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Wind, Solar, and Hydrogen Powered Ferry to Lady Liberty to be Completed in Apri

December 16, 2010

Hydrogen hits the roads and the seas! Transportation to some of America’s most iconic tourist destinations will be a little more high-tech and eco-friendly come April. Statue Cruises, which provides ferry service to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, has signed an agreement with Derecktor Shipyards in Bridgeport, Connecticut to create the world’s first hybrid ferry that runs on hydrogen, solar and wind power. The 1,400-horsepower New York Hornblower Hybrid, capable of carrying 600 passengers, will be equipped with hydrogen fuel cells, solar panels and wind turbines. A proton exchange membrane fuel cell will turn hydrogen into electricity, though the Hornblower will also house Tier 2 diesel engines. According to the press release, these should only be used to cover “additional energy needs,” whatever those are. Developers also plan to include as many eco-friendly materials as possible in the construction of the vessel, including recycled glass countertops, LED lighting, and aluminum wall coverings in place of wallpaper. With entire football stadiums planning to produce their own energy, one boat may not seem like much, but it is a step towards Statue Cruises’ goal of eliminating emissions entirely from its ferry services.

Electro Power Systems SpA Launches Self Recharging Fuel Cell in India

December 14, 2010

Electro Power Systems SpA is launching its self-recharging fuel cell system, Electroself, in India for the first time. Previewed in February 2010, ElectroSelf has undergone a series of trials in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Designed to deliver dependable backup power for mobile networks in off-grid locations, Electroself can be controlled and monitored remotely. It is a closed system generating its own hydrogen whenever power is available and automatically engaging the fuel cell during power failures. The company also claims this type of system could be adapted to sell excess power back to the grid or provide power to local communities. Source: Fuel Cell Today

Hydrogen at EC Energy Storage Infoday

December 11, 2010

The EU Commission on December 10 , 2010 organized a well attended infoday on large scale energy storage, a € 30 mln topic in its current ENERGY.2011.7.3-2 call: Storage and balancing variable electricity supply and demand. Flexible, reliable and low cost energy balancing continues to be a barrier to deployment of most renewable energy technologies. The presence of all of the main energy companies demonstrated the increasing interest in this topic. Currently limited storage is available, mainly in pumped hydro power, and increasing fluctuating production of wind and solar plants combined with low demand elasticity will push up demand for large scale intelligent storage solutions. The EHA and some of its industry members attended the event pointing to the need to integrate hydrogen solutions in the storage mix.  The interest of power companies has been focussing on deploying conventional solutions working on improvements in scale of compressed air, fly wheels, electro chemical batteries and supercapacitors. For limited storage needs the use of recharging electric vehicles is seen as an opportunity. The Commission is looking for projects that  demonstrate advanced and cost effective systems which would bridge the source availability and the power demand. The projects should be based on storage devices, flexible generation from renewable [...]

The European Clean Vehicle Portal Launched

December 10, 2010

The European Commission has launched an easy-to-use website to help public authorities and anyone who cares about the environment choose the cleanest and most energy-efficient vehicles available. The Clean Vehicle Portal – available on http://www.cleanvehicle.eu – will be of great help as a new directive on the promotion of clean and energy efficient vehicles requires that from this month all purchases of vehicles for public transport services take into account energy consumption, CO2 emissions and pollutant emissions. It provides information on legislation for clean and energy-efficient vehicles on EU level and in all Member States; it provides access to technical data in the largest vehicle database in Europe; and it facilitates joint procurement. Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, said: “This directive and this website will give a boost to clean and energy-efficient technologies by showing the real cost of using vehicles. Not only should the initial purchase cost be considered, but also the vehicle’s lifetime energy consumption and pollutant emissions. In line with our policy to price in all costs, it makes sense to go for the greener option. This website will be a great aid in identifying these greener and more efficient vehicles.” The directive requires the public [...]

Coventry University Fuels Hydrogen Cars

December 9, 2010

On 1 December, Coventry University unveiled its award-winning Series 100 hydrogen fuelling station from leading provider Air Products. The station will be used predominantly to fuel a fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles which are built in Coventry by the University’s own spin-off company, Microcab. As part of a wider government funded piece of research, local people will be able to apply to trial the vehicles on the UK’s roads. The government’s Technology Strategy Board and Advantage West Midlands funded CABLED project – Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Vehicle Demonstrators – will see 110 low carbon vehicles operating between locations. The opening of the station completes the next stage in the creation of a Hydrogen Ring of fuelling facilities in the Midlands that form the heart of planned UK hydrogen fuelling infrastructure. Ian Williamson, European Hydrogen and Bio Energy Director at Air Products and President of the European Hydrogen Association explains: “The new facility at Coventry University strategically links three cities in the Midlands with hydrogen fuelling stations and will prove to be a vital step towards the creation of a low carbon hydrogen transport infrastructure for the UK. “For members of the public to be able to trial hydrogen cars for [...]

Air Products’ Hydrogen Technology Fueling Boeing’s Unmanned Phantom Eye

December 8, 2010

Air Products is providing the hydrogen and fueling infrastructure for The Boeing Company’s Phantom Eye, a newly unveiled hydrogen-powered and unmanned airborne system demonstrator that is able to stay aloft at 65,000 feet for up to four days. Phantom Eye will soon begin a series of ground and taxi tests at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The aircraft is in preparation for its first flight in 2011, a debut flight expected to last between four and eight hours. “Working with Boeing on this effort has been a privilege. It is always exciting and interesting to be associated with a cutting edge project, and the Phantom Eye certainly fits that category,” said Bob Kelly, business development manager–Hydrogen Energy Systems at Air Products. “Our approach to working on this project was to focus on our core competencies and values of safety first, and being mindful of the specific customer needs. Our engineering and design reviews were always very much aligned with that focus.” Air Products and Boeing engineers worked closely to provide a cost effective and innovative fueling system capable of delivering liquid hydrogen to the vehicle. The hydrogen propulsion system has been described by Boeing [...]

Minutes EHA Annual General Assembly: June 22, 2010

December 7, 2010

HYFACTS, Identification, Preparation and Dissemination of Hydrogen Safety Facts to Regulators and Public Safety Officials

December 6, 2010

HyFacts is a “Coordination and Support Action (CSA)” and aims to develop and initiate dissemination of training material for Regulators and Public Safety Officials, which are responsible persons and work for entities, having to position themselves in the increasing number of upcoming installation of hydrogen-related technologies in public areas, companies, universities, research centers, fairgrounds, harbor sites and other places where fuel cell and hydrogen (FCH) installations and mobile applications shall be installed and operated in the near future.
EHA in collaboration with FAST, will assist in identifying target audience and facilitate the understanding of the needs of requirements of training material.

HyPROFESSIONALS, Development of educational programmes and training initiatives related to hydrogen technologies and fuel cells in Europe

December 6, 2010

The project is focused on the development of educational programmes and training initiatives for technical professionals to secure the required mid- and long-term availability of human resources capable to properly operate the technologies safely.
This will be done for various educational levels, including several countries with different experiences on the matter.

Cooperation with other educational programs like Leonardo will be sought to launch new initiatives and projects which allow getting enough well-trained work force related to hydrogen technologies in a near future.

HyLIFT, European demonstration of hydrogen powered fuel cell forklifts

December 6, 2010

The EHA in collaboration with the Italian Federation of Scientific and Technical Associations, FAST, is supporting the dissemination of this project.

To provide a forum for debate and creative thinking regarding the opportunities of educational and training activities related to hydrogen technologies, improve public acceptance and perceptions of the hydrogen technologies and fuel cells, create a point to exchange knowledge, experiences and educational materials with stakeholders, building visibility.