A „Clean Energy Project“ will be installed in Berlin. Cars, buses, and other vehicles using various kinds of drive will be supplied in its framework with hydrogen and few alternatives at a public filling station. „The unbalanced dependence of traffic from mineral oil products must be overcome“, said the federal minister for transport, Kurt Bodewig, on 13. June 2001 on occasion of a meeting of the „Transport Energy Strategy“ (TES). He said that alternative fuels would make the traffic basically more independent of price changes. The minister supports the project politically on the European level. The administration for economical affairs and technology of the Senate of Berlin told DWV additionally that the filling station in question would be the same which will supply a fuel cell bus beginning probably in October.

(Press release of the Federal Ministry for Transport of 13. June 2001)

The Clean Energy fleet of BMW visited Tokyo at the end of May. For BMW this is a confession of support for the climate objectives of the Kyoto protocol. The latter's end can only be met by means of hydrogen fuel. The CO₂ emissions of Germany alone could be decreased by 17 Mt per year if every tenth car would run on hydrogen. (BMW press release of 31. May 2001)

State secretary Mosdorf (Federal Ministry for Economical Affairs) took a closer look at one of the cars on 7. June. His comment: „Driving without emissions means an incredible plus for the urbanity of our cities. But there is still enormous work ahead concerning the availability of hydrogen produced without CO₂ as well as distribution and supply of hydrogen filling stations.“ (Press release of the ministry of 7. June 2001)

DaimlerChrysler and the Asian city state of Singapore will test the use of fuel cell cars. Singapore will be the only place in Asia except Japan for a fuel cell car fleet test, said DaimlerChrysler and the Singapore Economic Development Board on 30. May after a meeting. The NECAR 4A (running on compressed hydrogen) made its first drive on the streets of Singapore which was also the first drive in Asia at all. The Singapore government said that it will invest a few hundred M$ in the development of the technology and promised also substantial tax releases for the clean cars.

(Press release of 30. May 2001)

The Opel prototype „Hydro-Gen 1“ based on the Opel Zafira in early May met a four week test program over 10,000 km on the General Motors test ground „Mesa“ in the desert of Arizona. The car running on liquid hydrogen covered 1386 km during a 24 hours marathon test with an average speed of 57.9 and a maximum of 140.1 km/h. Air temperatures measured in the shadow went up to 35 °C, with values of up to 65 °C on the tarmac.

The new generation of GM fuel cells (not yet installed in the test car) will operate without exterior humidity management and under near atmospheric pressure of the air. The output will be 94 kW (model 1999: 80) with peaks of 129 kW (120), the power density will be 1,6 kW/l (1,1) per unit volume and 0,94 kW/kg (0,47) per unit weight. The weight was reduced from 170 to 100 kg, the volume from 170 to 59 l.

GM said that a fuel cell car with a gasoline reformer would need about 70 g of noble metals as catalyst. In the usual exhaust gas catalysts there are 35 g. The demand is reduced further, and the metal supply is not seen as a fundamental problem. And there is a lot of research on substitute substances, common and uncommon ones - the latter including even hemoglobin.

(Frankfurter Rundschau, 8. May 2001; Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter, June 2001)

General Motors and the Canadian company General Hydrogen have agreed on a cooperation for 25 years in order to accelerate the spread of a hydrogen infrastructure as well as the market penetration of fuel cell cars in North America, Europe, and emerging markets. The focus will be on key areas as storage, filling, materials, power electronics, and power generation. GM has acquired 15 % of the shares of General Hydrogen. GM vice president Burns said that investments and planning by the state are a key factor in the development of a hydrogen infrastructure, because otherwise there would never be a reasonable number of vehicles on the roads.

(Press release by General Hydrogen of 13. June 2001)

The Swedish utility car manufacturer will present a new fuel cell city bus prototype on the London Mobility and Transport Exhibition (UITP). It runs on hydrogen. Scania says that the fuel cell has an efficiency of 52 ... 57 %, much more than conventional Diesel motors. Energy consumption is reduces by 60 %. The project has a financial volume of 4,3 MEuro, of which 50 % are funded by the EU in the framework of the JOULE Program.

(Press release of 23. May 2001)

The installation of two hydrogen filling stations in the framework of the Japanese WE-NET program is progressing well. One of them (using a natural gas reformer) will be ready for operation in September, the other (water electrolysis) in December.

An autonomous wind-water power station with 10 kW output has started operation in India. It is the first of its kind in India and will be installed on the island of Kavarathi in Lakshadweep at the coast of the Arabian sea. The hydrogen fuel cell is for bridging periods in which the plant is out of service or does not produce much. The developers use a fuel cell from the own development, and they will simulate the load distribution on the basis of a mathematical model.

Quantum Technologies in Irvine (California, USA) has been awarded the technology innovation award by the HTAP (Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel) for very light tanks for compressed hydrogen gas. In August 2000 a record storage density of 13 % per unit mass was achieved with them. Opel announced on 12. June that the company will cooperate with Quantum in the development of storage systems for fuel cell cars.

(Quantum press releases of 17. and 24. May 2001; vwd, 12. June 2001)

Fuel cell cars may be the great future topic, but the tire manufacturer Michelin wants to be ahead of the trend. From mid 2002 a molten carbonate cell by MTU will deliver electrical power and heat for the Karlsruhe factory (SW Germany). The heat from the fuel cell can be used directly as process vapor under 16 bar and at 200 °C for the vulcanizing of truck tires. The environment will further benefit from the low level of noise emissions of the fuel cell. The Karlsruhe city utility and EnBW are project partners. 

(EnBW press release of 3. May 2001)

The major German energy company and Nuvera Fuel Cells will create a Joint Venture for the distribution of fuel cell devices in Europe. The partners will develop, produce, and distribute fuel cell plants for cogeneration with an output of up to 50 kW_el. They will be used for home energy and for small commercial applications. The objective of the Joint Venture is to distribute the products commercially by 2004.

(Press release of 22. May 2001)

Toyota intends to develop a fuel cell for home applications which will be introduced in the market around 2008. By 2004 a model house will be ready in which the heating devices based on the experience gathered in construction of cars will be tested.

(Japan Today, 30. May 2001)

North Rhine-Westphalia's science minister Gabriele Behler and Ernst Schwanhold, minister for economy, presented a new fuel cell research center on 21. May in Duisburg (NW Germany). The state contributes 15 MEuro. This will make Duisburg a pivot in the Fuel Cell Technology Network which the state of North Rhine-Westphalia has created last year in the framework of its „Future Energy“ initiative.

The Rhoen hospital in Bad Neustadt/Saale (Northern Bavaria) started operation of a fuel cell power station with a molten carbonate cell by MTU based on the „Hot Module“ principle on 6. May. With about 250 kW_el it covers about one fourth of the power demand, and it produces also hot vapor for sterilization. Hans-Josef Fell, research policy spokesman of the environmentalist caucus Bündnis 90/Die Grünen in the federal parliament, said that he could very well imagine that the „100,000 roofs program“ for the promotion of photovoltaics will soon be followed by a „100,000 basements program“ for the promotion of the fuel cell for private use.

(see No. 3/00 „Molten carbonate is good for your health“)

The region of Stuttgart intends to prepare for the fuel cell in time. In October Wirtschaftsfoerderung Region Stuttgart GmbH will hold the f-cell-Forum 2001, a meeting with accompanying fair. They have also published the „Kompetenzatlas Brennstoffzelle 2001/2002“ listing numerous companies, research institutes, and suppliers in the region.

Japanese researchers develop a new fuel cell type called „Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell“ (AEMFC). It is similar to the PEM cell, but the conduction is based not on protons (H⁺) but hydroxyl radicals (OH^-). The maximum voltage rises to 1.64 V (1,23 V with the PEM cell). Voltage under load is higher than 1.23 V (0.7). The cell works under ambient pressure and temperature. Expensive noble metals like Platinum are not needed as catalysts, but specially treated metal hydrides which are cheaper by a factor of about 1000. The scientific leader of the news is Prof. Seijirau Suda of the Kogakuin university near Tokyo.

(Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter, June 2001; more under www.hydrogen.co.jp)

The Mitsubishi group and DaimlerChrysler will jointly produce fuel cells for cars, according to Japanese press reports referring to sources close to the project. Both companies will combine the advanced fuel cell technology of Mitsubishi Heavy and Nippon Mitsubishi with the car technology of Mitsubishi Motors and DaimlerChrysler to make fuel cell cars competitive.

(Japan Times, 3. May 2001)

Woods are of no great help against atmospheric carbon dioxide. In an experimental wood in North Carolina which was gassed with CO₂ the trees included about half of the carbon in their foliage. But when the latter fell to the ground it was decomposed during two or three years, and the CO₂ was back in the atmosphere. The influence on tree growth as well was smaller than expected. The enhanced CO₂ concentration in the air made the trees in fact grow faster initially. But after three years the growth curve flattened. Even when there is excess CO₂ in the air the trees will not include it without limit.

(W. H. Schlesinger et al., Nature 411 (2001) 466-9; R. Oren et al., Nature 411 (2001) 469-72)

The winters in Germany will become milder and wetter, the summers dryer. This is the forecast of the Potsdam-Institut fuer Klimafolgenforschung (PIK). „The climate in Germany is already under the influence of global warming, and during the decades to come it will changer further towards rising temperatures in certain regions“, said climatologist Friedrich Wilhelm Gerstengarbe. During the winter frequent situations governed by western winds are to be expected. „In the summer we will have more heat and drought periods, and as a whole a bit less rain.“

(bild der wissenschaft newsticker, 9. May 2001)

Water vapor in heights of 12 ... 16 km contributes significantly to the greenhouse effect. A study of the Juelich research center found that its concentration there has increased by 75 % during the last years. Since 1980 it has effected a rise of the global mean temperature of 0,11 °C; CO₂ alone was responsible for 0,25 °C. The reasons for the enhanced concentration are not known. It is expected that the result of the study will trigger a re-evaluation of earlier temperature calculations based on CO₂ emissions only.

(Press release of 1. June 2001)

All buildings belonging to the state of New York must get 20 % of their power from renewable sources by 2010. Strict energy efficiency standards must be followed in the case of new or renovated buildings. The same holds for companies and institutions controlled by the state, according to an order by governor Georges Pataki which became effective on 10. June. Pataki, a Republican, thus makes a clear distinction to the Republican in the White House. There will be elections next year.

The draft of a new federal law in Germany on the promotion of cogeneration provides a support for fuel cells as small cogeneration units (< 2 MW) of 0.05 Euro/kWh. The government plans to agree on the draft during the first week of July and to send it to the parliament in time to let it become effective at the turn of the year. Germany would then be the only country of the world which subsidizes such devices from public funds.

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