Hydrogen Hits the Roads

The Government of Canada has initiated a series of university-industry partnerships which includes a project to further develop fuel cell technology for buses. Through the Automotive Partnership Canada (APC), in conjunction with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), $85 million is available for a range of projects aimed at enhancing the Canadian automotive industry. APC and NSERC are providing $4.05 million to project partners Simon Fraser University and Ballard Power Systems to develop the next generation of fuel cell buses. The project aims to increase overall stack durability and lifetime without negatively impacting the cost or performance of the buses. Source: Fuel Cell Today  

Hydrogen and Fuel Cell transport is breaking barriers and records!

The Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands, with support of Linde Benelux, built a fuel cell powered formula 1 race car, The FORZE IV. The vehicle broke a fuel cell car record on August 16, 2011 in the Hague, Netherlands. Covering the 1/8th mile in just 10,459 seconds, it beat the previous record by one second! The EHA took the opportunity to interview Jaco Reijerkerk, Head of Business Development Linde Gas Benelux to get his view on the event and the developments in the hydrogen industry.

Hamburg, a pioneer in hydrogen bus demonstration in Europe is progressing in full speed as the most recent city to bring new Fuel Cell Hydrogen (FCH) powered buses in regular public transport service. The next cities to follow include Aargau (CH), Bolzano/Bozen (IT), Milan (IT) and Oslo (NO). Earlier this year, London and Cologne also saw the start of FCH bus operation. All mentioned cities are linked to the Clean Hydrogen In European Cities (CHIC) project.

In view of the European Council meeting which will address non-budgetary ways to support transport infrastructure build up, EHA in a joint effort with the FCH JU Programme Office, NEW IG and NERGHY , submitted a letter to European Council members on the occasion of the EU Transport Council the beginning of September, underlining the need a comprehensive support strategy and incentives to facilitate the rapid build up of new infrastructure for clean fuels in view of the new TEN T Guidelines.

The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) closed its 4th call for proposals on August 18th 2011. Results of the evaluations will be available at the end of September 2011. The EHA’s contribution to the dissemination of 5 FCH JU running projects has demonstrated the EHA’s work as an effective communication and information instrument. The EHA over the summer has facilitiated the development of proposals consortia for the current FCH JU 2011 Call and, under the umbrella of FAST, has been included in 3 project proposals which involve the topics of Energy Storage, Training for Emergency Responders and a demp projects for Fuel Cell Forklift Trucks.

Increasingly our colleagues in new EU Member States are stepping up their efforts to engage their politicians in hydrogen development. As the Hungarian government is preparing its national energy strategy the Hungarian Hydrogen Association will be hosting a workshop on the 29th of September in Budapest to present the role of hydrogen to local and national officials with regards to opportunities and challenges in national energy and transport systems. The EHA will be presenting the results of the current FCH JU projects it is involved in (see under EHA Project Info) at this event.

The 2011 edition of “L’energia spiegata ‐ Festival dell’Energia” marks a significant shift towards a wider and more international approach of the event. During previous editions, the Energy Festival confirmed its leading role in the energy debate at national level.

The European Commission published on August 29th 2011 a Study on “The structuring and financing of energy infrastructure projects, financing gaps and recommendations regarding the new TEN-E financial instrument”.
The report, written by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants aims to answer three key questions :
1. What was the structure of energy transmission infrastructure investments in the last five years in terms of investment volumes, financing structures, financing sources and the financing capacity of operators, and what do we expect to see in the future?
2. What challenges arise regarding the financing of such infrastructure projects, and where are the financing gaps?
3. What measures and instruments should be implemented to over come such challenges and gaps?

Better air quality is on the way, thanks to proposals from the European Commission to lower the sulphur content of shipping fuels. The proposals should reduce sulphur dioxide emissions by up to 90 %, and fine particle emissions by up to 80 %.

Hamburg transit agency Hamburger Hochbahn AG has acquired four Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid buses under the German NaBuz demo scheme; with a further three buses to be delivered next year.

NaBuz demo is a subsidiary project of the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), funded by NOW GmbH’s National Innovation Programme (NIP) and closely linked to the wider Clean Hydrogen In European Cities (CHIC) fuel cell bus project. Hamburg is a phase 0 city in the CHIC project.

The Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid features battery hybridisation for energy recovery and storage and a continuous power output of 120 kW delivered by the same fuel cell stacks used in the company’s flagship fuel cell vehicle, the B-Class FCELL, which has also been trialled in Hamburg.

Air Products announced the opening of a new hydrogen fuelling station on August 16 at the Orange County Sanitation District in Fountain Valley, California, USA. The station produces hydrogen energy to be used to power vehicles from sewage.

The 1st joint European summer school for fuel cell and hydrogen technology will take place in Viterbo, Italy, 22 August – 2nd  September 2011.
The Summer School will now take a broader approach and address topics from the whole field of low and high temperature fuel cells as well as hydrogen technology.

Energy Secretary of the United States Steven Chu stepped briefly into USC’s innovative energy research district. Touring a portion of the multimillion-dollar development the university hopes will spearhead the way to world leadership in fuel cell technology.

Moscow International Motor Show (MIMS), organized by International Trade and Exhibitions, will demonstrate the latest parts and components from all across the globe. 600 exhibitors are participating from 30 countries to showcase their latest products/services. It is a unique platform for professional visitors to explore about the Russian automotive industry. The seminars and presentations will help them to enhance knowledge about this sector. For more information visit the MIMS website