European Hydrogen Association » 2009

First hydrogen refueling station in Czech Republic

December 12, 2009

The first hydrogen pumping station in the Czech Republic was launched into operation in Neratovice, central Bohemia, on November 5, after three years of preparations by the Nuclear Research Institute (ÚJV) in co-operation with Linde Gas. It has taken almost three years and three million Euro dollars to complete the station. Three quarters of the costs have been by state and EU subsidies. The station will use gaseous hydrogen pressures of 300 bars and a typical filling of a bus will takes about ten minutes. The project has an annual capacity of 72 thousand meters cubic (about six tons) of hydrogen. “It’s not just one hydrogen station in the Czech Republic but throughout Central and Eastern Europe,” said Chief Marketing Officer of Linde Pavel Jirsa. The prototype hydrogen bus in the Czech Republic is called the TriHyBus which was developed by Škoda Plzeň Electric. The bus will be a hybrid and have three complementary power sources – fuel cells, capacitors and batteries.

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Fuel cell canal boat launched in Amsterdam

December 12, 2009

A fuel cell power boat was launched on 9 December to circling in the Amsterdam canals. The Nemo H2 which can transport up to 87 people, is a unique boat specially designed to run on a fuel cell engine, where hydrogen and oxygen combine to generate electricity and water, without creating carbon monoxide. Tourists can now take a ‘CO2 Zero Canal Cruise’, for an additional 50 cents, which will fund additional research into carbon-cutting knowledge, added Freek Vermeulen, managing executive of Lovers Boat Company. “That’s important in a city like Amsterdam with over 125 canal trips per day,” said Alexander Overdiep project manager. If the innovative boat was twice as expensive to construct than a regular diesel canal boat, and has to break at a hydrogen dispensing station for a refill daily, while regular boats require a small amount of gas once a week, however, developers of the plan, which the Dutch government partly paid for, said expenses would decrease as more boats were built and tested, and if an additional hydrogen division infrastructure materialized.

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Daimler starts series production of B Class F Cell vehicles

December 11, 2009

Mercedes-Benz will launch 200 series produced B-Class F-Cell eletric car with a fuel cell this Spring in Europe and US. The B-Class F-Cell has a range of about 400 kilometers or 248 miles, said Mercedes-Benz. That means it can travel twice as far as the Mercedes-Benz A-Class F-Cell. “[The B-Class F-Cell] is some 40 percent smaller than the system in the A-Class F-Cell from 2004, but develops 30 percent more power while consuming 30 percent less fuel,” Daimler said in a statement. The B-Class F-Cell bundles a compact fuel cell stack, a lithium-ion battery, three 700-bar tanks for the hydrogen and lightweight 136-horsepower drive motor at the front axle. The B-Class also “boasts outstanding cold-start capability down to minus 25 degrees Celsius,” said the automaker. “The system features a new humidification system consisting of hollow fibers that ensures, unlike with the first-generation fuel cell, that water no longer freezes in the stack, a characteristic that used to impair cold-start capability,” Mercedes-Benz said. It noted that, even at low temperatures, the B-Class F-Cell “starts just as quickly as the very latest diesel engine.” The design of the B-Class F-Cell includes what Mercedes-Benz calls a “sandwich floor,” which means key components for [...]

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Over €1,5bn for 15 CCS and off-shore wind projects to support European economic recovery

December 11, 2009

The Commission approved on 9 December, 15 energy projects which will significantly contribute to the economic recovery of the EU, while increasing security of energy supply and substantially reduce CO2 emissions. With this decision, the Commission grants €1 billion to six Carbon Capture and Storage projects and €565 million to nine offshore wind energy projects. Energy Commissioner Piebalgs said: “With this decision the Commission has laid the foundation for the development of two key sustainable technologies that will be essential in our fight against climate change. This unique decision by the Commission does not only give a push to the economy and employment, but also it supports innovative energy technologies that may create further jobs and growth in the future.” These award winning innovative energy technology projects will contribute in reaching the binding targets of greenhouse gas emission reduction and renewables by 2020 and beyond. The decision on these 15 projects is the first step towards the use of almost €4 billion set aside by the EU in May 2009 for energy projects to support economic recovery. The landmark agreement on the European Energy Programme for Recovery in May foresaw Union financial assistance to energy projects in the fields of [...]

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Alternative fuel the future of hydrogen second edition

December 10, 2009

Newly revised with a new chapter on trends in fuel and energy, this book will address many of the factors affecting our energy use, including the availability and desirability of various fuels-especially the use of hydrogen. Topics include energy policy, fuel supply trends, statistics and projections, oil reserves, alternative scenarios, energy utilization, sustainable energy, cost analysis, fuel escalation, energy and development, regulatory issues, barriers to implementation, conversion systems, storage systems, thermodynamic efficiency, fuel chain efficiency, life-cycle efficiency, technology issues extracting, refining, air emission issues, safety, natural gas hydrogen gas, methanol, ethanol, steam reforming and fuel cells.

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Hydrogen Economy book published

December 10, 2009

In the light of ever-increasing global energy use, rising costs of energy services, concerns over energy supply security, climate change and local air pollution, the book, put together by Shell Hydrogen’s Michael Ball and Martin Wietschel of the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Karlsruhe, Germany, published by Cambridge University Press, centres around the question of how growing energy demand for transport can be met in the long term. Responding to sustained interest in and controversial discussion of the prospects of hydrogen, this book highlights the opportunities and the challenges of introducing hydrogen as alternative fuel in the transport sector from an economic, technical and environmental point of view, and with a global geographic scope. Through its multi-disciplinary approach the book provides a broad range of researchers, decision makers and policy makers with a solid and wide-ranging knowledge base concerning the hydrogen economy. Particular highlights include: assessment of the benefits and downsides of hydrogen compared to other alternative fuels, strategies and scenarios for a hydrogen infrastructure build-up, interactions between hydrogen production and the electricity sector, long-term global hydrogen supply scenarios and their impact on resource availability, the potential of hydrogen for decarbonising the transport sector, macro-economic impacts of introducing [...]

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Hydrogen is setting out to sail!

December 10, 2009

December saw more announcements on future fuel cell martime applications as SVDesign unveiled the “OrganiK” of designer Sylvain Viau designed for life at sea. The concept features a narrow hull which betters fuel economy and also allows for much higher cruising speeds. The OrganiK is propelled by two pods which feature an electric engine and features an APU system powered by fuel cells. For more information visit SVDesign site.

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United Nations Climate Change Conference, Copenhagen, 7-18 December 2009

7 Dec - 18 Dec, 2009

The United Nations Climate Change Conference will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, between December 7 and December 18, 2009. The conference includes the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 5th Meeting of the Parties (COP/MOP 5) to the Kyoto Protocol as well as meetings of other working groups and subsidiary bodies. COP 15 is the supreme body of the Convention. It currently meets once a year to review the Convention’s progress. The sessions (COP 15) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are open to Parties of the Convention and Observer States (Governments), the United Nations System and observer organizations (IGOs and NGOs) duly admitted by the Conference of the Parties. UNFCCC’s Overview Schedule of COP15 could be found here and the link to the Side Events at COP15 could be found here. The European Union is working for an ambitious, comprehensive and legally binding global climate agreement that will prevent global warming reaching dangerous levels, that is, more than 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures, as researchers have projected for this century. The EU has independently committed itself to reducing its emissions by at least 20 per cent [...]

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Toute la lumière sur l’hydrogène énergie, Lyon, 7-11 December 2009

7 Dec - 11 Dec, 2009

The Palais de la découverte, with Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA), and French Hydrogen Association (AFH2) joined to carry out a touring exposition dedicated to hydrogen energy. SME, research centers, industries will actively participate to the event, in Lyon, France, from 7 to 11 December 2009 in order to present the entire energy field: production, storage, best practices, existing fuel cells, tryout of fuel cells vehicles. More information here

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New Commissioners unveiled by President Barroso

December 2, 2009

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, has announced, on 27 November 2009, the portfolios responsibilities for the next Commission. They will take office in January, after the audition of each member by the European Parliament, from 11 to 19 January 2010. Changes in the Portfolio The new College will have 7 Vice-Presidents, including Vice-President Baroness Catherine Ashton who will be the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December. New portfolios have been created: Climate Action; Home Affairs; Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, in addition of the new reconfiguration of other ones: Industry and Entrepreneurship, Research and Innovation Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth; Health and Consumer Policy; International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response. In particular, the state aid competencies currently in DG TREN will move to DG Competition (COMP), whereas Climate Directorate ENV C moves to the new DG for Climate Action (except the Clean Air Unit C.3). Who are the new Commisioners For DG Transport, former Estonian Commissioner for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud Siim Kallas (ELDR) succeeded to Antonio Tajani (Italy, EPP), who will be in charge of Industry and [...]

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