EHA Project Info

The main aim of this project is to demonstrate the market readiness of fuel cell applied materials handling vehicles and associated hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. It will demonstrate 10 FC Fork Lift Trucks and associated hydrogen refueling infrastructure across 3 sites in Turkey, UK, and Spain. The science and technology objectives of this project are to compare incumbent  technologies (diesel, LPG and batteris) used in materials handling equipment (up to 50kW) to the performance of current State-o-Art (SoA) Fuel Cell and hydrogen equivalents.  These objectives will be achieved across targeted demonstrations in Europe.  The demonstration will be used to gather real experience and performance data to support future commercialization.  In addition it is proposed to  determine an optimum vehicle configeration (both OEMs supplied and retrofit vehicles) for use in future demonstrations as part of continuation plan to identify ten future sites with in Europe. The EHA in collaboration with the Italian Federation of Scientific and Technical Associations, FAST, will be supporting  the tasks of dissemination of results of the project to a wide number of key potential stakeholders, and to develop a Continuation Plan for wider commercialisation to include a further 10 site deployments, the first potentially being in Greece.

North America has committed significant funding to the development of energy storage technologies and researchers are beginning to learn how to store meaningful amounts of renewable power that can be tapped on demand. Hydropower is poised to play an important part in the growth of energy storage, a promising concept that could transform the power industry. BC Hydro is testing what could be the most viable method for storing large amounts of power at its Clayton Falls hydroelectric plant in Bella Coola, about 248 miles north of Vancouver. The run-of-river plant is now capable of using its surplus electricity to produce and store hydrogen through a process known as electrolysis. The hydrogen can then be used in a 100-kilowatt fuel cell to generate electricity when demand peaks. This new source of emission-free power is replacing the need for power made from diesel-fueled generators. BC Hydro estimates the demonstration project known as the Hydrogen Assisted Renewable Power system (HARP) will lower the community’s diesel consumption by 200,000 liters a year and lower greenhouse gas emissions by 600 tons a year. “It’s a very cost-effective and convenient way to store renewable energy,” said David Field, a spokesman for BC Citizens for Green [...]

Recently HyNor Lillestrøm AS signed a contract with H2 Logic A/S on delivery of a hydrogen station in summer 2011, after a competitive tender exercise. The station will be installed at a new hydrogen research facility at Akershus Energy Park in Lillestrøm just outside of Oslo in Norway. The station will feature sustainable onsite hydrogen production and 700 bar refueling according to international standards, ensuring fast refueling in few minutes and long vehicle range. Together with another planned Oslo hydrogen station in 2011, this will ensure Norway one among the world’s most dense hydrogen refueling networks. The station will include an alkaline electrolyser enabling production of hydrogen by use of electricity from solar panels. Space is available for future test of other hydrogen production technologies such as PEM electrolysis. Hydrogen will be compressed to 700bar and refueled according to the latest international SAE standard on fast and safe refueling of hydrogen in few minutes, comparable to refueling of gasoline. The hydrogen station will be supplied by H2 Logic A/S from Denmark, who also is to provide another hydrogen station for Oslo during 2011 where seventeen fuel cell vehicles will be deployed in Oslo. Five of the vehicles will be placed [...]

The board of the Dutch Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Association is very pleased to announce her 8th National Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Conference. The Conference will be held on Thursday December 9th 2010 and will be hosted by Deltalinqs Energy Forum. The location is the DCMR building (Milieudienst Rijnmond) in Schiedam. At the moment we are creating, in cooperation with Deltalinqs Energy Forum, a very interesting program with several international key speakers. In the upcoming weeks you will be informed about the program, registration and more. For more info please visit http://www.waterstofvereniging.nl/

As part of its 2010 Workshop Cycle, FuelCellEurope is organising a session on “Fuel Cells and Hydrogen in the marine and harbour indsutry”, exploring the potentials of the technology in marine applications. This workshop will focus on the potentials of fuel cells and hydrogen for the marine & harbor industry, a sector which faces strong challenges in terms of energy savings and GHG emission reductions. During this workshop, emphasis will be placed on sharing visions and best practices, exchanging lessons learnt, as well as discussing the state of the art of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies in this field. Speakers and participants will also debate about the opportunities and barriers for the deployment of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies in marine and harbor application. More information: link

Hawaii relies heavily on oil (which has to be imported) and as a result electricity prices are roughly two to five times the average price on the mainland. Hawaii is also home to multiple military bases and the headquarters for U.S. Pacific Command, which overseas military operations throughout Asia and the Pacific, over half of the world’s total area. Like the state of Hawaii, the military also has special energy needs. In the field, it’s reliance on fossil fuels requires expensive and vulnerable supply lines. The U.S. Navy has paid Lockheed Martin $9.32 million to develop Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology, which uses temperature differences between warm surface waters and deep, cold water to generate power. (It can use a Rankine cycle that involves a liquid with a low boiling point. Warm sea water boils the liquid, producing steam that drives a turbine to generate electricity. Cold water condenses the coolant to a liquid to be reused.) The military is also investing in solar-powered hydrogen production. This is in part to produce hydrogen for vehicles (either fuel cell cars or internal combustion engines made to burn hydrogen). What’s more interesting is the potential of hydrogen as an energy storage [...]

The Hungarian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell National Technology Platform (HFC Platform) was founded in 2008 with 30+ members, including companies, universities and research institutions, with a common aim to help establishing the hydrogen economy in Hungary. The Platform promotes co-operation between academy, industry and government pursuing hydrogen becoming the dominant energy carrier for the public sector, households and industry by 2050. To view Implementation Plan see link above. For more information: Hungarian HFC Platform