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Getting the Market to Pick up Pace

September 30, 2011

Recent events within the French Hydrogen Community have taken place to merge The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Platform (HyPaC) and the “Association Française de l’Hydrogène” (AFH2). In result the new French Association for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells (AFHYPAC) has now stepped forward as the national reference point for the government and industry in the field of hydrogen and fuel cells.

In an effort to learn more about the new organisation and next actions in France, EHA sought to discuss with Claude Derive. In the past, Claude Derive has worked with a large utility company in France, mainly in the field of research in energy : clean coal, nuclear, solar, hydrogen. He is now retired and sits as Chairman the Board of the French Association for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells “AFHYPAC”.

European Commission announces public consultation on reducing CO2 emissions from road vehicles

September 30, 2011

The European Commission Directorate-General For Climate Action has launched a public consultation on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from road transport. It aims at obtaining the views of individuals and organisations on the relevance and impact of the proposed strategy and legislation.   The results will feed into the Commission’s decision-making on EU regulations for cars, vans and heavy duty vehicles. The EU is currently committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions 80-95% by 2050, compared with their level in 1990. in order to achieve this reduction at the lowest cost, the “Roadmap For Moving To A Competitive Low Carbon Economy In 2050” estimates that transport-sector emissions should be cut by 50-70% by 2050. The Commission intends to propose revisions to the regulations for car and van emissions for 2020. For Heavy Duty Vehicles there is at present no EU regulation of their greenhouse gas emissions and the Commission intends to put forward a strategy for addressing these. The consultation will remain online until 09 December 2011. For more information see: EC Consultation

Introduction

September 29, 2011

National Governments are stepping up support of hydrogen in clean energy and transport systems! Recently new funding announcements of several national governments in Europe seem to indicate that the role of hydrogen in clean transport is becoming more and more recognized.

Denmark has established 97 million Danish Krones (13 million Euros) will be applied for the development of hydrogen and fuel cells. The Netherlands  aims to facilitate a sufficient infrastructure build up of hydrogen refuelling network to attact the first fuel cell hydrogen car fleets, buses trucks as well as passenger cars with a budget of 5 mln is set aside for these efforts. A total of 3 calls for project proposals strictly in the field of hydrogen technologies will be launched in France up till the end of 2011.  The projects surround the demonstration of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, stationary applications, and energy storage. The UK recently opened the first public refuelling station in the country.

In view of these developments the EHA recently initiated a dialogue with the FCH JU to step up the EHA’s support in accelerating the engagement of national decision makers in the further roll-out of fuel cell and hydrogen applications and necessary infrastructure. Through its 20 national member associations, the EHA is well placed to inform national stakeholders about EU policy developments and activities in other Member States to stimulate more political and budget commitment. On the other hand EU policy makers need to be updated on recent developments and achievements at national level in order to integrate more support for hydrogen developments in EU programs.

In order to leverage this unique position of the EHA and its national associations it is increasingly important to gather information on what is happening at national level and to establish a regular and consistent collaboration with key decision makers at national level to communicate the latest developments.

The EHA is presenting updates on the results of the EU funded projects in hydrogen demonstration and deployment at several national association meetings and conferences in Europe, last month in Scotland (WHTC 2011) and Hungary (Chances and Challenges for EU and Hungary). Do not hesitate to contact the EHA secretariat to organize a presentation at one of your events in the near future at: info@h2euro.org.

Introduction

September 29, 2011

The Environment Agency Installs Fuel Cell at Woolston Weir Fishery

September 28, 2011

UK independent fuel cell supplier UPS Systems has installed an SFC EFOY Pro 2200 DMFC at the Environment Agency’s Woolston Weir fishery. The installation will power a new eel pass monitoring the endangered species’ upstream journey to fresh water.

Boeing test flights of Phantom Eye Hydrogen

September 28, 2011

Boeing is planning to run test flights of its company-funded Phantom Eye hydrogen-fuelled long-distance UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) in California in late October or early November. The vehicle, announced and first tested in July 2010, is twin-engine with a 150-ft. wingspan and cruises at approximately 150 knots. The upcoming flights aim to demonstrate up to four days flight endurance at 65,000 ft. Source: FuelCellToday

Workshop: Hydrogen Economy-Possibilities and Challenges for Hungary and the EU

29 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011

The Hungarian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association together with the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell National Technology Platform will be holding a workshop on 29 September 2011. The focus of the event will be to investigate into the possibilities as well as challenges of hydrogen economy in the EU and Hungary who currently sits at the EU Presidency chair. Marieke Reijalt, the executive director of EHA, will be giving an overview of the projects and policies on hydrogen in Europe. The Workshop will run between 9am and 4.30pm (Central European Time) in Budapest and will be available for live broadcasting to anyone interested. You can stream the workshop live by clicking here. You can get access to the complete program by referring to the downloads section of this post.

Workshop International sur l’Hydrogène 2012: Call for papers

21 Mar - 23 Mar, 2012

Following the success of the previous editions of the International Workshop on Hydrogen 1-3 (2005, 2007 and 2009) the Micro Electro Thermal Systems (METS) Research Unit in the National Engineering School of Sfax (University of Sfax) will host in Tunisia the Fourth International Workshop on Hydrogen (IWH-2012). This edition will be held in Sousse, Tunisia, from 21st to 23rd of March 2012. Deadline for submission of manuscript: November 21th, 2011 For more information see: IWH2012  

Toho Gas sells over 1,000 fuel cell units

September 27, 2011

Japan-based Toho Gas announced the sale of its 1,000th fuel cell household power generator unit since the product’s market introduction in May 2009. The Ene-Farm fuel cell system at hand is designed to generate electricity and heat by combining hydrogen extracted from city gas and liquefied petroleum gas with oxygen for hot water and heating in households. Whereas the 2009 fiscal year sales were reported as 220 units, this amount has increased almost by 250% in 2010 reaching to 515. This increase is expected to continue well into 2011 with an estimate around 900 units despite the power shortages caused by the Mach 11 Earthquake in Japan this year. Hironari Tachi, senior manager for marketing, commented on the matter by saying that ”since the March 11 disasters, more people have been revisiting the way they use energy at home and paying attention to the combination of electricity and gas for their use.” The gas company estimates that the fuel cell unit’s aggregate annual output of 3,000 kwh would be enough to cover 50 to 60 per cent of the energy consumption of an average household, thereby paving the way to making ¥50,000 of savings. This calculation excludes homes with solar power applications in [...]

First Impressions of the Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell Vehicle

September 27, 2011

The California Fuel Cell Partnership (USA) recently asked some drivers about their first impressions on using their Mercedes-Benz fuel cell vehicles shortly after their lease. When asked “What’s it like to lease your very own fuel cell vehicle?” Jin Takemura, the owner of a Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL, responded that he  ”jumped at the opportunity to be an early acceptor and a technological ambassador to the fuel cell concept.” Jin has been driving his fuel cell vehicle on a daily basis to commute to and from work as well as during his work hours for the past month. Even though he does not hesitate to mention that he is not a typical environmentalist and indeed a “car guy” who enjoys and owns other conventional combustion vehicles, he does emphasise the benefits he sees in hydrogen and fuel cell drives: reduction of reliance on foreign fossil fuels, energy independence coupled with renewable and sustainable energy sources becoming more prevalent, and clean air and environmental benefits of zero emissions. Jin believes that fuel cell technology is both very practical and pragmatic and as more people start realising this the consumers will be unanimous about its future prospects. He wishes to observe an increase in the hydrogen [...]