European Hydrogen Association » 2009

EU funds large Mediterraean solar initiatives

July 15, 2009

On the eve of the first anniversary of the launching of the Union for the Mediterranean (Paris, 13 July 2008), the European Commission announced an additional contribution of €72 million, for 2009-2010, to the areas identified as priorities by the Euro-Mediterranean Heads of State and Government in Paris. Work will focus on the de-pollution of the Mediterranean Sea, maritime and land highways, alternative energies, with a focus on the Mediterranean Solar Plant, higher education and research and supporting investment in businesses. Part of the funds will be dedicated to support the running of the Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat. With this contribution, the total community budget dedicated since July 2008 to the priorities identified by the Union for the Mediterranean amounts €90 million. A total of € 5 mln is earmarked for studies to establish a Mediterranean Solar Plan. According to a communication on the same day of the German Desertec Foundation, the EU will also co fund their plans of High Voltage Direct Current lines to transport electricity produced by thermal solar plants from the African deserts to Europe.

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São Paolo launches four fuel cells buses in 2010.

July 8, 2009

Sao Paulo state officials have launched Latin America’s first passenger bus with an electric engine powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The bus will start test runs on the streets of South America’s biggest city in August and will be joined by three similarly powered vehicles next year, said Sao Paulo Governor, Jose Serra. The goal is to have 4 hydrogen buses running in São Paulo by June 2010 and, in order to fuel these buses, a factory which produces hydrogen from water electrolysis will begin to be constructed this month. “Brazil is one of five countries in the world that have mastered this technology and that has developed a hydrogen-powered bus,” Serra said at Wednesday’s launching ceremony. China and Brazil are the only two emerging countries that have been able to take the first step towards transforming into reality the dream of a pollution-free public transport, by putting hydrogen powered buses on the streets. The project has been under development since 2004 and is the result of different partnerships, including with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and UNDP Brazil. This first bus is an important sign of the Brazilian government’s commitment towards the reduction of carbon emissions and an important [...]

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President Obama opens Hydrogen Energy CCS Power Plant in California

July 8, 2009

US Department of Energy (DOE) has granted a $308 million funding to Hydrogen Energy International USA for its Kern County, California, Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant which will capture and permanently store 90% of its carbon dioxide. Hydrogen Energy International USA, a joint venture between BP and Rio Tinto, was awarded the contract as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It is part of the third round of the Department of Energy’s Clean Coal Power Initiative. “This award is a significant commitment by the U.S. administration to low-carbon power generation with carbon capture and storage technology. Both the DOE and Hydrogen Energy recognize that this project may become the model for new power-generating facilities throughout the world,” said Lewis Gillies, chief executive officer of Hydrogen Energy International. Federal DOE support follows on the heels of earlier support this year from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in its decision approving Southern California Edison’s $30 million request for participation in a Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) project study. HECA is an IGCC power plant that takes petroleum coke, coal, or blends of each, combined with non-potable water and converts them into hydrogen, a clean burning gas, [...]

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Sweden includes hydrogen in eco-efficiency roadmap for Europe

July 8, 2009

A report by the Stockholm Environment Institute, entitled ‘A European Eco-efficient Economy’, will provide a basis for discussions during an informal meeting of energy and environment ministers in Åre on 23-25 July. Thus, Sweden, which took over the EU’s rotating Presidency on July 1st, has pledged to put energy efficiency high on its agenda. One of its priorities is to lead a shift to an eco-efficient economy where economic growth and climate-friendly policies go hand-in-hand. The report argues that Europe’s leadership is “primarily evident” in its climate change commitments, but in order to continue attracting investment and businesses, greater efforts must be made to promote innovation and energy efficiency. Crucially, the report urges the EU to step up programmed interventions, alongside more generic policies, to induce development and diffusion of eco-efficient technologies such as hydrogen. Due to the lack of support system, EU has so far lagged behind main competitors such as the US and Japan. The importance of a strong domestic market to nurture the growth of new industries is well known but the potential of Europe becoming a lead market for new technologies is partly unfulfilled today. The report suggests that one example to learn from is the [...]

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Convenant of the Mayors puts Sustainable Energy Action Plan template online

July 6, 2009

This is the first step in providing practical guidance to Covenant Signatories. The SEAP template will help the Covenant signatories to structure their actions and measures, and to follow up implementation. At the same time the template is a valuable tool for collecting key information from the Sustainable Energy Action Plans, and thus encouraging exchange of experience. Highlights of the collected information will be shown on-line at the Covenant of Mayors website.A test phase was organised together with the “practitioners group” to fine tune the template. A large number of useful inputs were gathered to ensure a user-friendly document. The SEAP template is now available on-line as a pdf-version, accompanied by a document with clear instructions on how to fill it in. However, as of September it will work as an internet based tool that the Covenant signatories can fill in by themselves on-line. All signatories must complete the SEAP template in English at the same time when submitting the Sustainable Energy Action Plan in their own (national) language. The EHA has offered the Conveant to faciltiate input on succesful urban hydrogen projects for its benchmarking process. For more info visit the Convenants website.

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Second JTI Call is out: deadline October 15, 2009

July 2, 2009

With the publication on July 2, 2009 of the second call for proposals of the EU Joint Undretaking for fuel cells and hydrogen (JU FCH) Europe stays on course to realise the full potential of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies and to create a cleaner energy system for the future. €71.3 million funded by the European Commission matched by in-kind contributions of more than 70 industrial partners will fund 29 project topics aim to put fuel cell and hydrogen energy technologies on the market two to five years sooner than what is estimated without the support it offers. Selected teams of researchers will investigate bottlenecks in the whole range of applications for these energy technologies, from cars to large scale power plants, as well as the whole supply chain from hydrogen production to demonstration of the market-readiness of applications. Breakthrough research should foster the use of hydrogen-fuelled buses and fuel cell vehicles. It will help develop hydrogen storage and improve fuel cells’ durability, performance and the cost-efficiency to make green applications such as power stations or laptops ready for the market. The call is the second being launched by this private-public partnership whose total budget amounts around €1bn to be [...]

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EHA facilitates technical visit to EU Parliament

July 1, 2009

The EHA facilitated a tour of the premises of the EU Parliament in Brussels to identify suitable sites for hydrogen and fuel cell installations. Current back up power systems of the EU Parliament consist of large diesel generators complemeted with battery packs. Fuel cell systems connected to the natural gas grid would dramatically increase efficiency and emission reduction as is shown by the fuel cell currently being installed in the EU Parliament Luxembourg. Potential locations for small hydrogen refuelling facilities were also identified. Although the EU Parlaimetn in Brussles is only 10 years old it was clearly not build with new energy technology in mind and it currently does not feature a single use of clean energy not even solar panels. A week before the visit on the occasion of the EU Green Week the EU Parliament communicated its intention to step up its efforts to make ts own buidlings more efficient.

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Czech Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technoloy Platform new EHA national association member

July 1, 2009

At the last EHA Annual General Meeting the Czech Hydrogen and Fuel cell Platform , was welcomed as EHA 15 th natioanl association member. On July 15 the inauguration of the worlds first fuel cell triple hybrid linenbus, that will go into operation this summer, took place in Prague. The project is a cooperation between Skoda Electric, the systems integrator and electrical components, the UJV Nuclear Research Institute , R&D and project coordination and Proton Motor, which produced and delivered the fuel cell triple hybrid propulsion system.The triple hybrid system is a world first combination of a fuel cell, batteries and ultra capacitors, allowing saving and further use of useful braking energy. The system is reported as saving up to 50% of energy as compared with a conventional bus drivetrain. The chassis of the new bus is a standard 12 meter with 18 tonne combined weight. The new drivetrain allows produces up to 120 kW of power, can travel up to 65 km/hr and with a full tank can travel 250km before refuelling. The hydrogen is stored on board in 350 bar compressed cylinders and carriers 20kg of hydrogen when full.

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