European Hydrogen Association

Second JTI Call is out: deadline October 15, 2009

marieke — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:28:07 +0000

With the publication on July 2, 2009 of the second call for proposals of the EU Joint Undretaking for fuel cells and hydrogen (JU FCH) Europe stays on course to realise the full potential of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies and to create a cleaner energy system for the future. €71.3 million funded by the European Commission matched by in-kind contributions of more than 70 industrial partners will fund 29 project topics aim to put fuel cell and hydrogen energy technologies on the market two to five years sooner than what is estimated without the support it offers. Selected teams of researchers will investigate bottlenecks in the whole range of applications for these energy technologies, from cars to large scale power plants, as well as the whole supply chain from hydrogen production to demonstration of the market-readiness of applications. Breakthrough research should foster the use of hydrogen-fuelled buses and fuel cell vehicles. It will help develop hydrogen storage and improve fuel cells’ durability, performance and the cost-efficiency to make green applications such as power stations or laptops ready for the market. The call is the second being launched by this private-public partnership whose total budget amounts around €1bn to be invested by 2014. Welcoming the launch, EU Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potočnik, said:
“ The new step taken today by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen JTI highlights the continued commitment of the European Commission and the European industry to develop breakthrough technologies to put Europe at the forefront of green technologies. Precious partnership in this area and others that are to follow in the framework of SET Plan will help the EU to meet its ambitious energy and environmental goals faster and cheaper. Such Investments today are a guarantee for EU competitiveness and growth tomorrow “. The Chairman of the Governing Board of the Joint Undertaking, Gijs van Breda Vriesman, also welcomed the launch of the second call, saying:

“The industry has been thriving to create this partnership for a long time. It is important to join forces to overcome the technical and economic hurdles to market-introduction of these technologies which have a big potential to address problems of climate change and energy import dependence. It is gratifying to see the long work done by the partners bearing fruit. We have a well-prepared research agenda and we are receiving a good response from the industry and the research community. We are just in time to grasp the chance to make Europe a leader in these technologies. ”
The application deadline for the call is 15 October 2009 and projects selected for contract negotiations will be announced in March 2010. For Call information click here.

July 13, 2009, FP7 InfoDay, Brussels: Funding for three PPP’s on Efficient Buildings, Factories and Cars

marieke — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:16:27 +0000

As part of the European Economic Recovery Plan, the Commission is launching three Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in close cooperation with industry on “Factories of the Future”, “Energy-efficient Buildings” and “Green Cars” to provide EUR 3.2 billion of support for long-term “smart” research investment in the manufacturing, construction and automotive sectors. To meet the need for a rapid start-up, the initiatives will be implemented in the first instance through a series of cross-thematic Coordinated Calls under the Work Programme 2010 between the relevant FP7 themes. The total European Commission budget in 2010 for these calls is € 268 million. The Calls are planned to be published in July 2009, with the first research projects expected to start in the spring of 2010. In order to support the preparation of proposals, the Directorates General for Research, Information Society and Energy and Transport of the European Commission are holding a Joint Information Day on Research PPPs on 13 July 2009 in Brussels, in the Charlemagne building, rue de la Loi n° 170. For more info please visit the DG Research website.

JU FCH second Call for proposals will come out the second week of July.

marieke — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:10:38 +0000

In reference to our earlier annoucements the second Call for proposals of the Joint Undertaking for fuel cells and hydrogen (JU FCH) is expected to come out the second week of July. Please check the latest updates at the JTI website.

Environment Council on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control: more flexibility.

marieke — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:33:15 +0000

The Environment Council on June 25, 2009 agreeed to more flexibiliy for Member States in implementing the IPPC Directive. According to Directive proposal put forward by the Commission in 2007 52,000 industrial operators will need to obtain permits from national authorities to release pollutants into the air, soil or water. The Commission originally proposed to tighten emissions limit values by forcing plants to adopt Best Available Techniques (BATs) by 2016. Environment ministers agreed to a Czech proposal to apply current BATs to new combustion plants earlier than envisaged by the Commission, within two years after the entry into force of the directive. For existing plants, the deadline was set to 2016, with a transition period. The Czech presidency had also suggested giving national authorities until the end of 2019 to define “transitional national plans” for reducing emissions of NOx, SO2 and dust, with a gradual decline in annual national ceilings. However a group of Member States led by the UK, Poland, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania, ministers decided to extend this flexibility by another year – until the end of 2020 – in order to give member states more flexibility. The Council also set a 96% rate of desulphurisation of fossil fuels for LCPs . The Commission found allies in Germany, France, Denmark and Austria in demanding stricter rules for deviating from BATs. But after the Netherlands switched sides, a bloc headed by the UK and Italy and including many new Member States won assurances that there would be more flexibility in the new system. Under the compromise Member States could grant operators permission to exceed the set emission limits in specific cases like technical characteristics of the installation, geographical location and local environmental conditions.

Grandson of Ferdinand Porsche finances H2 powered city car.

fouzia — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:17:40 +0000

Sebastian Piech , the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche financed the development of a British designed hydrogen-powered city car by a team of Oxford and Cranfield universities. A prototype of the car weighing 350 Kg and reaches 50 mph, can travel more then 321 km on the power of 6 KW fuel cell will be inaugurated in the week of 15 June 2009. “The River simple Urban Car represents a major step towards practical 21st century personal transport and towards the fulfillment of my great-grandfather’s ambitions for accessible personal transport but this time combining his other passions: light weight and high efficiency,” said Piech. More info at Riversimple

EHA visit Hungary

METH2 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 06:58:40 +0000

June2-3, Marieke Reijalt, managing director of the European Hydrogen Association (EHA) visited Hungary and met representatives of several companies and institutions with interest in hydrogen energy. One of the objectives of the visit was to seek for potential partners in commencing building future hydrogen instrastucture in Hungary, possibly including hydrogen refueling stations. Organized by the Hydrogen Section of the Hungarian Energy Association, Ms. Reijalt visited MOL, the integrated oil company, where she informed Artur Thernesz about JTI, initiatives by EHA, as well as the HyRAMP project. At MVM the integrated national power company, she met Mr.Károly Gerse, deputy chief executive officer, discussing possible future role of hydrogen energy in Hungary in view of outstanding issues of energy policy in Hungary. Ms.Reijalt emphasized those positive expectations with regards to applications of hydrogen technologies in the transport sector. In her opinion, strong promotion of electric car developments will pursue the potential application of fuel cell and hydrogen cars entering the market, overcoming the problematic and limited possibilities offered by conventional bio-fuels. Ms. Reijalt met Alfredo Goyanes, CEO of EETEK Holding, a regional investor in renewable energy projects and discussed issues related to the economic feasibility of hydrogen energy projects.
At the extraordinary meeting held by the board of the Hydrogen Section of the Hungarian Energy Association June 3, Ms.Reijalt was presented on the activities of the Hydrogen Section, as well as the Hungarian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell National Platform by Géza Mészáros, platform coordinator. The 2 year work program of the Platform was discussed briefly, including a plan to issue a national R&D plan, as well as policy recommendation regarding possibilities of Hydrogen energy in Hungary. Ms. Reijalt emphasized the importance of cooperation in European hydrogen projects, particularly by stakeholders from new EU member states.

Photo: Hydrogen fuelled FC vehicly on display, Reception desk of Hungarian Electricity Works, MVM

Courtesy to MVM
Left to right: Dr.Károly Gerse, Deputy CEO of MVM, Marieke Reijalt, M.D. EHA and Dr. Antal Ferenc Kovács, Chairman, Hydrogen Section, Hungarian Energy Association

Minutes EHA Annual General Assembly: June 17, 2009

tanya — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:29:12 +0000

Minutes EHA Annual General Assembly: June 30, 2008

tanya — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:28:22 +0000

EHA National Association meeting – 17 June 2009

tanya — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:23:15 +0000

Press releases 2009

tanya — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:03:00 +0000

EHA session at EU Sustainable Energy Week on Regional and Urban Renewable Hydrogen Integration 02/02/09
European Hydrogen Association (EHA): working towards an integrated, technology-led and user friendly system for transport in the EU 18/06/09