General

HyRaMP extends scope

HyRaMP (European Regions and Municipalities Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells) extends its scope of activity. It will now become HyER, which stands for electric mobility. The whole domain of battery electric vehicles, including their infrastructure, will be added to the fuel cell electric vehicles; so the initiative will cover really everything which moves by means of an electric motor.

(HyRaMP press release of 4. October 2011)

International Conference on Hydrogen Safety (ICHS)

185 high-ranking scientists and deciders met from September 12 to 14 in San Francisco for the 4th International Conference on Hydrogen Safety. This series of conferences is held under the auspices of HySafe, the international Association for hydrogen safety. This was the first conference of this kind in South America. The former ones were held in Pisa (Italy, 2005) San Sebastián (Spain, 2007), and Ajaccio (France, 2009).

Leading representatives of the US Department of Energy hydrogen and fuel cells program underlined in their presentations that the matter of safety is critical for the success of commercialization of hydrogen technologies; the consumer will never accept a technology which is associated with unacceptable risks. A similar view was expressed by a representative of the German NOW GmbH in a review of the German NIP program.

f-cell presented solutions

Lecture halls filled to capacity and an optimistic mood of new beginnings characterized the two-day f-cell fuel cell forum which took place in Stuttgart on 26 and 27 September 2011.

The decision to abandon the use of nuclear energy in Germany has given additional impetus to the industry. Fluctuating volumes of energy obtained from renewable sources, such as wind and solar power plants, cannot be fed completely into the power grid, as corresponding quantities of electricity are not in demand everywhere. Electrolysis and hydrogen storage are one of the ways to solve this problem.

Pro H2 Technology Forum in Hannover

By invitation of Solvay and under the auspices of the National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW GmbH) more than 170 representatives of science, economy, associations, and politics met in Hannover for the first Pro H2-Technologie-Forum. They presented research results and products which demonstrate that hydrogen technologies can support the turnaround in energy technology.

How to do this in detail was discussed by representatives of industry (cars, energy, fuels), politics (federal ministry for transport, NOW), Research (DLR) and project managers (WIND-projekt). All together resulted in an impressive confirmation that hydrogen and fuel cells are a necessary part of the energy system of tomorrow.

Mobile applications

Hessen new member of CEP

Hessen has joined the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), Europe's largest demonstration project for hydrogen mobility. After Berlin, Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Baden-Wuerttemberg Hessen is now the fifth state of the Federal Republic of Germany to become a member of CEP, Europe's leading project for the demonstration of fuel cell vehicles and the promotion of the associated hydrogen infrastructure.

„Hessen starts into mobile future, and this will be electric. Fuel cell technology plays a key role in this context“, said environment minister Lucia Puttrich on 8. September during a ceremony at Wiesbaden. The ministry itself will test a fuel cell vehicle over a period of three years.

The car fleet owned by some companies in the Rhine-Main area comprises now some 20 vehicles by Opel, Daimler, and Honda. More vehicles are under discussion, under them fuel cell hybrid buses or luggage haulers for the Frankfurt airport.

Before the end of CEP in 2016 the hydrogen infrastructure must be extended further. Apart from the already existing station at Hoechst more hydrogen filling stations will be installed in Hessen to guarantee a comprehensive network. This will be done under special consideration of providing „green hydrogen“ from renewable power.

(Press release of the Hessian ministry for environment of 8. September 2011)

Phileas buses now in normal service

The articulated fuel cell bus of the „Phileas“ type we reported about repeatedly is in normal service since September 8 in the Cologne region according to schedule and with passengers. The driver Heiko Herr has tested the new bus for a few months and is enthusiastic: „You can drive the whole day and have no harmful emissions“, he explains.

The hydrogen filling station is in Huerth (near Cologne) and is supplied from the local chemical industry which offers by-product hydrogen. The fuel cell system delivers an electrical output of 150 kW. One tank load will supply the 18 m long articulated buses for some 250 km.

Hydrogen for freight transportation

Hermann Grewer, president of the federal association for freight transport, logistics, and disposal (BGL), demanded new and innovative fuels for heavy utility vehicles during the meeting of members of the association on October 7 in Nuremberg. Hydrogen from sustainable production could be a key technology for freight transport on the road in the 21^st century. To the federal minister for transport, Peter Ramsauer, who attended the meeting, BGL president Grewer signalled a high interest of the transport business in environmentally friendly, useable, and affordable fuels to succeed the now dominant Diesel.

Considering the probable price jumps for fossil fuels it is only a matter of time when new fuel technologies well be of economic interest, according to him. So the time to give a stronger push to the development of hydrogen technology would be now.

(BGL press release of 7. October 2011.

Stationary Applications

Hybrid power station by ENERTRAG opened

On October 25 near the city of Prenzlau Brandenburg's prime minister Matthias Platzeck opened the world's first wind-hydrogen hybrid power station built by ENERTRAG AG together with TOTAL Deutschland, Vattenfall, and Deutsche Bahn (German railway). For the first time the hydrogen hybrid power station unifies the energy sources wind, hydrogen, and biogas. The power generated in three wind turbines is partly used to generate CO₂ free hydrogen. This green hydrogen is stored, and in periods of high demand and low wind it is used for power and heat production in a hydrogen-biogas power station. Additionally the hydrogen is used as fuel in TOTAL hydrogen filling stations in Berlin and Hamburg.

The whole investment for the hybrid power station is 21 M€. The project is financially supported by the state of Brandenburg and the Federal Ministry for Transport. It has a duration until the end of 2012.

During the opening ceremony prime minister Platzeck said: „This day provides a real updraft! The hybrid power station is an innovative, practicable, and economical contribution to more climate protection. This plant, which is unique in the world, can transform the fluctuating wind power into a reliable quantity so that it can be used in long term plans for the generation of power, heat, and mobility.“

Fuel cell at Frankfurt airport

Fuel cell systems with a power output of 5 kW now provide safe power on a parking lot at the airport of Frankfurt. In case of a power failure the fuel cell system guarantees not only the further operation of the machine for the parking fees but also the availability of the IT and power network in a nearby building.

Due to recent progress the fuel cell is now superior to other UPS technologies in almost every respect. With a storage of 200 l hydrogen they can bridge a time of up to ten hours. Depending on how many gas cylinders are provided the time to be bridged can be extended almost without limit.

(Rittal press release of 19. October 2011)

Portable Applications

Lower Saxony's police uses fuel cells

The police of the state of Lower Saxony gets 175 k€ of financial support from the National Innovation Program Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP) to test fuel cells in the uninterrupted power supply for the communication of public authorities.

The systems will be installed at selected basis stations which might be difficult to reach under exceptional weather conditions (snow, flood, storm) to bridge power failures, so that they provide safe communication in the entire network.

The entire project of alternative power supply comprises the installation of fuel cell systems in five places in Lower Saxony. The financial volume is about 365 k€.

(Press release of NOW GmbH of 29. August 2011)

Infrastructure

First public hydrogen filling station in the UK

The first public hydrogen filling station in the UK was opened on September 20 in Swindon. Installation and operation were / are done by BOC. The project is a joint undertaking of BOC, Honda, and Forward Swindon, the local body for economic promotion. Swindon is located about 110 km W of London, more or less half-way to Bristol. The filling station provides hydrogen gas under 350 or 700 bar. It uses proven technology and could be replicated more or less as it is at every other place in the country.

Energy and Climate

Good start for Windgas

More than 3000 customers have made a contract with Greenpeace Energy for proWindgas. Thus the offer, which was published in July, started better than the energy cooperative expected. 5000 customers are expected until the end of the year. Initially they will receive natural gas; during 2012 Greenpeace Energy plans to add increasing amounts of „Windgas“.

„Windgas“ is quite simply hydrogen which is generated sustainably from excess wind power. Every time more green power is generated than consumed or can be fed into the power grid the excess will be transformed into hydrogen and fed into the gas grid.

(Press release by Greenpeace Energy of 30. September 2011)

Politics

Parliamentary Evening of DWV

Hydrogen and fuel cells are a necessary element of the energy system of the future. They will also play an increasingly important role for electric mobility. Numerous fuel cell vehicles in successful practical operation prove that a market is developing which offers attractive chances for growth. This was the result of this year's Parliamentary evening of DWV which was held on October 19 jointly with the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg in the state's representation to the federal government in Berlin.

Representing the host state environment minister Franz Untersteller said: „For a future oriented and sustainable energy supply which is both good for environment and climate and socially accepted we need a change of the system to electrical drive trains. For this we need the fuel cell because we can use it in all vehicle segments up to buses and because it makes a more or less CO₂ free transport system possible in the long term perspective.“ As key requirement he mentioned that the fuel be regenerative hydrogen generated from renewable energy.

Jan Muecke, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development, remarked about this: „Hydrogen and fuel cells are key technologies for the transformation of the energy system away from fossil to renewable energy vectors. Politics, economy, and science are demanded to keep joining their efforts.“

The great importance of hydrogen comes from the great number of its possible applications: storage and smooth supply of primary energies, electric mobility with long ranges, and finally as such in the industry, in particular the chemical industry.

„In terms of technology development Germany and Baden-Wuerttemberg have a top position in the international ranking. Whether hydrogen and fuel cells in the future will come from Germany or to Germany is up to us to decide in the framework of a new energy policy“, was the appeal of DWV chairman Dr. Johannes Toepler to politics.

People

Ian Williamson,

who worked for Air Products for 26 years and was responsible for hydrogen and bioenergy, will start a new job on November 14 as Chief Executive of the British fuel cell maker AFC Energy.