A wind power station for the generation of hydrogen without emissions will be installed next year in Norway in the framework of a joint Scandinavian project. Project partners are Statkraft from Norway, Sydkraft from Sweden and the Swiss-Swedish ABB. They want to develop the technology further and gather experience. Jon Brandsar, technology director of Statkraft, said: „It is only a matter of time before hydrogen becomes a competitive alternative to fossil fuels and batteries as an energy carrier. ... Climatic problems mean that new solutions are becoming imperative and we will see a gradual replacement of energy carriers. In time we will face a demand that energy production is to be pollution-free. Hydrogen produced at a wind or hydropower driven plant satisfies this demand”.

(Statkraft press release of 27. June 2001; see also „Norway“)

In the city Barth, located at the coast of the Baltic Sea, the Wolters Ostseebus GmbH will run a bus on hydrogen at the end of next year. It is being converted at Stralsund. The capacity of Barth's sewage plant will be enhanced considerably next year because neighbor cities will be served also then. This requires extra oxygen which is generated by means of electrolysis. Running a bus is an economic means to use the hydrogen which is generated automatically as well. Mayor Löttge is proud that Barth on  the river Barthe (population 11,000) can in this field now with places like Berlin, London, or Barcelona. The project has a financial volume of 2.65 MEuro, of which 90 % come from funds of the Federal Republic of Germany or the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

(Ostsee Zeitung, 18. July 2001)

EADS Airbus Deutschland has been working for years on the project of a commercial aircraft running on liquid hydrogen, also known as „Cryoplane“. Now there is a study project funded partly from the EU. At an intermediate meeting held at the end of June in Greece there was agreement among the participants that there is no technical obstacle which would prevent such a project. Neither is there more concern about safety as in the case of conventional aircrafts. The representant of the European Commission as well was satisfied and said that the project would probably supported in the 6^th framework program.

50,000 fuel cell cars are to circulate on Japan's roads by 2010. The ministry for economy, trade, and industry (METI) plans a great test program with a volume of about 32 MEuro with the participation of General Motors, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and DaimlerChrysler. At least three hydrogen filling stations will be opened in the Tokyo/Yokohama area. Prime Minister Koizumi's government promotes this development with a lot of energy.

(Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 11. July 2001; Japan Times, 4. August 2001)

California was on 12. July the 5th station of BMW's world tour. The emission rules of this state were one of the prime reasons of carmakers all over the world to think about alternative fuels. At Oxnard near Los Angeles BMW has opened an Engineering and Emissions Control Test Center which is equipped with a hydrogen filling station, among other things. This filling station is transportable and for manual operation; it has been rented from Linde. It had been used on the Expo in Hannover and accompanied the BMW world tour to Dubai and Tokyo.

(Press release of  12. July 2001; Reuters, 12. July 2001 )

Since 26. July a Mercedes van of the "Sprinter" type is running in Stuttgart with a fuel cell drive. At first in Stuttgart and later in Hamburg it will be tested for two years under everyday conditions. The vehicle has a range of more than 150 km and a top speed of 120 km/h. The cell outputs 55 kW. The test will take two years and is done in cooperation with the Hermes mailing service in Hamburg.

DaimlerChrysler press release of 26. July 2001)

In 2003 Toyota will give the first hydrogen vehicles to  the customers to prepare the market. This will be the type FCVH-4 with pressurized hydrogen gas storage, a range of 250 km and a top speed of 150 km/h. This will, however, be done on a "limited scale", because the pressurized hydrogen infrastructure is not yet developed. The car will be available in Japan only. Press releases stated a price of about 10 M¥ (90 kEuro).

(Bloomberg, 12. June 2001; Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter, July 2001)

Quantum Technologies (Irvine, California, USA) has presented a pressure vessel made mainly of composite material which can store hydrogen under 10,000 psi (almost 700 bar). It accommodates 80 % more than the tanks for 5000 psi shown previously. This makes a much higher range for fuel cell cars possible. The tank is made of three layers and has a pressure regulator inside the tank with an output pressure of not more than 10 bar (150 psi). During a burst test it failed under 1620 bar (23,500 psi), thus offering a safety factor of 2.35.

(Press release of Impco Technologies of 27. June 2001)

A Ford prototype on the basis of the P2000 with a four cylinder combustion engine was presented on 21. August during an event at the company seat at Dearborn (Michigan, USA). It will facilitate the collection of data for comparison purposes. The car stores hydrogen gas in tanks of 87 l under 250 bar and has a range of 100 km. An upgrading to 350 bar is planned.

For one year now there is the "Competency Network Fuel Cell" in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the framework of the State Initiative for Future Energies. The jubilee was celebrated on 16. July at a meeting in Herne in the presence of the state ministers for economy, Schwanhold, and science, Behler. Schwanhold declared the intention to turn the state into a center for fuel cell technology. The government has so far funded 17 fuel cell projects with 15 MEuro. This triggered investments of a total of 40 MEuro. The production site is upgraded continuously with the objective to establish a fuel cell stack production in the state. Science minister Behler declared that the support for the research in the field of fuel cells is in her eyes one of the most important ways of energy research.

Prof. Stolten, member of the Juelich research center and head of the network, thinks: „The fuel cell has the potential to change our energy world drastically. First aggregates which make a technical sense will be available in three or four years. In the next decade they will be a firm foothold in the market. The cells will be of special importance in the fields transport, domestic energy, and portable systems. This means in buses, in the heat and power supply of homes, and in mobile phones, laptops, and other portable electric devices.“

RWE plus AG will equip the representation of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is now being built in Berlin, with an energy supply on the basis of a fuel cell. The state RWE plus AG share the costs of 1.2 MEuro. Company chairman Manfred Remmel underlined during the signing ceremony that his company has a great interest in the topic. By 2015 RWE wants to make about 20 % of the fuel cell business in Germany. „We expect that about 30 % of the energy will be generated by distributed systems by then“, he said. About 10 % of this energy will come from fuel cells. He expects the serial maturity for home fuel cells in 2005, with „competitive fuel cells from about 2007“.

(RWE Plus AG press release of 10. July 2001)

ZSW (Center for Solar and Hydrogen Energy Baden-Wuerttemberg) at Ulm gets 3.25 MEuro for a fuel cell center from the state government, according to economy minister Doering. Prof. Juergen Garche of ZSW said that this funding by the state triggers another 1.5 MEuro from the federal government. This is a sufficient financial basis for the establishment of a fuel cell center. Garche said: „It will be a demonstration object for medium sized companies.“ Another objective is to trigger the creation of new companies in this new field of technology.

(Suedwest Presse, 24. July 2001)

After Vaillant and Buderus another important manufacturer of heating systems enters the fuel cell field, namely Viessmann. Viessmann will develop a home energy system with 2 kW together with Sachsenring Zwickau (fuel cell system), SGL Carbon (components), Siemens Landis & Staefa (control) and ZSW at Ulm (scientific support). This is a joint project supported by the Federal Ministry for Economy.

(Suedwest Presse, 25. July 2001)

H Power Corp. from USA will ship six beta units of its home fuel cell to Gaz de France. Both companies have applied for the CE mark to be able to distribute the devices in the whole European Community.

(H Power press release of 31. Mai 2001)

Cheap fuel cells from the roll are one objective of a process patented by Manhattan Scientific. The power range aimed at will be that above mobile phones, i. e. domestic devices or tools. The special feature is that the cells do not have a stack made of bipolar plates, but a combination of elements which can be made cheaply and in great numbers on polymer substrates. This reduces also the number of seals required.

(Manhattan Scientific press release of 19. March 2001; US patent No. 6194095 of 27. February 2001)

GM and Exxon have presented a new gasoline reformer for fuel cell cars. In comparison to the predecessor type the system size was reduced to 25 %, and the startup time from 12 to 15 minutes is now below 3 minutes. The efficiency can reach 80 %, and 40 % with fuel cell. General Motors thinks that gasoline reforming is a bridge strategy for the time until a hydrogen infrastructure is available.

GM intends also to enter the market for stationary power supply. A prototype of a small fuel cell power station for companies, public buildings, or private homes was presented. GM vice president Burns thinks that stationary devices might be in the market prior to the first cars; which would have the advantage: „Customers could learn the advantages of the fuel cell at an early stage, which would facilitate the later introduction in cars.“

(General Motors press release of 7. August 2001; Verkehrsbrief 8. August 2001 )

The inundations in Poland late July and early August is a consequence of global warming, according to the director of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hartmut Grassl from Hamburg. Nearly all regions with high precipitation experienced flooding maybe every 50 years in the past, but every five or ten years now. Higher average temperatures and heat waves cause more rain. „This means that we will have flooding which we did not know before.“

(Der Tagesspiegel, 30. July 2001)

On 15. August the German Federal Government has agreed about a draft for a law on cogeneration. Power from fuel cells fed into the public grid will be supported with 0.05 Euro/kWh starting with 2002 (see DWV press release 3/01 of 6. July 2001). Power from other small stations up to 2 MW_el must be supported by the utilities with up to 0.025 Euro/kWh, from other units the rate is initially 0.015 Euro/kWh. DWV chairman Dr. Rolf Ewald is satisfied about the development: „This is along the lines of our proposal to the minister for economy two years ago to supplement the program for 100.000 roofs [with photovoltaic devices] with a 100.000 basement program.“

The draft is to become effective at the turn of the year. The new law will accompany a voluntary obligation of the economy to reduce CO₂ emissions by 45 Mt. If the objective is not met a quota for cogeneration power will be introduced, as it was planned initially. Since the major utilities have so far shown a certain lack of enthusiasm for cogeneration and climate protection the Federal Association for Cogeneration has in a press release distinct doubts about the effectivity of the obligation.

Canada will spend about 375 MEuro in climate protection projects distributed over five years. 80 MEuro will be reserved for fuel cells, more efficient cars, and the market introduction of low emission cars. About one fifth of this sum will be spent for a „Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance“ which will explore ways to clean traffic, similar to the German TES.

(Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter, July 2001)

Over the following eight years Norway will spend about 1.25 GEuro for a comprehensive clean energy project. Hydrogen and CO₂ free consumption of natural gas play a major role. Thus the country will meet the requirements of the Kyoto protocol and make better use of its gas of which now 98 % are exported.

by Peter Hoffmann (editor of the Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter), 320 pages, with a preface of US senator Tom Harkin, ISBN 0-262-08295-0, 32,95 $; will appear in September at MIT Press

by Seth Dunn, Worldwatch Paper No. 157, ISBN 1-878071-59-9, 90 S., 5 $; Contact: Worldwatch Institute, 1776 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 (USA); Tel.: (001-202) 452-1999, Fax 296-7365