the fuel cell era. During the next three years the company will invest a sum "in the million Euro order of three digits" in the further development of the technology. "We believe that the fuel cell can take an important position in the future energy mix", said RWE head Dietmar Kuhnt. By 2015 RWE expects a contribution of the fuel cell to the total power generation of more than 10 %. „Just ten years ago nobody at RWE would have said this“, Kuhnt admitted.

(Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, 8. February 2001)

EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG (utility for south-west Germany) and Sulzer-Hexis AG (CH-Winterthur) will jointly offer solid oxide fuel cells for the house energy supply. A memorandum of intent signed on 14. February in Karlsruhe says that units with 1 kW_el and 3 kW_th (up to 25 kW with additional burner) for space and water heating are planned. The systems developed and produced by Sulzer-Hexis will be installed and maintained by specially selected personnel for EnBW. 55 of them will be delivered at first, some of them to city utilities cooperating with EnBW. The experiences gathered with them will later help in the general introduction in the market. Both sides consider already to enhance the number of systems from 55 up to 220. The fuel cells will be available initially in connection with contracting offers only, because the costs are still high in the start phase. Rising numbers and falling prices will give economic reason to a general sale.

(EnBW press release of 14. February 2001)

Electrolux will develop a vacuum cleaner without cable which gets its energy from a fuel cell. The latter will be supplied by Manhattan Scientifics. This company will use the experience gathered in the development of a bicycle. A prototype will be running by February. Its output will be 1 kW, and its running time two hours, depending on the size of the storage.

(MSNBC, 25. January 2001)

Germanwatch announced calculations according to which the emission CO₂ in Germany for the first time in a number of years did not decrease in 2000, but increased by 0.2 %, even though the total energy consumption dropped somewhat. Consumption for space heating and cars was lower than before, but the favorable economic climate enhanced the industrial energy demand. Of quite particular meaning for climate was a switch in fuels: the dramatic reduction of co-generation made the consumption of natural gas in the power stations drop sharply, while lignite grew by 5 %. Two new large lignite power stations had a clear negative effect despite of their high efficiency. Before this background Germanwatch is rather skeptical about the chances that Germany could emit 25 % less CO₂ in 2005 than in 1990.

(KlimaKompakt No. 9, February 2001)

2000 was the warmest year of the last century in Germany. With an average of 9.9 °C it was even warmer than 1994 which so far held the top with an average of 9.7 °C. Precipitation during last year was in the normal range.

Globally 2000 was the sixth warmest year since records are kept (since 1880). All even warmer years were during the last decade, namely 1998, 1997, 1995, 1990, and 1999. The temperature anomaly was stronger on the northern hemisphere than globally.

US President Bush appointed Robert Walker as advisor for science, technology, and space. The former senator was one of the most active supporters of hydrogen and fuel cells during his term in congress. In a speech given in the Heritage Foundation on 19. September he expressed doubts that the current state of knowledge about global warming justifies legal measures or international agreements. Nevertheless he predicted an important role for hydrogen and fuel cells, but rather for guaranteeing the energy supply which he considers as not safe in the long term on the basis on conventional fuels. Decentralizing the energy business is something which economy and government must react to in time.

Spencer Abraham is new energy secretary. During his time in Senate (one term for Michigan) he rather supported bills for the abolishment of DoE, of which he is now the boss, and against increasing the subsidies for renewables. Optimists think, however, that Abraham is able to learn.