EHA in Action

Last June the European Commission published a Communication (COM 2009/279/4 on ” A sustainable future for transport: towards an integrated, technology led and user-friendly system. ” The communication  included objectives for the next ten year European Transport Policy.  The EHA sent out a press release on that occasion indicating the need to coordinate electric transport infrastucture development for battery cars AND hydrogen vehicles. The EHA recently also submitted a postion paper as a contribution to the consultation that followed  the Communication that you find below. The EU Commission presented an Urban Transport Action Plan the first week of October (see under EU Policy News).

Jean-Louis Borloo, French Minister of Ecology and Energy and Christian Estrosi, Minister of Industry, presented an action plan for electric cars development and hybrids rechargeable on October 1st. The objective is to put into circulation 2 millions cars by 2020  as they expect an increase of 4% per year. In order to encourage the purchase of this kind of vehicles, the Ministers count on green tax for enterprises and on the bonus of 5000 euros in favour of vehicles emitting less than 60 grams of CO2 per kilometres, which is extended until 2012. The first electric cars will arrive by the end of 2010 but as the commercial market will increase only once the household and commercial recharge infrastructures will be made available, Mr. Borloo aims a network of 4.4 millions recharging points by 2020. It represents a €4 milliard investment. In addition to recharging  terminals in streets from 2012, constructions of buildings (offices and habitations) with parking shall integrate recharging plugs. Government also hopes that shopping centers, cinema and hotel chains will introduce those kinds of installations. In a year, an experimental batteries exchange system, developed by Better Place for Renault, should start with Parisian taxis. On the €4 [...]

Over the last weeks several important communciations of the Commission are pointing to an increasing awareness of the role of fuel cells and hydrogen, next to batteries and elctricitity in moving towards the decarbonization of transport. President Barroso embarking on his second turn as head of the Commission, made a special refernece to decarbomization in his 5 year plan. The EHA office, hosting the second General Assembly of HyER (formerly HyRaMP) the first week of October in Brussels, facilitated several meetings and presentation of key EU officials to explain the significance of the new policies for hydrogen and fuel cell development in Europe. The EHA submitted this month also a contribution to the consultation on the Future of Urban Mobility for which an Action Plan has been developed. The EHA is stressing the importance of coordinating the development of the infrastructure  for hydrogen refuelling and battery recharging with regards to the efficient use of primary sources. This links directly to efforts and financial investment needed to achieve the goals of the EU Strategic Eenrgy Technology Plan that saw a communciation on the estimated € 50 billion of private and public financing needed for 2010-2020 to develop key energy technologies that [...]

HyER (formerly HyRaMP)’s Annual General Assembly on October 7-8, 2009 in Brussels focussed attention on the role of hydrogen in EU’s and local energy and transport policy. The secretariat of HyER (formerly HyRaMP), the European Regions and Municipalities Partnership for hydrogen nad fuel cells is hosted by the EHA.  The first day featured presentations of representatives of the Member States that that will be hosting the EU presidency till the end of 2010,  Spain and Belgium as well as national updates of the UK and Frtance. In addition key European offcials of the EU Commission and the European Investment Bank presented links of their programmes to local hydrogen and fuel cell development. Three new members were welcomed into the HyER (formerly HyRaMP) Partnership, the REgion of Flanders, the city of Torre Vedras in Portugal and DutchHy a Dutch platoform representing three Dutch cities, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Arnhem and industry. Also the City of London has applied for membership. The HyRAMP AGM decided on an ambitious Action Plan for 2010 that will see HyRAMP’s active involvement in the dissemination of JTI projects and  contribution to the JTI workprogrammes for the coming years.

The European Commission’s Urban Mobility Action Plan was presented on 30 September in a move designed to help local and national authorities make urban travel ”easier, greener and better organised”. The action plan encourages cities to exchange information and good practices, eventually leading to a “set of voluntary commitments”. The plan proposes 20 actions, divided among 6 thematic areas. Action 10 addresses “Research and demonstration projects for lower- and zero-emission vehicles” that mentiones continuous support for research and demonstration projects for lower and zero emission vehicles, through the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and the Green Car Initiative.  The plan announces that the Commission will fund new projects related to electric vehicles, covering batteries, electric power trains and auxiliaries, information and communication technologies and an “electromobility” demonstration project. It will be focused on electric vehicles and related infrastructure in urban areas and will integrate national initiatives and support the standardisation of recharging infrastructure. In addition the Commission will set up an internet based guide on clean and energy-efficient vehicles, with an overview of the market, legislation and support schemes and a support for the joint procurement of vehicles for public services while market developments will be monitor closely. This action will facilitate the implementation of the new Directive [...]

ENEL is expected to build a CCS post-combustion unit to abate CO2 emissions from a 300 megawatt power production line within the Porto Tolle plant. ENEL currently has three other smaller CCS projects slated to go online – one near Venice and two in Brindisi. None are operative yet, but they will cover the full range of CO2 capture technologies from pre- and post- combustion to oxy fuel.  The precombsution technology is expecially interesting with regards to hydrogen production as hydrogen is a by-product of this process. Porto Tolle’s CCS unit is expected to cost some €800 million, while ENEL will receive less than €400 million from the EU toward the project. The question, therefore, is who will fund the remainder. The Italian state is vague on the issue of support, and relies on the conditions spelled out in Law n. 99. Yet it is fairly certain that the cash-strapped state will not be able to fill the financial gap. The main hurdles for these projects are financial as well as the need to secure the necessary authorization, and the building up of the needed public support. There is no apparent or specific strategy surrounding full-scale CCS deployment in Italy, [...]

The EU’s bid for leadership in green technologies will focus on developing a network of “smart cities” to demonstrate renewable and other low-carbon energies in Europe, according to draft European Commission proposals. The recommendations are featured in a draft communication setting out funding for the EU’s Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan). The EU executive hopes that long-awaited funding proposals for the SET Plan will speed up the market uptake of low-carbon technologies that already exist, but are still too expensive to compete with fossil fuels. The Commission argues that billions will need to be invested in basic research over the next decade to get the Union back up to speed with the US, which has dedicated around €555 million to energy research for the next five years. “Without a similar effort, Europe will eventually fall behind as new discoveries overtake current technologies,” the communication says. One of the biggest investments that the Commission wants to make is to select 25 to 30 European cities to pioneer green technologies by 2020. “These ‘Smart Cities’ will be the nuclei from which smart networks, a new generation of buildings and alternative transport means, will develop into Europe-wide realities that will transform our energy system,” the document states. [...]

At the annual Frankfurt Auto Show on September 15, Daimler Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche declared that hydrogen fuel cells but not batteries are the ultimate way to move beyond oil. “The chances further down the road seem to me better on the fuel-cell side than on the battery-electric side,” Zetsche told reporters at the show. “Fuel cell powered vehicles, he said, have numerous advantages over electric batteries vehicles likely making them more successful in the long term.  Hydrogen beats electric batteries at moving cars long distances without refuelling and can also power big, roomy sedans much more readily than batteries”. If Zetsche believes that battery powered vehicles may never have the range requirements and low costs that customers are demanding, he does believe that fuel cell powered vehicles are a step ahead. Indeed, for him, both battery and fuel cell vehicles require an infrastructure that is not currently in place, but the fuel cell powered vehicle has already overcome range concerns and refilling concerns that have cropped up around electric battery vehicle.  He also believes that a fuel cell infrastructure will be in place in Europe in only a few years. Though he admits that fuel cell vehicles may have [...]

The EHA  presented regional and  national hydrogen activities at the Conference “Scotland’s Hydrogen Future – Building a Sustainable Economy through Hydrogen and Renewable Energy” that wase held on  15-16 September 2009 in Edinburgh. The conference, endorsed by the Scottish government and Royal Mail and was co organized by the Scottisch Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association. The conference highlighted the interest of the British Royal Mail reduce emissions of its delivery vans by 50% in 2015 and to decarbonize its fleet by 2020. They are also considering fuel cell cars. At the confenrece the UK Hynet initiative was presented that  plans to build the UK hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.  For more information on the conference click here.

On September 15th 2009, the “Observatoire de l’Hydrogène et des piles à combustible” (Observatory on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells) was created following the agreement of ADEME, French Hydrogen Association (AFH2) and Alphea in the framework of the French platform HYPAC. This observatory is created with the aim to become a database gathering together all information available related to hydrogen and fuel cells. From this perspective, a periodical has been launched in order to inform about developments, realizations and ongoing projects related to hydrogen and fuel cell in France and in the world. The Gazette de l’Observatoire de l’Hydrogène et des Piles à Combustible will also provide information about economic and scientific news, as well as events and analyzing on specific points about current affairs. From January 2010, the website of the Observatory will also provide information through summary sheets on hydrogen, databases on French stakeholders, demonstration and research projects and annual reports. To read the first periodical click here