enel_idrogeno_fusina

First Hydrogen Power Plant Launched in Italy

August 19, 2009

Italian power company Enel on August 14, 2009 announced  that it started operating a 12 MW hydrogen-powered electricity plant in Fusina in Venice’s industrial zone of Porto Marghera. The combined cycle plant is the first of its kind in the world to operate on such a scale. Powered by hydrogen by-products from local petrochemical industries such as the ENI Group’s Polimeri Europa factory, it can meet the needs of 20,000 families, while saving emissions equivalent to more than 17,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, according to the company. The power station is part of the Hydrogen Park project, which was launched by the Venice region and Italy’s environment minister finaced by € 4 mln (5.6 million dollars) with the aim to promote the development and implementation of hydrogen technologies in transportation and electricity generation in the Porto Marghera area. More information here

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$2.4 Billion Grant in support of U.S. Batteries and Electric Vehicles

August 10, 2009

On 5th August 2009, President Obama announced 48 new advanced battery and electric drive projects that will receive $2.4 billion in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These projects, selected through a highly competitive process by the Department of Energy, will accelerate the development of U.S. manufacturing capacity for batteries and electric drive components as well as the deployment of electric drive vehicles. “If we want to reduce our dependence on oil, put Americans back to work and reassert our manufacturing sector as one of the greatest in the world, we must produce the advanced, efficient vehicles of the future,” said President Obama. The new awards cover the following areas: -$1.5 billion in grants to United States-based manufacturers to produce batteries and their components and to expand  battery recycling capacity -$500 million in grants to United States-based manufacturers to produce electric drive components for vehicles, including electric motors, power electronics, and other drive train components -$400 million in grants to purchase thousands of plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles for test demonstrations in several dozen locations; to deploy them and evaluate their performance; to install electric charging infrastructure; and to provide education and workforce training to support the transition [...]

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MiniVETT

Hychain project delivers 13 FCV’s to Spanish municpality

August 8, 2009

The Hychain-Minitrans project, coordinated by Air Liquide, develops fleets of small hydrogen-powered urban vehicles. This project will make it possible for users in four European Union countries – France, Italy, Spain and Germany – to test these vehicles in a real-life situation. In Spain, 13 vehicles powered by a hydrogen fuel cell were delivered to the city of Soria (Castille and León), one of the project’s partners. There are four tricycles, four wheelchairs, four lightweight utility vehicles and one minibus. Four hydrogen-powered scooters will join this fleet of clean and quiet vehicles in the very near future.These vehicles are powered by a brand-new infrastructure: pressurized exchangeable hydrogen cylinders that are ergonomic and easy to handle in complete safety, developed by Air Liquide. In Spain, these cylinders are filled on the Air Liquide de Torrelavega site (Cantabria). Made available to the city’s municipal services, these vehicles are now going to be tested and the feedback acquired will make it possible to collect a large number of technical data. Their analysis will permit these vehicles’ functioning to be improved as well as the logistics and distribution of hydrogen. It will facilitate their future use by the largest number of people. Form more [...]

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EP_BRX1

EHA develops contact list of key MEPs per EHA country

August 6, 2009

Following the first session of the newly-elected European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg on July 14-16 2009, the different Committees have been constituted. For easy reference the EHA has listed key MEPs per EU Member State to facilitate direct lobbying of EHA national association members and EHA industry members. The list includes members of the EP Committees Transport and Tourism (TRAN), Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), Regional Development (REGI), Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), and Internal Market committees (IMCO) including their presidents and vice presidents. The database is available for EHA members under “Databases” in the Intranet. Please note that it is a temporary version as some contact details and MEP assistants have not been published yet. The database will be updated regularly and we invite members to communicate their experiences with different MEP’s to make our lobbying efforts more effective.

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