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Hydrogen Mirror 5/98

News from Hydrogen and Fuel Cell

compiled by the German Hydrogen Association

 

The topics of issue 5/98:
Hydrogen

 

Fuel Cells

 

Energy And Climate

 

Politics

 

And What Else Have We Found...

 

Further Reading

 

 

 

Hydrogen

 

Boats
A boat will be equipped with a PEM fuel cell and a small buffer battery for the Expo 2000 by the Fachhochschule Leipzig (HTWK) to shuttle on the Karl Heine Channel between between exhibition sites in the city district of Plagwitz. The diesel engine of "MS Weltfrieden" was replaced by an electric motor (11,5 kW). The metal hydride storage were provided by Daimler-Benz and MTU, the hydrogen for the test phase will be delivered by Air Products. Later it will be generated on land by an electrolyser, partly by means of solar energy. Approval and safety aspects are dealt with by Germanischer Lloyd for the boat, by TÜV for the land installation.

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Buses
At the end of 1999 or the beginning of 2000 Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) will operate a fuel cell bus with compressed hydrogen gas storage in scheduled service in the framework of an EU project. The bus is made by MAN, the cell by de Nora. BVG sees this as test run for the general introduction of such drives in their bus fleet.

The board of DWV has sent a letter to the chairman of Hamburger Hochbahn AG in which it supports the company's decision to change the buses to fuel cells step by step (see no. 4/98 "Buses"). A press release about this was published as well.

Daimler-Benz will provide a NEBUS prototype with hydrogen and fuel cells for a limited test run in the city of Mexico in November, according to an announcement by research chairman Voehringer during a press conference on 11. September there. So far such buses are running in Chicago and Vancouver. Mexico is the greatest city of the world — and the one with the worst air.

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Railway
The government of Schleswig-Holstein will provide electric power for the railway line Kiel-Luebeck. The fraction of the Green party in the parliament has proposed to change not the line, but the locomotives. A study made for it shows that fuel cell locomotives running on hydrogen made by wind power would be more economic than a conventional electrification. There are no suitable locomotives so far, but the planning will take a few more years anyway. Three wind power turbines at 1,5 MWel could provide the power. The fraction proposes that the government, which it supports, should promote other projects as well which combine hydrogen with wind power.

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$$$
The hydrogen program of the Department of Energy (DoE) scored comparatively well in the discussions about the US federal budget for the fiscal year 1999 (started 1. October 1998). The appropriations were increased from 16 to 24 M$. The means for renewable energies (photovoltaics, wind power) remained more or less constant. (See Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter 10/98)

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Motor scooters
The DoE supports the development of electrolysers on the basis of solar energy and of hydride storage for hydrogen motor scooters in the framework of a 1.7 M$ contract. Motor scooters are an important means of transportation in the cities of the Third World, but contribute significantly to air pollution. (See http://www.ovonic.com/news/Oct8_1998.html).

The suiting motor scooter might make its test rides already in a few months. A new law in Taiwan demands that a certain part of new vehicles must be emission-free. A leading manufacturer there makes a feasibility study with the Desert Research Institute at Reno (Nevada, USA). (See Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter 10/98)

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Economy car
Before the end of this year the US technology center Arthur D. Little will present in a medium class car the state of the development of its reformer which makes hydrogen from gasoline and almost every other fuel (see no. 6/97 "Hydrogen from gasoline"). The maturity for serial production might be possible in 2005. Development head Richard Stobart said in an interview with "Automobil Industrie" (No. 7/98) that the car with ADL reformer and fuel cell consumes less than 4 l/100 km. The objective is 80 miles per gallon (2,9 l/100 km). Stobart says that the price for a serial car with fuel cell using all cost advantages of the serial production should not be more than 10 to 15 % above that of a gasoline car. He called the fuel cell the most significant new technology in the field of vehicles. Graphite nanofibers are interesting in his eyes, but yet in an early stage. This might be different in ten years.

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Fuel cells

 

Direct way
"Development of a direct methanol fuel cell and optimization of its operation" are the objective of a new research cooperation in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Seven institutes of the universities of Stuttgart and Ulm participate as well as the Institute for Technical Thermodynamics of the German Aerospace Research Center (DLR) at Stuttgart, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) at Freiburg, and the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Wuerttemberg (ZSW) at Ulm. The direct methanol fuel cell integrates the methanol splitting in the electrochemical processes.

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Wedding
The US electro giant General Electric and Plug Power have founded a joint company called "GE Fuel Cell Systems" which will sell, install, and maintain Plug Power's systems worldwide. The company will cooperate with selected gas and electricity utilities. (See no. 4/98 "Private Cells")

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Cologne
Cologne's city utility Gas-, Elektrizitäts- und Wasserwerke Köln AG intend to equip their sewage plant at Cologne-Rodenkirchen with a fuel cell. The technical innovation in this case is the commissioning of the feed gas. This is the first application of this kind at Europe. The costs for the installation of the plant are about 1.15 million Euro. The other sewage plants of Cologne burn their gas in thermal block heating units. In case of success, and if the cells become cheaper, the city will consider the use of the fuel cell in other plants as well.

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Emigration
After the Siemens division Energy Generation/KWU has bought the US company Westinghouse Power Generation the fuel cell technology will be shifted towards the USA. KWU chairman Adolf Huettl said that a check of the Westinghouse files showed that they were further advanced there than KWU. Siemens will abandon its planar solid oxide cell in favor of Westinghouse's tubular geometry.

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CO removal
A Japanese group from Asahi Chemical and the Noguchi institute has developed a catalyst on ruthenium basis which permits to remove CO from hydrogen-rich gas by oxidation to CO2. CO damages the membranes of PEM cells. During the experiments the CO content could be reduced from between 3 and 0.3 % to less than 1 ppm even at -18 °C. (Y. Fukuoka, K. Tomokuni, H. Nakajima: "Carbon monoxide removal from a hydrogen-rich fuel by selective oxidation", presented at the 2nd International Fuel Cell Workshop, 19.,20.09.98)

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Talking almost eternally
Very small fuel cells which can supply a portable phone for 400 or more hours will be marketed by the Israeli company Medis El Ltd. It is intended to use them also for pagers or portable computers. Sealing problems will be solved by means of technologies from aviation. Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) holds a major share of Medis El and will develop the cells in its own factory near Tel Aviv. (See the KCSA-Newsletter; cmp. no. 4/98 "Small is beautiful" and no. 1/98 "Pocket cells" about similar developments in USA.)

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DaimlerChrysler
Daimler's board member for cars, Hubbert, announced on 22. September that Daimler will develop fuel cell cars in the new company, while Chrysler will do battery cars. He and board chairman Schrempp repeated that the start of serial production of fuel cell cars will be in six years.

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Ford
Next year Ford will fit the first product of the cooperation with Daimler and Ballard in a medium class car and test it under realistic operating conditions. DaimlerChrysler and Ford will use the cells for their own respective types. (Extensive press release here.)

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Opel
During the Paris motor show Opel showed a driveable car with a fuel cell and a 50 kW electric motor on the basis of the type Zafira. According to a press release of 18. September "the fuel cell has the most promising potential of all alternative drives known so far with respect to mass production ... The objective is to bring this future oriented and environmentally compatible to the marked until the year 2004" (see no. 4/98 "Opel" and no. 2/98 "Opel competes".)

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Energy and Climate

 

Federal Environment Agency
The annual report of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) stresses again the necessity to use renewable energies for our energy supply. While economic growth and energy consumption have been uncoupled from each other, UBA president Troge said: "The key to the climate goal are the more efficient transformation and use of energy as well as the more pronounced use of renewable energies. This results in a threefold dividend: more climate protection, less costs, and additional jobs."

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Temperature record
We may repeat ourselves (see no. 4/98 "Admonition") — but the past August was again the warmest since there are reliable records. This may appear unbelievable after the summer we had in Germany. The global mean temperature, however, was 16.3 °C and thus 0.7° above the long-term average and 0.1° above the earlier record August of the year 1997.

At least in the USA the September broke all records as well, as reported by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA head Thomas Karl called the sequence of unusually high temperatures as a possible sign of an acceleration of the global warming.

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"The Alps in the Greenhouse"
This was the title of a report on the basis of a study by the university for agriculture published by Greenpeace Austria on 7. October. If the trend of the greenhouse gas emissions continues the alpine region would be affected massively by the climate change ecologically and economically: the snow coverage will decrease ("skiing below 1500 m will be impossible in about 20 years"), the glaciers of the alps will mainly disappear, thawing of the permafrost will cause an increase of landslides and stone avalanches, many spruce woods could die, and pests could spread.

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Agreement
The European Commission and the European car manufacturers have agreed about an obligation of the latter to the effect that the average consumption of the vehicles will drop to 5,8 l/100 km and their CO2 emission from 186 now to 140 g/km. The expected effect of 85 Mt CO2 less amounts to about 15 % of the emission reductions of the EU due to the Kyoto agreement.

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Politics

 

What shall we do now
Joschka Fischer, then chief whip of the Green fraction in the Bundestag (federal parliament), during an online conference of the Bundestag on 1. July had made statements on energy politics as well. For the case of coalition negotiations he said that all energy saving technologies for traffic would be preferred. Asked where the energy will come from in case of an abolition of nuclear energy he answered: "In the long term we will import solar energy from the sun belt of the earth, just as we import oil and natural gas today. This will happen by means of pipelines or of the energy carrier hydrogen."

Among other things, the coalition agreement provides:

  • Promotion or renewable energies by an ecological tax reform (§ III.3),
  • objective of reduction of the CO2 emissions by 25 % from 1990 to 2005 (§ IV.1),
  • priority for renewable energies and energy saving in the energy politics; 100.000 roofs program (§ IV.3.1).

No mentioning is made of hydrogen or fuel cells.
Remark: Now we will see. We will watch the new people closely.
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Norway
The Norwegian Hydrogen Forum is among the experts who advise the Norwegian government in the draft of an energy plan until 2020. The country generates about 99 % of its energy from hydropower, but the reserves are almost exhausted. In its statement NHF mentions the high speed of the development towards the electric car (fuel cell) and the energy carrier hydrogen and recommends to support research, development, and pilot projects in these fields.

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And What Else Have We Found...

 

In search of a name
Few members of the general public have an idea of what exactly a "fuel cell" is. Undersecretary Reicher of the US Energy Department (DoE) has proposed a list of more catchy names and such abbreviations to solve this serious problem, as reported in the September issue of "Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter". His proposals, in rising sequence:

10:  HEP (Home Energy Plant)
9:    HIPP (Home Independent Power Plant)
8:    EGG (Electric Generating Gizmo)
7:    PEP (Personal Energy Plant)
6:    HOPP (Home Owner's Power Plant)
5:    GREEN (Generating Residential Energy Now)
4:    ERG (Electric Residential Generator)
3:    GIG (Gridless Independent Generator)
2:    RES (Residential Energy System)
 
       And the winner is (ta-taaaa!):
1:    EPIC (Electric Power Individually Controlled)
Remark: Maybe our readers have a few ideas for a good German name. (The rest is untranslatable, sorry; try the German edition.)
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Further Reading

 

Federal Environment Agency (Editor): Die Klimaänderung — ein wissenschaftlicher Popanz? Sechzehn Streitpunkte auf dem Prüfstand
Free from: Federal Environment Agency (UBA), department "Protection of the Earth Atmosphere", Mail: P.O. Box 33 00 22, 14191 Berlin, Germany. Phone: (+49-30) 8903-0, Fax -2910

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Hydrogen Mirror 5/98
Published by German Hydrogen Association, Berlin
Editor: Ulrich Schmidtchen, Berlin