On February 8 the President of the Region of Lombardy Formigoni inaugurated the first hydrogen- natural gas mixture station in L in Milan.
The use of hydrogen natural gas mixtures in some countries with a good gas network could be an intermediate step towards the use of pure hydrogen in fuel cells applications. In normal combustion engines the hydrogen content in the mixture contributes to faster ignition and complete combustion, maintaining the performance of the car almost unchanged compared with the use of pure natural gas. The end result is a significant improvement in CO2 emissions and pollutants typical of combustion of hydrocarbons.
With the project – which involves the of Region Lombardy, ENI, Sapio, Centro Ricerche Fiat, Nuova Carrozzeria Torinese and Fast (Federation of Scientific and Technological Associations) – it will be possible to verify the exact levels of environmental contribution that technology can give, especially in an urban context. Tests conducted in the laboratory are promising and if the results are confirmed by road tests they will open a path toward the hydrogen mobility by leveraging technology of the internal combustion engine.
On the same day, the president of the Region signed an agreement with Eni to deliver thirty new stations by 2012, for the supply of natural gas on motorways and Lombardy’s streets. The agreement also sets up a minimum number of stations in relation to population: one station every 45 thousand inhabitants on the normal streets and one station every 30 km on highways.