 |
Scotland's "Hydrogen Office" Proposal
Receives European Union Funding
Ian Johnston The Scottsman
April 29, 2005 |
Yesterday the Scottish Executive announced
the project had received a grant of £1.1 million from a European Union fund.
The office will be built somewhere in Midlothian, although the actual site
has not yet been chosen, and is expected to open early in 2007.
Project manager Derek Mitchell said: "It is designed to
demonstrate that with renewable and hydrogen energy you can meet the energy
needs of an office of this size. "We are using current technologies - we’re
not developing any new ones - but we are linking them together in a way
that’s never been done before." |
The purpose of the Hydrogen Office
project is to develop an office building within Scotland of approximately
1000m2, which will operate independently of fossil fuels and meet all its
energy needs from renewable energy sources. The Hydrogen Office will serve
as a high profile demonstration that innovative renewable and hydrogen
energy technologies can safely and reliably meet all the needs of a modern
office building. The Hydrogen Office will prove that buildings operating
independently of fossil fuels can insulate themselves against the increasing
economic and environmental costs created by our current reliance on these
fuels. Costs that impact on not only the bottom line profit figures
(increasing cost of energy, increasing risk of energy supply disruption,
increasing cost of insurance), but also have a major impact on climate
change.
The Hydrogen Office gives Scotland the opportunity to
demonstrate to the world that it has the skills and technologies that will
be at the heart of the hydrogen revolution.
The Hydrogen Office Business
Environment Partnership (Scotland)OTHER HYDROGEN BUILDINGS
|
 |
 GLOBAL
HYDROGEN TRAIN
PARIS TO MEXICO CITY
H2 MAY MAKE IT POSSIBLE!
The Hydrogen Train
A Think Tank Without Walls |
 |
Denmark Prepares First Step of National Wind Powered
Rail System Using Hydrogen Fuel
European Commission April 26, 2005
The Danish region of western Jutland is hoping to be
the first in Europe to use hydrogen-powered trains. This, and other
ambitious projects, both national and pan-European, sums up the Dane’s
attitude to research and development (R&D) … forward looking. Headlines
takes a quick look at the Danish research landscape.
A train powered by hydrogen energy would be a defining
project for western Jutland’s new Hydrogen Innovation and Research Centre (HIRC),
which was set up expressly to put Denmark on the fast track to developing
hydrogen applications.
Jens-Christian Møller, managing director of the HIRC,
says, “Our goal is to |
get Europe's first commercially viable hydrogen train in
Europe.” Today, many international projects using hydrogen in cars and buses
exist, but there a very few for hydrogen trains. Those in progress are
mostly centred in the United States and Japan, he adds. “That’s why we have
a chance to make something of international value in western Jutland.'
Three towns in the region – Vemb, Lemvig and Thyborøn –
have committed funding for a hydrogen train running along the 59km line
connecting them. The European Union and the town of Ringkøbing have also
expressed interest in contributing to the project, reports the Danish
Research and Innovation Information Service (DRIIS).
The HIRC now hopes to attract the attention of train
manufacturers interested in participating in the project. With this project
and other technology transfer activities, “we will help secure the long-term
energy supplies and create a cleaner environment”, he is quoted as saying. |
| FLORIDA FORD DELTA AIR LINES |
 |
Florida Hydrogen Business Partnership Finalizes Hydrogen
Energy Roadmap
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Florida Energy Office March 23, 2005 |
DEP first gathered hydrogen technology
developers, fuel and power producers and major energy consumers in April
2004 to assist the State with the development of Florida’s hydrogen economy.
The Partnership’s strategy for industry and government to rapidly accelerate
the development, demonstration and commercialization of hydrogen
technologies will establish Florida as a major center for this revolutionary
new industry.
The strategies outlined by the Partnership mirror the
proposed Florida Hydrogen Energy Technologies Act, unveiled last month by
Governor Bush at the groundbreaking of Florida’s first hydrogen energy
station. The Partnership strategy and the legislation call for financial
incentives, expanded demonstration projects and a uniform siting standard
for businesses who invest in hydrogen in Florida. |
Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Initiatives in Mexico
UlisesCano-Castillo
Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Group
March 2005
| NEW YORK |
Renewable Energy Could Spark 43,000 Jobs
SF Gate/AP March 15, 2005 |
New York's rust belt
could yield a greener economy that produces and consumes more renewable
energy from soybeans to hydrogen, according to an economic report released
by the state comptroller.
The report said thousands more jobs would be
created in manufacturing and energy related industries if New York steps up
its commitment to generating more electricity through renewable sources. The
report is the latest to call for New York to expand solar, wind and hydro
power, as well as develop crops including corn and soybeans that can be
processed into fuel.
Comptroller Alan Hevesi said 43,000 jobs would be
created if, by 2013, the state increased to 25 percent the share of
electricity used in New York through nontraditional, renewable resources.
That commitment, he said, would spawn new businesses to provide the raw
materials for the nontraditional fuel. |
 "I'm
asking NYSERDA to work with our transportation agencies to install hydrogen
refueling stations from New York City to Buffalo over the next ten years."--
George Pataki, Governor
New York State of the State Address January 5, 2005 |
|
|
Photo copyright 2005 VIMS (760) 920-2053
Actress
Victoria Peters demonstrates how she will fuel her Hummer limo with
hydrogen from her newly delivered hydrogen fueling station in Taos, New
Mexico.
AUTOGRAPHED POSTER INFO
Visit the Angel's Nest web site
 "This is how
I fuel my car."
Copyright 2005 VIMS
Victoria Peters offers light-hearted glimpse at
the revolutionary technology at Angel's Nest that will free the world
from oil. Quicktime 2272.66 KB |
|
Angel's
Nest Founders Receive a
Hydrogen Fueling Station for the
World's Most Sustainable Building
Richard D. Masters ICHBC
February 23, 2005 |
Without a public announcement, actress Victoria Peters and renewable energy
architect Robert Plarr, builders of the Angel's Nest Retreat in Taos, New
Mexico, placed an order for an Air
Products Series 100 hydrogen fueling station late last Spring.
The unit, the largest privately-purchased hydrogen fueling station that we
know of, will provide high-purity hydrogen generated by the Angel's Nest
building with renewable wind and solar power to several models of fuel cells
and hydrogen vehicles.
Immediately following the First Annual
International Hydrogen Energy Implementation Conference, hosted
by the New Mexico Hydrogen Business
Council
in Santa Fe, Air Products delivered the fueling station to Angel's
Nest for display. |
At Angel's Nest, the hydrogen station will provide low-pressure hydrogen to
the fuel cells for night time power and provide high pressure hydrogen to a
growing collection of hydrogen-powered vehicles. Plarr, a Marine Corp
veteran, appreciates the irony of such large, low-mileage vehicles powered
entirely by renewable fuel.
Although the present energy produced by wind and solar falls short of what
is required by the hydrogen station, Plarr continues to add solar panels and
small wind turbines to reduce the demand on his bio-diesel generator.
Angel's Nest is the realization of Plarr and
Peter's dream of a fully self-sustaining home or commercial building that
produces sufficient power for luxurious living and even fuels vehicles for
local travel. The solar- efficient design allows the home to remain
comfortable in freezing cold or blazing desert heat. The home can even
recycle all its water and waste through levels of greenhouses, producing
food, refreshing the air and eliminating the residential load on the West's
dwindling water resources.
Plarr and a group of investors are currently establishing
the Angel's Nest Foundation to provide education on renewable architecture
and spread various versions of Angel's Nest throughout the world. |
CALL ROBERT PLARR
1-800-291-1422 ANGEL'S NEST FOUNDATION |
|
|
NEW MEXICO Adobe
House Designed to be Self-Sufficient
Rosalie Rayburn
Albuquerque Journal
April 11, 2005
China's
Next Cultural Revolution
The People's Republic is on the fast track to become the car capital of
the world. And the first alt-fuel superpower.
Lisa Margonelli Wired
April 2005 |
|
For more than a year, Tim Vail, GM's director of business
development in charge of commercializing fuel cells, has been traveling to
China and liking what he finds. He looks at Shanghai's propane taxis, 38,000
in all, and sees an industry ready to experiment. He looks at Shanghai's $1
billion maglev train and sees a city that's ready to spend. He looks at a
coal-processing plant in the city and sees a source of industrial hydrogen
that should last for the next 15 years. But most important, he sees a
government that's ready to do the social engineering needed to speed the
adoption of fuel cells. more |
China to Build
US$241.6M Hydrogen Fuel Battery Base
Asia Pulse April 7, 2005
China has started to construct a state-level hydrogen fuel battery industrial
base in Yixing City, East China's Jiangsu Province. The project will require a
total investment of 2 billion yuan (US$241.6 million) and be constructed in
three phases.
China
to Investigate Natural Gas and Hydrogen Mixtures
AAP (AU) April 1, 2005
ICELAND
SHELL DAIMLERCHRYSLER NORSK HYDRO
Spring 2005
ICELANDIC NEW ENERGY
|
 |
Building the Hydrogen Boom
How Iceland's abundant natural wonders -- spouting geysers and
turbulent rivers -- are turning one tiny country into a world leader in
clean energy.
Onearth - the National Resources Defense
Council's quarterly |
The most revolutionary step will be to convert Iceland's fishing fleet to
hydrogen. Seafood constitutes about 62 percent of the country's exports, and
because of the heavy demand for oil by the fishing industry, Iceland's per
capita carbon dioxide emissions are actually higher than those of a number
of more industrialized European nations, including France, Italy, and Spain.
Concern is growing worldwide about air pollution from ships, and Iceland's
pioneering steps toward a hydrogen-powered fleet have propelled
international interest and investment.
If the INE project is successful, Iceland stands to save
nearly two-thirds of the $200 million a year it spends on imported fossil
fuel, attract new foreign investment, and perhaps even develop the capacity
to export hydrogen. It may never be the Kuwait or Saudi Arabia of the north,
but Skulason believes that Iceland could someday supply the hydrogen needs
of a country as large as Denmark, whose population is 20 times that of
Iceland.
Most important, perhaps, hydrogen may allow Iceland to
assert its own distinctive brand of global leadership in a world where
finding alternatives to fossil fuels is becoming critical. "We see ourselves
as pioneers in clean energy," says Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, Iceland's
president. "This is an energy which is viable, which doesn't destroy life on
earth. For a small nation, that is a very important vision and an important
signal to the rest of the world." |
UNITED STATES DOE-EERE GM
SHELL CHEVRONTEXACO BALLARD
HYUNDAI UNITED TECHNOLOGIES
DAIMLERCHRYSLER BP
April 6, 2005 |
DOE Announces Four Hydrogen Demonstration Partnerships
U.S. Department of Energy - Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman announced the details of four "Hydrogen
Learning Demonstration" partnerships last week at the annual conference of
the National Hydrogen Association. According to Secretary Bodman, companies
are working in four teams on the five-year, $380-million project, for which
DOE is providing roughly half the funds. In northern and southern
California, ChevronTexaco and Hyundai Motor Company will test fuel cells
manufactured by United Technologies Corporation. DaimlerChrysler and BP will
be testing Ballard Power System's fuel cells in hot arid climates like
Sacramento, California, and cold climates like Detroit, Michigan. Ford Motor
Company is also working with BP and Ballard in Detroit, but also in hot,
humid climates like Orlando, Florida. And General Motors Corporation (GM) is
trying out its own fuel cell stack in tests with Shell Hydrogen, LLC in
several locations: New York, Detroit, California, and Washington, D.C. The
four teams will collect data both on the open road and in controlled test
conditions.
The companies are investigating a myriad of hydrogen
production options, including hydrogen produced directly from sources such
as natural gas and ethanol, as well as hydrogen generated by electrolyzing
water with electricity from sources such as solar and biomass power. Through
the course of their research, the four teams will employ 134 fuel cell
vehicles and up to 28 hydrogen fueling stations. See
Secretary Bodman's speech and the related
GM press release.
As noted by Secretary Bodman in his speech, DOE
originally announced the funding for the Hydrogen Learning Demonstrations a
year ago, although few details were announced at that time. See the
DOE press release from April 27th, 2004. |
HyNor – The Hydrogen Road of Norway
| ITALY ENEL GENERAL ELECTRIC
March 25, 2005 |
Italy's Enel to Help Develop World's Largest
Hydrogen-Fueled Power Station
Bloomberg |
|
The plant Enel is building in Marghera, in northern Italy near
Venice, will have a capacity of 20 megawatts and produce no carbon dioxide
emissions, the company said. When fully developed, non- polluting sources of
energy will allow many of Europe's industrial companies to cut emissions of
carbon dioxide and earn money by selling unused pollution credits. General
Electric Co.'s Italian unit is among the project's partners to develop the
power plant. |
Florida H2 Business
Partnership Finalizes Hydrogen Energy Roadmap
State of Florida
March 23, 2005
| KOREA HYUNDAI CHEVRONTEXACO |
 "I will actively
help the project for the development of the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle
during my tenure."
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun
Roh
Pledges Aid for Development of H2 FC Cars
Yonhap (South Korea)
March 11, 2005 |
South Korea Announces Plans
Transition To Hydrogen Economy
Fuel Cell Today/Asian Pulse March 3, 2005 |
| In 2002, South Korea was the world's 10th largest
energy consuming nation, the seventh largest user of oil and was ranked
fourth in terms of crude oil imports. The proposed hydrogen-based economy
would center on separating hydrogen from water and other hydrogen-rich
molecules for use as a liquid fuel or in fuel cells to power cars, run
factories, operate machines or generate electricity. |
-
Hyundai Unveils First Hydrogen-Powered Tucson SUV
Energieportal24 (Germany)
February 21, 2004
In a major technology breakthrough, the Tucson FCEV is
one of the first fuel cell vehicles capable of starting in freezing
temperatures. Testing has proven that the vehicle is capable of starting
after being subjected to -20 degrees Celsius temperatures for five days.
Other technical advancements include a higher output fuel cell and a new
lithium ion polymer battery.
- First Chevron
Hydrogen Energy Station Unveiled
Energy Vortex
February 18, 2004
The first vehicle demonstrated at the site was driven by
legendary race car driver Mario Andretti, who drove-up in one of Hyundai's
Tucson fuel cell SUVs to show how fueling stations of the future may
operate.
|
 |
RELEASED
California Hydrogen
Blueprint Plan
Volume 1
Draft Final Report March 2005 |
| The
opportunity to lead the world by fostering the birth of the hydrogen economy
is before us. By implementing the recommendations in this report, California
will open the door to a sustainable transportation energy future. The phased
approach and built-in review process recommended in this Blueprint Plan will
ensure a thoughtful, prudent path forward and a responsible level of
investment. |
 FP7
Research Priorities for the Renewable Energy Sector
Consolidated Input from European Renewable Energy Research and
Industry to the European Commission Stakeholder Consultation on Research
Themes of the 7th Research and Development Framework Programme
© EUREC Agency March 2005 |
Clean Energy
Trends 2005
Clean Edge March
2005
UNITED KINGDOM
WELSH DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
UNIVERSITY OF GLAMORGAN
February 25, 2005 |
Hydrogen Valley Launch in Wales Fuel Cell Today
A new initiative, Hydrogen Valley, was launched yesterday in Port
Talbot in the desire for Wales to become a leading demonstration and
development centre of alternative fuel technologies in the UK. The Welsh
Assembly Government is setting up challenging goals in the energy sector to
have more than 10% renewables by 2010 and 15% by 2015. |
FIRST ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL HYDROGEN
ENERGY IMPLEMENTATION CONFERENCE
New Mexico Offers a 3 Year "Tax Holiday" for Hydrogen and
Renewable Energy Entrepreneurs |
"New Mexico can and will become the world leader in the
development of renewable energy technology."
Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico |
|
 |
Click the image, save the 3.36MB Windows Media
file, then open it.
copyright 2005 VIMS |
Rick Homans, Secretary February 18, 2005
New Mexico Employment Development Department |
|
New Mexico Hydrogen Business Council |
 |
Renewables Could Save
US Consumers $16 Bllion
Redirecting
America's Energy
The Economic and Consumer Benefits of
Clean Energy Policies
Navin Nayak
U.S. PRIG Education Fund
February 2005 |
America’s current reliance
on coal, oil, gas, and nuclear power for electricity generation has left the
country with a legacy of environmental and public health problems.
...Fortunately, investing in clean energy policies also would generate new
high-paying jobs, save consumers and businesses billions of dollars, and
boost America’s economy while reducing power plant pollution. ... How would
a shift in federal policy away from fossil fuels and nuclear power and
toward renewable energy and energy efficiency affect the economy, consumers,
and the environment in the U.S.?
Specifically, we examined the economic and consumer
impacts of pursuing two policies:
· Enacting a 20 percent national renewable energy
standard, commonly referred to as a renewable portfolio standard or RPS,
which would require the U.S. to generate 20 percent of its electricity from
clean energy by the year 2020; and
· Shifting the amount it would cost
American taxpayers to subsidize fossil fuels and nuclear power under last
year’s federal energy proposals, $35 billion, toward renewable energy and
energy efficiency.
more |
EUROPE EUROPEAN HYDROGEN ASSOCIATION
NORSK HYDRO
EHN
AIR LIQUIDE AIR PRODUCTS
SHELL HYDROGEN BOC January 26, 2005 |
European Hydrogen
Association Embraces Business Participation As It Moves from Research to
Deployment
News Ticker
The European Hydrogen Association (EHA), an
organisation that promotes the use of hydrogen technology, has decided to
step up its activities and has launched an ambitious program for the coming
years. "This is very positive," says Ivar Hexeberg, head of hydrogen
activities in Hydro. To provide a strong basis for its activities, EHA,
which until now mainly represented national hydrogen associations in Europe,
has agreed on statutory changes to welcome new direct company membership and
foster the development of the organisation based on a new mission as well as
clear and strong objectives and improved resources.
Hydro is among the first companies to join EHA, and Ivar
Hexeberg, who heads Hydro's unit for hydrogen activities, is member of the
EHA board. Other initial companies to join EHA are Air Liquide, Air
Products, EHN, Shell Hydrogen and The BOC Group, and EHA will seek to
further broaden its membership base. EHA's new mission aims to foster the
development of hydrogen technologies and their utilisation in industrial,
commercial and consumer applications, and promote the role of hydrogen in
Europe. With this mission and the new membership structure, EHA is shifting
emphasis from research and development to accelerating deployment of
hydrogen in Europe. |
DETROIT |
"This is a rebirth of our industry,
a rebirth of a nation's infrastructure, and the rebirth of Detroit to once
again be where the action is."
Tim Leuliette, chairman and CEO of the Plymouth,
Michigan-based Tier 1 supplier Metaldyne Corporation
Metaldyne Chairman Sets High Hydrogen Goal for US Auto Industry
Auto Industry (UK) January 20, 2005
|
| NEW YORK |
"Many in the
USA believe that the Administration's hydrogen initiative is just a way to
postpone doing anything useful about energy for as long as possible.
If so it has backfired."
The
Energy Challenge 2004 - Hydrogen
Murray Duffin Energy Pulse
|
NEW YORK AMERICAN WIND POWER HYDROGEN,
LLC AIR PRODUCTS
NY STATE ENERGY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
PLUG POWER
NEW YORK POWER AUTHORITY ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF
TECHNOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO NIAGARA FRONTIER
TRANSIT AUTHORITY
AMERICAN HONDA
HOMELAND ENERGY NIAGARA HYDROPOWER
STATE UNIVERSITY NY ALBANY NANOTECH PRAXAIR
January 2005 |
New York to Promote H2-Fueled Vehicle Development
New York Dept of Environmental
Conservation
Governor George E. Pataki announced more than
$1.4 million in state funding for two hydrogen-powered vehicle demonstration
projects in Buffalo and Albany. The funding is being made available through
the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) as
part of the state's efforts to develop a sustainable hydrogen economy in New
York that will attract new jobs and businesses for the 21st Century.
"New York State is a national leader in promoting the
development and use of clean energy technologies," Governor Pataki said.
"Our continued investment in hydrogen-powered fuel cells and other emerging
technologies is creating new jobs and economic opportunities for residents,
while helping to clean our air and reduce our dependency on foreign oil."
Project Details
The two projects, with a total value of
nearly $5.2 million, will help demonstrate hydrogen's safety and reliability
as a fuel for daily use in both internal combustion engines and in fuel-cell
powered vehicles. Both projects will utilize hydrogen fuel made in New York
State and will be managed by NYSERDA in cooperation with the New York Power
Authority.
American Wind Power and Hydrogen, LLC will receive
$709,000 to convert to hydrogen fuel the internal combustion engines on
several light-duty vehicles owned by the University of Buffalo and the
Niagara Frontier Transit Authority. The hydrogen will be produced by
Praxair, Inc. in Tonawanda. As part of the project, American Wind will
construct a regional fueling station in western New York and develop a
training program for vehicle technicians to work on hydrogen vehicles.
The project will increase fuel efficiency in the
converted vehicles by up to 25 percent and will decrease emissions by using
the hydrogen generated as a by-product of the chemical manufacturing
process. The Praxair plant is supplied by power authority Niagara
Hydropower.
Fueling Stations
In addition, American Honda Motor Co.,
Inc. in partnership with Plug Power, Inc. will receive $735,000 for a
project developed in cooperation with Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., and
Homeland Energy to construct and operate fueling stations for two Honda FCX
hydrogen-cell vehicles being leased by the State of New York (see related
article in December 2004 Environment DEC). The project will focus on cost
and reliability issues, code and siting concerns and public acceptance of
fueling stations.
Hydrogen will be generated and dispensed by Plug Power's
GenSite product line, with added fueling capability provided by an Air
Products HF-150 mobile refueler. The Honda FCX vehicles are being leased by
the state as part of Honda's testing program to demonstrate the cold weather
starting capabilities of the breakthrough Honda FC stack.
NYSERDA also will fund an additional $50,000 feasibility
study with SUNY Albany NanoTech and Plug Power, Inc. to study the GenSite
product's application potential for the semiconductor industry.
Hydrogen Technology Learning
Centers
Earlier this year, President Bush
announced a national hydrogen initiative that included ten partners in New
York State selected to participate in a $350 million program designed to
overcome existing technological obstacles to advance hydrogen and fuel cell
technology.
Working in partnership with NYSERDA, the Rochester
Institute of Technology (RIT) has been named as one of four new hydrogen
technology learning centers in the United States by the U.S. Department of
Energy. The RIT Center will serve to educate students, potential end-users,
local officials and the public about the vision of a hydrogen economy,
hydrogen technologies and applications, the safe use of hydrogen as an
energy carrier, and the challenges to achieving a hydrogen economy. |
 HYDROGEN - Are Production and Storage
Technologies Robust Enough to Deliver It?
Viswanathan Krishnan
Frost & Sullivan January 5, 2005 |
We have to
accept the fact that the human kind has to be pushed to the brink to find
an alternate fuel, which would drive the pace of commercialization of
hydrogen technologies.
Hydrogen has been slated to hold the key for a
green future. Hydrogen derived from a renewable energy source, when fed to a
fuel cell generates electricity without green house emissions. The energy
community is very keen to exploit hydrogen for its advantages ranging from
energy efficiency to air quality. Moreover the oil wells around the world
are expected to fall short of their capacity and hence will not be able to
meet the economy’s growing energy needs in the coming years.
Though these factors could drive the energy companies and
the researchers to consider hydrogen as a prospective green fuel, real
benefit would be realized when hydrogen becomes an accessible fuel to
everyone. The accessibility factor would materialize once the hydrogen
production and storage technologies become commercially viable. The pace of
the commercial viability decides the prospect of a “Hydrogen Economy.”
It is estimated that more than 95% of generated hydrogen
is produced by reforming conventional hydrocarbon fuels or from coal.
Electrolysis – the splitting of water using electricity, accounting for the
remaining 5%, is the oldest of the hydrogen production technologies. This
technology has full blown commercial systems for industrial use. The
chemical electrolyte used in the electrolysis is being replaced by proton
exchange membrane (PEM). PEM eliminates the need for mechanical compression
to achieve desirable pressure levels.
Unlike the conventional fuels, the inherent properties of
hydrogen make it a difficult commodity to produce, store and handle on a
large scale. However several companies and researchers at top Universities
are inching ahead by proposing solutions to the problems in Hydrogen
technologies. Today the technologies for hydrogen production and storage are
at various stages of commercial development.
Some companies are contemplating on using solar power to
break the water molecule to liberate hydrogen. PEM electrolysis and the
solar hydrogen production are in the pathway to commercialization. These
hydrogen production technologies find applications such as back up power
sources and to power automobiles when used in concert with a fuel cell.
There are technologies which produce hydrogen using electrolyzers in
automobiles to feed internal combustion engines along with the conventional
hydrocarbon fuels. This technology eliminates the need for fuel cells as
hydrogen is generated as and when required by the automobiles. Compressed
and gaseous hydrogen storage technologies are anticipated to set trends in
fueling stations or for on board vehicle storage. However, the success of
these technologies depends on the development of hydrogen infrastructure and
the development of internal combustion engines for automobiles. Metal
hydride and chemical hydride hydrogen storage technologies are proposed for
portable applications like mobile phones, laptops personal digital
assistants etc. The metal hydride technologies have to compete on the
compactness and the chemical hydrides storage technologies have to prove its
environment friendliness while recycling the reacted chemicals back as raw
materials.
The research community is on its innovative path to
propose solutions in hydrogen production such as solar reactors for
co-producing hydrogen and carbon black, oxidative reforming of ethanol over
platinum catalysts, solid state reactions, and solar energy. Hydrogen
storage researchers are working on materials such as boron nitride, carbon
nanotubes, dry sodium borohydride, nanoporous organic materials, nanoscale
materials and nickel magnesium hydride batteries.
By 2008, we should see a lot of automobiles using
hydrogen (produced by electrolysis) along with the conventional hydrocarbon
fuels in the internal combustion engines of vehicles. Backup power sources
using electrolysis and military portable applications would become cost
competitive by 2010. The following figure shows the time line of the
evolution of various hydrogen powered applications.
Apart from the technological challenges, hydrogen has to
compete on price with the conventional fuels in order to have a wide user
base. The cost of hydrogen is proportional to the volume demand. If the
demand has to be more, then the price has to be competitive. This gives rise
to a catch 22 situation. However the technological advancements in hydrogen
technologies and the fuel cells are expected to bring a balance between the
above situations, and are likely to bring down the cost of these
technologies.
Evolution of Hydrogen Powered Applications
Source: Frost & Sullivan
2008 Hydrogen + hydrocarbon
fuels in combustion engines of automobiles (On board Electrolysis)
2010 Commercial
Distributive Power Generation (UPS, back up power) using electrolysis.
Portable applications for military/defense
2015 Fuel cell based
hydrogen vehicles
2020 Infrastructure
development. Laptop/cell phone batteries.
Though the present state of hydrogen
technologies might look bleak for commercialization in the near term, the
future prospects are bright, as hydrogen’s proposition as a fuel is
unmatched by any conventional fuel. We have to accept the fact that the
human kind has to be pushed to the brink to find an alternate fuel, which
would drive the pace of commercialization of hydrogen technologies.
If you would like further
information on Frost & Sullivan’s research services and Frost & Sullivan’s
bespoke consulting services in this arena, please contact: Magdalena
Oberland, Corporate Communications, Frost & Sullivan
P: +44 (0) 20 7915 7876 E: magdalena.oberland@frost.com |
|
|
International Energy Agency
Sees Potential in Hydrogen and Fuel Cells
Doris Leblond
Oil & Gas Journal
December 21, 2004
| UNITED KINGDOM
ICHBC
December 2004 |
REPORT FOR UK GOVERNMENT RECOMMENDS IMPLEMENTATION OF HYDROGEN ECONOMY
IDENTIFIES $50/BBL OIL AS POINT WHERE SOME HYDROGEN PRODUCTION CHAINS
MAY BECOME "CHEAPER THAN CONVENTIONAL CHAINS" |
|
|
The
report makes a qualified claim that six hydrogen chains - coal and natural
gas (with carbon sequestration), biomass, nuclear, renewable energy and
novel production technologies - have the ability to fuel a national fuel
cell vehicle infrastructure by 2030, dramatically reducing carbon dioxide
emissions and significantly increasing national security. A hydrogen
pipeline network is recommended. |
|
The report warns that limited government support "has held back progress and
the UK is falling behind several other nations in the demonstration and
commercialization of hydrogen energy." These nations are indirectly
identified as the US, Japan, Germany and Canada. Specifically, the report
identifies deficiencies in UK capabilities to |
- manufacture of electrolyzers and
gasifiers
- manufacture of equipment for hydrogen
storage, transport and distribution
- commercialize solid storage research
- develop and integrate fuel cell systems
- develop high volume automotive fuel cell
and internal combustion hydrogen engines
|
The report also warns that due to lack of involvement in European Commission
hydrogen deployment projects, the UK is in jeopardy of "losing the option of
future involvement" and access to "very significant funding streams."
It urges increased international cooperation in research and development.
The report identifies areas where the UK has the
potential to become competitive and suggests that the nation's rich wind and
marine resources exceed those of the other countries and could be utilized
for the production of hydrogen. It acknowledges the main technical
challenge remains the development of fuel cell vehicles. |
Bright Ideas for Boosting Innovation
Steve Hamm
Business Week
December 15, 2004
| US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY |
December 6, 2004 |
Secretary Abraham Congratulates International
Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy on its One-Year Anniversary |
|
In 2004, the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded the first $350 million of
the $1.2 billion President Bush commitment to hydrogen research. The awards
went to 130 domestic and international research laboratories, universities
and private companies that submitted proposals in response to a competitive
solicitation process. These investments are laying the foundation for the
hydrogen economy and the good-paying jobs that it will create. IPHE partners
include Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European Commission, France,
Germany, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway, Russian Federation,
United Kingdom, and the United States. |
| US CANADA |
California Hydrogen
Business Council
November 30, 2004 |
Energy Partnerships to Flow from Bush-Martin Summit |
|
A carefully worded communiqué released today by the Prime Minister's Office
stated “Our objective is to expand economic opportunities and prosperity for
all our peoples and the competitiveness of North American business…” Among
the immediate steps to be undertaken is the development of plans to “expand
technology partnerships that promote the clean and efficient use of energy
resources, including initiatives in clean coal, hydrogen, and renewable
energy resources.” |
European Union
Starts CUTE Project to Commission
27 Hydrogen-driven Buses in Nine Cities
Fuel Cell Works/Europe Intelligence
Wire November
3, 2004
Fuel Cell Seminar
Award Winner Robert Rose Proposes
'New Partnership' on Fuel Cells & Hydrogen
U.S. Fuel Cell Council
November 2, 2004
CANADA BOC NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL CANADA FORD
INSTITUTE FOR FUEL CELL INNOVATION POWERTECH LABS
VANCOUVER FUEL CELL
VEHICLE PROGRAM FUEL CELLS CANADA
CANADIAN
TRANSPORTATION FUEL CELL ALLIANCE |
BOC Helping to
Fuel Canada's Hydrogen Highway
BOC
November 1, 2004 |
|
BOC is working with Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) and the
Canadian Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance – a Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
initiative – to jointly fund and build the station, located at NRC’s
Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation on the campus of the University of
British Columbia (UBC). The equipment installation is to begin in November,
with full system commissioning expected in the first quarter of 2005. This
is the second of seven proposed hydrogen fueling stations planned for the
length of highway that stretches from the Vancouver airport to Whistler. The
British Columbia Hydrogen Highway is planned to be completed in 2007 to
support Canada in its hosting of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter
Games. BOC also provided funding and support for the first station, the
Compressed Hydrogen Infrastructure Project (CH2IP) located at BC Hydro’s
PowerTech Labs in Surrey, British Columbia. That station began fueling
hydrogen powered vehicles to 350 bar in 2002 and then to 700 bar in 2003,
making it the world’s first 700-bar fast-fill compressed hydrogen vehicle
fueling station. For this station, BOC will provide the engineering,
hydrogen compression and composite hydrogen storage equipment. BOC also is
managing the hydrogen safety processes and system integration plans
necessary to ensure the development of a safe, reliable and fully
functioning hydrogen vehicle fueling station and a comprehensive fuel
quality testing program. The first users of the NRC/UBC station will be the
Vancouver Fuel Cell Vehicle Program (VFCVP). The VFCVP is a cooperative
venture with NRCan, NRC the B.C. Government, Ford Motor Company and Fuel
Cells Canada (FCC) a non-profit industry association aimed at accelerating
Canada's fuel cell and hydrogen industry. The program consists of a
three-year evaluation of four fuel cell-powered Ford Focus cars under real
world conditions. Fueling these vehicles will require a 350-bar compressed
hydrogen fueling station. |
| AUSTRALIA GOVERNMENT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
November 1, 2004 |
 |
EcoBus Newsletter
Issue 1 November 2004
It seems that the days of ‘a bus is a bus’ may be over. Passengers have been
very keen to embrace the new fuel cell buses – and the quietness inside the
bus has allowed the overhearing of some very lively discussion by passengers
about the new technology and their new found knowledge…”
The first bus is unloaded from the ship, with
the pure steam rising from its exhaust pipe visible at the rear. |
RENEWABLE ENERGY
EXPANSION VITAL TO ECONOMICS OF ELECTROLYSIS |
U.S. Department of Energy Funds
Report Identifying
Job Growth Opportunities in Windpower |
"...investment in wind will particularly
target the most populous regions of the country, and will especially benefit
regions that are most in need of new manufacturing jobs." |
 |
Wind Turbine Development:
Location of Manufacturing Activity
Renewable Energy Policy Project
Over 16,000 firms in all 50 states have the technical potential to
enter the growing wind turbine manufacturing sector, according to research
recently completed by REPP. The results indicate that a national investment
in wind has the clear potential to benefit regions of the U.S. other than
those with a wind resource. The 20 states that would |
| potentially benefit the most, receiving 80% of the job
creation, are the same states that account for 76% of the manufacturing jobs
lost in the U.S. over the last 3 1/2 years. In addition, the report looks at
90 firms in 25 states identified as already active in manufacturing wind
turbine components, and describes in detail the components that make up a
modern wind turbine.
Also see CREATING HYDROGEN |
"Investment in new renewable
energy sources leads to roughly 10 times more jobs than a comparable
investment in the fossil-fuel sector. This difference underscores the
economic benefits of moving our economy and society from one of energy
'hunter gatherers' to one of 'energy farmers' and innovators."
Prof. Daniel Kammen
UC Berkeley's
Renewable & Appropriate Energy Lab |
INDIA UNION MINISTRY OF OIL AND GAS
CONFEDERATION OF INDIAN INDUSTRY
News Today |
October 30, 2004 |
Indian Oil
and Gas Ministry Official Calls for Hydrogen Economy
The era of human development with oil and gas as energy source is nearing
its end and in the next 30-40 years, there will be a 'clean break' to
produce energy from renewable, non-fossil fuels, mostly from hydrogen. The
rise in global temperature due to emission of green house gases will force
man to seek alternatives so that life is viable on earth, M S Srinivasan,
additional secretary, Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said
today. ...In the last century (1900-2000), global temperature rose by three
degree celsius on an average, resulting in 17 per cent decrease in snow caps
giving rise to 20 inches rise in sea levels. By 2050, the temperature was
expected to rise by another seven degree celsius and by 2100 it would by 10
degree celsius which would pose a big question mark on the survival of human
species on the planet,' he declared. |
Powering Future Vehicles: The U.K. Government Strategy
Government of the United Kingdom
October 19, 2004
| US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY |
October 19, 2004 |
 DOE Awards $75
Million in Research Grants in Support of President Bush's Hydrogen Fuel
Initiative
U.S. Department of Energy |
| Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham
today announced that the department has selected over $75 million in
research projects to support the President's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative. In
last year's State of the Union address, President Bush communicated his
vision that, "the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by
hydrogen, and pollution-free." The research projects announced today address
major technical and economic hurdles in renewable and distributed hydrogen
production technologies that must be overcome to make the President's vision
a reality. "Hydrogen from diverse domestic resources
has the long-term potential to deliver greater energy independence by
reducing America's reliance on foreign sources of energy," Secretary Abraham
said. "The projects we are announcing today highlight the emphasis that the
department has placed on renewable and distributed production of hydrogen.
They will move the nation toward advanced technologies to make and deliver
safe, affordable hydrogen for fuel cell powered vehicles."
The proposals selected are a key factor in moving
forward and also address major recommendations from the recent National
Research Council (NRC) Report "The Hydrogen Economy: Opportunities, Costs,
Barriers and R&D Needs," including the NRC's call for shifting more hydrogen
production work towards more exploratory research on long-term sustainable,
carbon-free pathways. Projects announced today include several renewable
hydrogen production technologies powered by sun. The projects selected also
establish more robust programs in near-term distributed hydrogen generation
appliances such as small-scale natural gas reformers and electrolyzers that
can be sited at existing gasoline stations. This addresses another NRC
recommendation to use already existing natural gas pipelines and electricity
transmission and distribution systems which already exist. These small-scale
technologies can also make use of renewable resources to produce hydrogen
such as bio-derived liquids and wind-based electricity.
Work resulting from the awards is expected to increase
the United States' leadership in hydrogen technology. When private cost
share is included, these projects come to a nearly $100 million investment
in this second round of major hydrogen research funding. The projects
involve 36 lead organizations and include over 80 teaming organizations.
Selected organizations include academia, industry, and support by DOE
national laboratories. Projects were chosen through a merit-review,
competitive solicitation process.
Team Lead; Additional Team Members; Total DOE Amount (see note
below)
Solar Electrochemical Water
Splitting (Photoelectrochemical):
- GE Global
Research (Niskayuna, N.Y.); Caltech; $3,000,042
- University of
California-Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, Calif.); National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL),
GE Global Research; $894,000
- MVSystems Inc.
(Golden, Colo.); University of
Hawaii, Intematix
Corporation, Southwest
Research Institute, Duquesne
University, NREL, University of
California-Santa Barbara; $3,271,630
- Midwest
Optoelectronics (Toledo, Ohio); University of
Toledo, NREL, United Solar
Ovonic Corporation; $2,921,501
Solar Thermochemical Water
Splitting:
-
University of Colorado (Boulder, Colo.); ETH-Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology; $1,200,000
- Stirling Energy
Systems, Inc. (Phoenix, Ariz.); University of Alabama in Huntsville,
Weizmann Institute of Technology, Concentrating
Technologies, LLC,
University of
Massachusetts- Boston; $803,438
- Science
Applications International Corporation (San Diego, Calif); Florida Solar
Energy Center,
Universidad del Turabo, University of
Central Florida; $3,999,805
Solar Biological (Microorganisms):
-
University of California - Berkeley (Berkeley, Calif.); None;
$1,200,000
- Advanced
BioNutrition Corporation (Columbia, Md.); Brooklyn College of the City
University of New York, Clemson University, Savannah River Technology
Center, SeaAg, Inc.,
University of Hawaii; $4,278,198
- Montana State University (Bozeman, Mont.); Pleotint, LLC;
$1,193,003
- Institute
Biological Energy Alternatives (Rockville, Md.); NREL; $2,880,000
Small Scale Natural Gas/Bio-derived
Liquid Reformers:
-
GE Global Research (Niskayuna, N.Y. and Irvine, Calif.);
University of Minnesota,
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL); $2,225,079
- H2Gen
Innovations. (Alexandria, Va.); Sud-Chemie, Inc., Naval Research
Lab, National Energy
Technology Laboratory (NETL); $3,502,965
- Ohio State
University Research Foundation (Columbus, Ohio); None; $1,145,624
- The BOC Group,
Inc. (Murray Hill, N.J.);
Membrane Reactor Technologies Ltd.,
HERA USA Inc.; $2,476,801
Electrolyzers:
- SRI
International (Menlo Park, Calif.); Institute of
High- Temperature Electrochemistry,
SRI Consulting Business Intelligence; $1,827,984
-
GE Global Research (Niskayuna, N.Y.); Northwestern University, Functional
Coating Technology, LLC.; $2,853,285
- Ceramatec, Inc.
(Salt Lake City, Utah);
Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory,
Hoeganaes Corporation, University of Washington; $1,915,535
- Arizona State University (Tempe, Ariz.); None; $1,200,000
- Teledyne Energy
Systems, Inc (Hunt Valley, Md.); Sandia National Laboratory;
$1,486,747
Biomass and Hydrocarbon Gas
Separation Technologies:
-
Gas Technology Institute (Des Plaines, Ill.); NETL,
University of Cincinnati,
Wah Chang,
Schott North America; $2,690,474
- Virent Energy
Systems, LLC (Madison, Wisc.); University of Wisconsin-Madison, Archer Daniels
Midland Company,
UOP LLC;
$1,942,739
- University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio); The Ohio State
University, New Mexico Institute of Technology; $1,999,727
- United
Technologies Research (East Hartford, Conn.); University of North
Dakota; $1,046,690
- Media & Process Technology, Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.); Johnson Matthey
Catalyst, ChevronTexaco,
University of Southern California; $2,592,349
- REB Research &
Consulting (Ferndale, Mich.);
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Iowa State University, NETL, Johnson Matthey,
Inc. (Westchester, Pa.); $2,360,531
- Pall Corporation
(East Hills, N.Y. and Cortland, N.Y.); ChevronTexaco,
Colorado School of Mines, Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL); $2,385,400
Delivery Technologies:
- University of Illinois (Urbana, Ill.);
ORNL, University of Missouri-Rolla, Sandia National Laboratory;
$300,000
-
Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (Allentown, Pa.);
United Technologies Research, Pennsylvania State University;
$4,661,968
- Nexant, Inc.
(San Francisco, Calif.);
Air Liquide, ChevronTexaco,
NREL,
Gas Technology Institute, Pinnacle West, TIAX LLC;
$1,500,239
- Secat, Inc.
(Lexington, Ky.); ORNL, American Society
of Mechanical Engineers International, University of Illinois,
Applied Thin Films, Inc, Columbia Gas,
Chemical Composite Coatings International, LLC, Advanced
Technology Corporation, Oregon Steel Mills/Napa Pipe Company, Schott
North America - Regional R&D; $1,650,000
- New Concepts Research Corporation (Dallas, Texas); Prometheus
Energy Inc., H2 Storage
Solutions, Inc., CCC Group Inc., Chemithon
Constructors LLC, University of
Victoria, Department of Mechanical Engineering; $2,300,000
-
Gas Equipment Engineering Corporation (Milford, Conn.);
R&D Dynamics Corporation; $2,000,000
Analysis:
- RCF Economic and Financial Consulting (Chicago, Ill.); ANL,
Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.,
Beyond Petroleum,
World Resources
Institute, University of Michigan, Ford Motor
Company; $3,616,634
- Energy &
Environmental Analysis, Inc. (Arlington, Va.); Brookhaven
National Laboratory, Power and Energy Analytic Resources, Inc.;
$1,300,479
- Directed
Technologies, Inc. (Arlington, Va.); Sentech, Inc., H2Gen
Innovations, ChevronTexaco, Teledyne Energy
Systems, Inc.,
University of Virginia; $750,000
Note: Final amount subject to negotiation. |
Department of Energy, DTE Energy Open Michigan Hydrogen Technology Park
US Department of Energy October 19, 2004 |
| Department of Energy Awards Ohio Over $5 Million
in Hydrogen Research Grants U.S. Department of Energy October
13, 2004 |
| CANADA
The
Brampton Guardian
October 15, 2004 |
 |
Canada Supports Hydrogen Fuel Projects
Joseph Volpe, federal Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development,
has announced funding for six projects that help move Canada closer to
realizing the future of clean energy -- an era powered by hydrogen.... |
- CN$547,173
to support the Hydrogen Village, located in the Greater Toronto Area,
which deploys and demonstrates hydrogen and fuel cell technologies;
- CN$404,094 for
integrating material and systems at a hydrogen fuelling station in
Vancouver;
- CN$945,900 for
developing and demonstrating a hydrogen storage tower at the station
mentioned above;
- CN$300,826 to
demonstrate hydrogen fuelling for shuttle buses in Toronto and Ottawa,
Ontario, and in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island;
- CN$8,000 for a
study of small-scale hydrogen production options in Alberta;
- CN$27,410 to
determine the parameters of the Whistler portion of the Hydrogen Highway.
|
| PENNSYLVANIA US DEPT OF ENERGY AIR PRODUCTS |
October 8, 2004 |
U.S. Energy Secretary Awards $9.4M in Research Grants
Pittsburgh Business Times
The grants included more than $4.6 million
for Allentown, Pa.-based Air Products and Chemicals Inc. for the development
of a reversible liquid-phase hydrogen carrier technology for transporting
hydrogen from a production facility to the end user. The proposed carrier is
a low-volatility fluid that could help reduce the amount of new
infrastructure investment needed. Hydrogen delivery infrastructure is a
major barrier to widespread use of hydrogen for vehicles and stationary fuel
cells. Partners on the Air Products and Chemicals project include United
Technology Research Center and the Energy Institute at Penn State
University, the department of energy said.
Pittsburgh-based Media and Process Technology Inc.
was awarded a nearly $2.6 million grant to develop a membrane system for
hydrogen production that avoids coking and carbon monoxide production and
reduces capital and operating costs. Partners on the project include Johnson
Matthey Catalyst, ChevronTexaco and the University of Southern California,
the department of energy said. Carnegie Mellon was awarded a grant totaling
almost $1.4 million to develop the next generation of a wireless,
self-powered visual and robotic platform for live and real-time in-pipe gas
main inspections. Partners on the project include the Northeast Gas
Association. |
ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE |
US DOD/PENTAGON September 22, 2004 |
WINNING THE OIL ENDGAME
Go to download page |
The Experts Are Calling for Energy Reforms -Why
Aren't the Politicians?
Michael Elliot
Time Magazine
On Sept. 11, 2001, the world was reminded that oil is a dangerous drug. The
cheapest, most easily accessible oil reserves are in the Middle East, the
most volatile region on earth. It makes sense to dream of a world that is
far, far less dependent on oil than it is now.
Winning the Oil Endgame: American Innovation for Profits, Jobs
and Security, written by a team led by Amory Lovins of the Rocky
Mountain Institute in Snowmass, Colorado, is one of the best analyses of
energy policy yet produced. Lovins, who has been |
|
preaching the need for fuel efficiency for some 30 years, thinks big. His
aim is to promote a set of policies that over the next two decades would
save half the oil the U.S. uses, before moving to a hydrogen-based economy
that dispenses with oil altogether.
|
INDIA'S National
Chemical Laboratory
Demonstrates Hydrogen-based Fuel Cells
Siddartha D. Kashyap
The Times of India
October 8, 2004
| CANADA FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGIES BALLARD HYDROGENICS |
Sept 24, 2004 |
Hydrogen and
Hydrogen-Compatible Technologies Demonstrations Receive Government of Canada
Investment
Industry Canada
The three project investments include
$935,000 to a group led by Fuel Cell Technologies of Kingston, Ontario; a
$2.1 million investment in a project spearheaded by Ballard Power Systems of
Burnaby, British Columbia; and $4.2 million towards a demonstration by
Hydrogenics Corporation of Mississauga, Ontario. Each of the projects will
demonstrate unique applications utilizing fuel cells and hydrogen as a power
supply, with the goal of increasing public and consumer awareness of the
enormous potential hydrogen technologies offer for sustainable and
environmentally friendly power generation. Fuel Cell Technologies will
showcase four 5kWe solid oxide hydrogen fuel cells arranged in a mini-grid
formation to provide heating and power generation in a residential
application. Partnering with the University of Toronto at Mississauga, and
Ontario Power Generation Inc., this project will offer an exceptional
educational opportunity to the students who will monitor the system, and has
the potential of increased efficiencies and cost-savings for the University.
In addition, it will assist in the development of standards and codes for
the use and installation of fuel cells in residential applications. A second
project, led by Ballard Power Systems, is comprised of three distinct
site-specific applications. Demonstrating back up power for critical loads
in an industrial/commercial mixed used building setting; back up power for
switching stations used by the telecommunications industry; and back up
power for uninterruptible power supply (UPS) applications in server rooms;
the demonstrations will take place at the National Research Council's
Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation in Vancouver, B.C., a Bell Canada
Facility in the Greater Toronto Area, and at the University of Toronto
respectively. A final project, already underway, will demonstrate
hydrogen-fuelling solutions for utility vehicles at the Canadian National
Exhibition site in Toronto. Led by Hydrogenics Corporation, the project will
showcase advances in the area of equipment reliability for both hardware and
software tools, as well as the feasibility of hydrogen and hydrogen
compatible technologies for use in the utility vehicle, vehicle fleet
operation and back-up power markets. |
| INDIA
NATIONAL HYDROGEN ENERGY BOARD
The Hindu September 15, 2004 |
|
The Group on Hydrogen Energy, set up by the Government last year, has
recommended, among other things, the setting up of demonstration projects on
hydrogen production, storage and distribution and its applications in
decentralised power generation and automobiles. ...Prototype hydrogen
vehicles such as motorcycle, three-wheeler, fuel cell car and van and
hydrogen-powered generators have been demonstrated in the country. In the
next phase, these applications are to be put on extensive field trials along
with industry. |
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY HYDROGEN IMPLEMENTING AGREEMENT IEA/HIA
September 7, 2004 |
 |
International Energy
Agency Hydrogen Implementing Agreement Releases 25th Anniversary Report,
Strategic Plan
Click to download "In Pursuit of the Future" |
| HIA's vision of a
global hydrogen future is based on a clean, sustainable and, ultimately,
renewable energy supply that plays a key role in all sectors of the economy.
The 2004-2009 strategic plan has three goals: advancement of science and
technology, assessment of the market environment, and implementation of an
outreach program. The plan stresses cooperation with other international
hydrogen programs. Current annexes include storage, carbon-containing
materials and integrated systems analysis. Closing photoelectrolytic and
photobiological hydrogen production annexes are evolving into broader tasks,
supplemented by new annexes in both low and high temperature hydrogen
production, as well as economics. A safety annex will launch soon. The 15
member HIA welcomes new members and industry participation. more |
| CHINA TONGJI UNIVERSITY
Newsweek International
September 6, 2004 |
| IN A POTPOURRI OF SHALLOW ANALYSES THAT GENERALLY DISMISS
THE PROMISE OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY AND LARGELY STAKE THE GLOBAL ENERGY FUTURE
ON OBTAINING DIMINISHING FOSSIL FUEL RESOURCES, ONE PRESCIENT ARTICLE BY
CRAIG SIMMONS STANDS OUT: |
 |
The High Road
Craig Simmons
If China steers its auto industry toward hybrids and perhaps
hydrogen cars, the world may have no choice but to follow.
Beijing is undaunted in its ambitions to become a world leader in
hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered cars. The dream is not farfetched. Making
hydrogen cars a reality is only partly a matter of coming up with
technological breakthroughs. It also involves |
replacing gasoline filling stations, refineries and internal-combustion
engines with hydrogen equivalents. China's relative lack of development may
thus be a virtue; the country's leadership has a relatively clean slate upon
which to build a hydrogen-car industry, should it choose to do so.
If the technology could be made cost-competitive with
fossil fuels—which many analysts predict will happen in the next two
decades—hydrogen cars would make sense as a national strategy. By making
China the world's biggest market for hydrogen cars, Beijing could attract
investment in the latest technology and bootstrap a world-class Chinese auto
industry, reducing China's demand for imported oil in the bargain. more |
| JAPAN KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY
Manila Times/AFP September
5, 2004 |
 |
Japan's Yakashima Island Seeks to be Emission-free
Shingo Ito
As part of the project, Honda Motor’s prototype “FCX” car
cruises along a winding coastline road surrounding the circular island, also
famed for its millennia-old cedars and registered as a Unesco nature World
Heritage site. “The project is unique because we use hydroelectric power to
produce hydrogen, which means all we need is water,” said Takami Kai, an
associate professor from Kagoshima University, which is heading the project. |
-
Regional Energy System in Yakushima Island - Analysis of Energy
Demand/Supply Takami Kai, Yoshimitsu
Uemura, Takeshige Takahashi, Yasuo Hatate and Masahiro Yoshida
Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Kagoshima
University
- Best Mixing of
Hydrogen and Electricity in Yakushima Island - A Basic Study for Future
Sustainable Society in Yakushima Y. Uemura, T. Kai,
T. Takahashi, Y. Hatate, M. Yoshida, Department of Applied Chemistry
and Chemical Engineering, Kagoshima University, Japan July 25, 2003
|
| TASMANIA UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA |
Sunday Tasmanian
September 5, 2004 |
Fuelling a New Revolution Simon Bevilacqua
With Tasmanian petrol prices rising well above a dollar and
heading north, scientists like Vishy Karri say hydrogen technology will
become viable within five to 10 years. The University of Tasmania professor
is working with a team of researchers, including experts from the Hydro, to
push the state into the hydrogen age. Professor Karri wants to see a trial
fleet of hydrogen-powered cars on the road between Launceston and Hobart
within three years. ..."Currently the mobile application of hydrogen is a
strict intellectual property of a favoured few in the world and the
technology behind the conversion and building of these vehicles to run on
hydrogen is not in the public domain," Professor Karri said. |
HYDROGEN
THE ANTI-DRUG TM
August 11,
2004 |
Fortune
Proposes Plan to Free
America from Dependency on Oil
Real-World Plan, a Balance of
Technology and Policy, Targets Four Key Areas and Wouldn't Derail Economy |
| FORTUNE's plan consists of four
approaches: |
| 1. Improving fuel economy. Hybrids
offer the best near-term opportunity to save large amounts of gasoline.
Hybrid buyers should be given a tax credit, for which Congress could find
the money by eliminating several subsidies for the oil and gas industries,
whose profits don't seem to justify government handouts. Congress should
also drop the exemption that allows SUVs to be considered light trucks
instead of passenger vehicles. 2. More spending on
alternative fuels. FORTUNE estimates that a $3.5-billion-a-year investment
in two key areas (each with different time lines for success) could lead to
a 20% drop in our current oil usage. The majority of the money would be
spent on a long-term but crucial goal: developing hydrogen technology for
cars and electricity generation. The remainder of the investment would be in
developing the biomass fuel called cellulosic ethanol, which can be blended
into gasoline with minimal modifications to current engines and gas
stations.
3. Redoubled commitment to efficiency. Proponents of efficiency
argue that we can enjoy our current lifestyle but use much less power in the
process. The key is to focus on efficiency rather than conservation. Even
without government rules, companies and individuals can save huge amounts
with little cost or effort.
4. Getting serious about solar and wind. Renewable-energy
technology is improving by leaps and bounds, more so than alternative fuels.
Wind and solar aren't the sole solution to the oil problem, but they're
certainly part of it. Many experts believe that wind and solar could
eventually shoulder 20% of the electricity burden. FORTUNE believes that 10%
is a more realistic target for the next 20 years. Either way, the government
will have to show more support. |
| Some companies are already taking innovative leadership
roles in these areas, reports Varchaver, and it would be ideal to rely
solely on market mechanisms. But for FORTUNE's plan to work, the government
will have to do its part; when it comes to transformation on this scale,
Washington needs to jump-start the process. Still, In FORTUNE's plan,
government intervention would be modest, and the proposed spending is small
compared to the costs for America's oil-based lifestyle that are currently
underwritten via tax bills. more
|
| DENMARK |
Danish Wind Energy
Association August 20, 2004 |
Danes Begin National
Wind-Hydrogen Energy Study
Just as US President Bush presented the first
contribution to his 1.2 bn USD Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, the first stone was
laid in the making of a Danish hydrogen strategy. An analysis of the Danish
interests in research and development of hydrogen will kick off the strategy
formulation process. The analysis shows that the interest for using hydrogen
for transportation in Denmark is low compared with the interest in
transforming other energy sources – e.g. wind energy – into hydrogen. The
analysis forms part of the groundwork for six working groups currently
working on making the long term plan for Danish research and development in
hydrogen. |
SPAIN
CANADA STUART ENERGY UNIVERSITY OF NAVARRA
EHN
HYDROELECTRIC ENERGY OF NAVARRA
STRATKRAFT SF
August 12, 2004 |
 |
EHN Undertakes an Innovative Research Project to Produce H2 from
Wind Power
The initiative comes under the collaboration agreement signed on 9
October 2003 in Hamburg between EHN, Stuart Energy Systems Corporation (a
leading Canadian group in the field of hydrogen technologies) and Statkraft
SF (the largest electricity company in Norway). The projects sets out to
evaluate, |
| demonstrate and implement energy solutions
based on hydrogen generated from renewable energy sources. ...EHN
commissioned the project to the Universidad Pública de Navarra, on whose
premises the installation of the required technical equipment was completed
last Friday (6th August). The equipment includes an electrolyser –supplied
by Stuart Energy- with rated power of 5 kW and a production capacity of 1
standard cubic meter of hydrogen per hour. The project also includes a 10 kW
electronic converter with current control and microprocessor-supervised
operation, developed by the UPNA. This converter will feed the electrolyser
with voltage and current similar to the levels produced on a wind farm,
under all kinds of operating conditions. |
|
|
| EUROPEAN UNION
GM |
H2Cars.biz August 8, 2004 |
General Motors
Signals European Commission Interest in "Lighthouse" Hydrogen Projects
With the production, distribution and use of hydrogen in
stationary and mobile applications, and in particular its usage in fuel
cells, all aspects of the future energy carrier will be tested. By providing
funds for development fleets, the uptake of the pilot fabrication of a few
hundred vehicles from 2010 onwards could be ensured according to EU plans. |
|
|
| SOUTH CAROLINA SAVANNAH RIVER NATIONAL LAB |
August
4, 2004
|
Meeting this Month
to Focus on Building Hydrogen Economy in S.C.
The State, Columbia --
“The governor and the secretary are both fully committed to hydrogen and
fuel cell technology,” Tim Dangerfield, chief of staff of the S.C.
Department of Commerce, said during his remarks at Mondays’ groundbreaking.
“Our state will play a leading role in the future development of this
technology,” he said.
Leaders Break Ground for Center For Hydrogen Research
Aiken and Edgefield County Economic Development Partnership August 2, 2004
Today U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett and
government, university and industry leaders broke ground on Aiken County's
Center For Hydrogen Research, a unique sixty-thousand square foot facility
dedicated to hydrogen technology research, development and
commercialization. ...Leaders from the Aiken and Edgefield Economic
Development Partnership estimate that the Center for Hydrogen Research,
coupled with other hydrogen- related industry and activity, will create
nearly 40,000 jobs in South Carolina by 2020.
Aiken County to
Build Hydrogen Research Center
August 1, 2004
The State, Columbia --
The $9 million facility will be called the Center for Hydrogen Research. It
will house 50 of the 80 hydrogen experts from the Savannah River National
Laboratory and have space for academic and private sector researchers. At
least three automobile manufacturers are interested in some of the national
lab's hydrogen research, said Paul Deason, the lab's deputy director.
MAP:
South Carolina's Hydrogen Economy |
| DENMARK
NORSK HYDRO H2
LOGIC INCOTECO APS
August 2004 |
 |
Electrolysis for Energy Storage & Grid Balancing in West Denmark
A possible first step toward the
creation of a transport hydrogen Infrastructure in West Denmark
Report of the Work Group |
|
Denmark’s well functioning, district heating generation plants (CHPs) are
in almost every town and village (1,656 MW in 560 units). Provided that
the right market conditions can be created, West Denmark can use them to
develop a transport hydrogen infrastructure, based on using “over-flow”
wind energy, sooner and more economically, than possibly anywhere else on
Earth. The high pressure, electrolysers, of the type studied and proposed
in this report, can be delivered in unit sizes up to 3.5 MW. They are very
fast acting, being capable of a ramping up and down from zero to full load
in 200 milli-seconds and are therefore technically attractive to the power
regulating market. This is expected to grow as wind capacity is added.
Built in sufficiently large numbers, soon enough, these can partly address
the foreseen inter-connector bottle-necking, and assist grid balancing and
grid stabilisation. To develop an infrastructure that can reduce Denmark’s
total dependence on hydrocarbons for transport, which consumes 200 PJ per
year, and produces about 11.5 million t/y of CO2 emissions, is an enormous
task, requiring decades of development time and still uncalculated but
very large amounts of money. |
| PUERTO RICO PUERTO RICO ELECTRIC POWER AUTHORITY |
July 29, 2004 |
| WISHFUL
THINKING: STRATAGIES FOR FUTURE CRISIS BASED ON CHEAP OIL |
Energy Challenge:
With the end of cheap oil on the horizon, Puerto Rico continues to move
toward alternatives, but is it moving fast enough?
John McPhaul Carribean Business
|
| UPR environmental science
Prof. Jose Molinelli said as a society, Puerto Rico isn’t taking seriously
enough the prospect of the end of cheap oil. ...At the University of
Turabo School of Engineering in Gurabo, scientists are conducting two
hydrogen experiments. One involves incinerating garbage at high temperatures
to produce hydrogen. To do this, a plasma torch is used since this heated
gas can reach temperatures high enough to turn solids into gas. In its
second experiment, scientists are experimenting with redesigning the fuel
cell. One of the innovations involves a new silica-based material that acts
as a catalyst in the fuel cell. University of Turabo physicist Ronaldo Roque
has developed the material, which will have other applications in hydrogen
technology as well. For example, silica offers a promising solution to the
difficulty of storing hydrogen and serves as a filter to clean hydrogen.
Roque said solar and wind energy and other renewable sources can satisfy
only 10% to 15% of energy demand, so hydrogen must be developed in the face
of oil depletion. "For the past five years, it has been apparent that we
must develop an alternative to oil very soon," said Roque. |
| UNITED KINGDOM BP FRIENDS OF
THE EARTH |
The Guardian July 26, 2004 |
Boost for Hydrogen Buses Terry
Macalister
BP has put Britain's hydrogen revolution back on track by
beating off local opposition to a futuristic refuelling station through a
last-ditch appeal to planning officers. |
CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY AND DAVIS
HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY CA. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOC.
July 26, 2004 |
 |
An Integrated
Hydrogen Vision
for California
Dr. Timothy Lipman
Energy and Resources Group, Inst. of Transportation Studies
University of California – Berkeley and Davis
Prof. Daniel Kammen
Energy and Resources Group, Goldman School of Public Policy
University of California - Berkeley
Assoc. Prof. Joan Ogden
Environmental Science and Policy
Inst. of Transportation Studies, University of California - Davis
Prof. Daniel Sperling
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Environmental Science and Policy
Inst. of Transportation Studies, University of California - Davis
Additional Authors:
Anthony Eggert, Inst. of Transportation Studies, UC Davis
Prof. Peter Lehman, Schatz Energy Research Center,
Humboldt State University
Dr. Susan Shaheen, Inst. of Transportation Studies,
UC Berkeley and UC Davis
Dr. David Shearer, California Environmental
Associates |
California is poised to become a global leader in clean energy with a
sustainable "hydrogen economy," but only if there is strategic investment in
renewable energy research and development, according to a new report
published by the University of California, Berkeley's Renewable and
Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL). "The focus on hydrogen makes more
sense if it is put in the broader context of a California clean energy
strategy," said Timothy Lipman, lead author of the report and assistant
research engineer with the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC
Berkeley and UC Davis. "We support increased efforts to explore the use of
hydrogen, but key technical and economic challenges remain, and its benefits
will take some time to be realized. We should also expand the use of
renewable energy and pursue energy efficiency measures as other key
ingredients of a more sustainable future."
The authors present their conclusions in a policy
white paper, "An Integrated Hydrogen Vision for California." They examine
research and development efforts for fuel cells and other advanced power
technologies, the potential economic and environmental impacts of hydrogen
production, and promising strategies for utilizing hydrogen as a
transportation fuel.
The paper pulls from research in two other new
reports published by RAEL that examine the viability of hydrogen and fuel
cells as future power sources and that review advanced power technology
programs in the United States and abroad.
"We should not need any further shocks to
galvanize us to act," said co-author Daniel Kammen, professor in UC
Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group and Goldman School of Public Policy
and director of RAEL. "The California energy crisis, record gasoline prices,
a vulnerable gas and electricity transmission system, and the risks due to
global warming all send the same message: Energy diversity should be at the
center of our energy policy. Hydrogen can fill an important role in that
system by providing a means to store electricity, and to greatly expand the
opportunities for zero tailpipe emission vehicles."
The other lead co-authors of the policy paper are
Joan Ogden and Daniel Sperling at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation
Studies. Other researchers from UC Davis, Humboldt State University, UC
Berkeley and California Environmental Associates also contributed to the
policy paper.
The researchers point out that hydrogen can be
produced in many different ways with widely varying environmental and cost
impacts, and that significant economic and technical hurdles to the
transition to hydrogen energy need to be addressed. They emphasize the need
for further research, which may reveal a way to combine these different
supply options to achieve the most effective, low-cost system to produce
hydrogen.
"Technical, policy and economic advances in the
hydrogen energy field are accelerating, making hydrogen a promising
component of a future cleaner energy economy," said Kammen. "California is
uniquely positioned to lead a national and global push for clean energy
development. About 11 percent of the state's electricity comes from
renewable sources, such as solar or wind energy, and more than one in four
hybrid electric vehicles in this country are in California."
Earlier this year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
signed an executive order signaling his plan to create a "California
Hydrogen Highway Network." The RAEL hydrogen policy white paper was
developed in response to the order's call for the development of a blueprint
by the end of 2004 that outlines plans for the "rapid transition to a
hydrogen economy in California."
Hydrogen and fuel cell research in the state will
be given a boost by a five-year, $190 million U.S. Department of Energy
program announced in the spring. Under this "Vehicle and Infrastructure
Learning Demonstrations" program, UC Berkeley, UC Davis and several other
universities will be partnering with various automobile and energy companies
to test hydrogen powered vehicles. UC Berkeley is partnering with
DaimlerChrysler to conduct behavioral research starting in the fall with a
fuel cell vehicle that will initially be refueled in nearby Richmond.
The authors find that several other states, as
well as European and Asian nations, are aggressively competing with
California to develop and deploy fuel cell systems and other advanced energy
technologies for stationary power and transportation applications. To
maintain its leadership in clean energy and to successfully develop an
infrastructure to support the use of renewable fuels, California needs a
major science and technology initiative, say the authors.
The authors say a California-based science and
technology initiative for clean energy, should include hydrogen and fuel
cells as one component, stressing the importance of the energy sector to the
state's economic vitality and environmental and human health conditions. At
the same time, they say, current efforts to increase the efficiency of
energy use and to develop clean electricity supply options and biofuels for
transportation should be expanded.
"There are so many different ways of producing
hydrogen that we have to make sure we stay on the right path," said Lipman,
who is also affiliated with UC Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group. "It is
key that policy makers base their decisions upon solid data from research
and development, demonstration and experimentation projects and
infrastructure planning."
The policy paper was funded by the Steven and
Michele Kirsch Foundation, with additional support provided by the Energy
Foundation and the UC Davis Hydrogen Pathways Program. The paper and two
prior reports are all available for download at:
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~rael/papers.html
Time is Right for Hydrogen
Fuel in California, Concludes New Policy Report
UC Berkeley/UC News Wire
Media Contact: Sarah Yang
(510) 643-7741 |
Presentations on
the California H2 Highway proposal May 20,
2004
The
California Hydrogen Highway
Eileen Tutt, California Air Resources Board
California Environmental Protection Agency
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Activities in the State of California: A Status
Report
Daniel Emmett, Executive
Director
Energy Independence Now
California’s Hydrogen Blueprint Plan: Process and
Responsibilities
Shannon Baxter, PhD, Special Advisor on H2 and Alternative Energy
Projects
California Environmental Protection Agency |
| ICELAND
Tyler Hamilton Toronto Star
(Canada) July 24, 2004 |
|
Geothermal Resources Make Iceland an Ideal Launching Pad for the H2 Economy
Serious about weaning itself from foreign oil,
Iceland wants to use its vast domestic energy resources to produce what it's
betting will be the fuel of the future: clean, green hydrogen gas. The
country has embarked on a 50-year mission to become the world's first
hydrogen economy. |
"We want to power our vehicles and all
our fishing vessels on hydrogen, and later our aircraft," says Bragi Arnason,
the University of Iceland chemistry professor who first proposed the idea in
the late 1970s. "Iceland has made two major energy infrastructure changes in
a century. Now we are watching the advent of the hydrogen economy."
-
Arnason Had Vision to Perceive Iceland's Hydrogen Future
The Iceland government, university and local
utilities partnered with the three foreign companies to create Icelandic
New Energy, which, thanks to pioneering work by Arnason, has embarked on a
50-year mission to create the world's first hydrogen economy. "You must
have industry with you, and you must have government with you, and we have
both," he says. "They are the two most important things if you're going to
be successful in realizing such a drastic change."
-
The Hydrogen Economy Blasts Off Physics World July 2002
The production of hydrogen is well established in
Iceland for use in fertilizers. Each year 2000 tonnes of the gas is
generated by electrolysing water. But this capacity would have to be
increased by almost a factor of 30 to produce enough hydrogen to meet the
expected demand.
|
| CANADA
CHINA BALLARD POWER SYSTEMS
Ballard
July 22, 2004 |
Ballard to Power 3
Fuel Cell Buses in Beijing
Ballard Power Systems announced today that it will provide
three heavy-duty fuel cell engines to DaimlerChrysler for integration into
Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses for a project funded by China's Ministry of
Science & Technology, the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations
Development Program. The three buses will operate in Beijing as part of a
two-year demonstration program, beginning in late 2005 and continuing
through 2007. ...The three buses to be demonstrated in
Beijing will complement the 33 Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses equipped with 205
kW heavy-duty Ballard(R) fuel cell engines on the roads of 11 cities
worldwide: Perth, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid,
Porto, Reykjavik, Stockholm and Stuttgart. Ballard has also delivered three
heavy-duty fuel cell engines to Gillig Corporation for the Santa Clara
Valley Transportation Authority, bringing the number of buses to be
demonstrated and driven on regular routes in daily service to 39.
- BP Developing H2
Infrastructure
Platinum Today
July 22, 2004
The fuel cell industry appears to be gathering momentum
with news that global energy giant BP is to build a second hydrogen
facility, incorporating groundbreaking technology that it says will be
replicated across China. ...However, the technology for the second station
is likely to be more advanced due to the high cost of transporting
hydrogen produced from natural gas in trucks carrying only 150 kg of gas
per run. "The problem with gas is that it's hard to transport to the
market, either through pipelines or liquefied. Using trucks is expensive.
You're using a lot of energy to carry a lot of metal and some gas," said
Dr Michael Jones, general manager for BP Gas Power and Renewables. In
order to overcome these limitations, BP is examining several alternatives
for its latest refuelling station, including the production of hydrogen on
site through electrolysis, which requires electricity and water.
|
SINGAPORE DAMLIERCHRYSLER BP HYDROGEN Business Times
July 20, 2004 |
SINGAPORE CELEBRATES THE FIRST STEP TO ENERGY INDEPENDENCE |
"China may be an attractive first mover.
It may even catch up with
and overtake the developed world
by bringing in fuel cell technology."
Dr. Michael Jones
General Manager, BP Gas
Power and Renewables
Hydrogen Technology
Headed for China
Samuel Ee
Business Times
BP may not have chosen the
method of supply yet, but it still expects its second hydrogen facility in
Singapore to feature groundbreaking technology which will be replicated in
China. more
"We could be
looking at maybe seven or 10 years away before volume production... The
primary issue is to make sure the vehicles can work in the tropical
environment we are in today. The infrastructure is implementable so that
as I say by the time the technology is ready, the cost curve is ready,
we are there to implement it on a large-scale basis."
Environment Minister Lim Swee Say
Singapore's Fuel Cell Program Rolls Out first H2 Vehicle
Ken Teh Channel NewsAsia
July 19, 2004 |
|
- What Is F-Cell and How Safe Is It?
Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
July 22, 2004
Andreas Truckenbrodt, director of fuel cell and
alternative powertrain vehicles at DaimlerChrysler AG, said numerous crash
tests had been conducted at the Mercedes-Benz A-Class F-Cell testing
ground on this issue. "We started the design with the hydrogen tanks and
the fuel cell stack. We had to ensure that there would be no leaks and
that if there was, there should be an immediate shutdown of supply of the
hydrogen," he said, adding that DaimlerChrysler invests six billion euros
(US$7.38 billion) per year for fuel cell research.
- Westport Signs
MOU with Leadimg Chinese University for Hydrogen Research Project
Westport Innovations July 21, 2004
- BP Opens Singapore Hydrogen Refuelling
Station
Samuel Ee The Business Times
(Singapore) July 20, 2004
The hydrogen facility at Upper East Coast Road is the first in
the world to be located in an existing petrol station, one of 30 BP sites
which will be handed over to SPC by the year-end. Michael Jones, BP
general manager for hydrogen, gas power and renewables, said the dispenser
has sufficient hydrogen to refuel up to 35 cars.
-
DaimlerChrysler Aims for Mass-market H2 Cars in 10 Years Ansley Ng ENN/AP
July 20, 2004
The tiny city-state was chosen as one of the test sites
because of its tropical climate and government support for cleaner
technologies, DaimlerChrysler's fuel cell director Dr Andreas Truckenbrodt
said.
-
First Fuel Cell Car Hits Singapore Roads for Testing Program
Colin Young
News Today (Singapore)
July 20, 2004
Singapore was established as the fuel cell hub in
Southeast Asia in June 2000, when Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong signed an
agreement with DaimlerChrysler in Germany. Since then, F-Cell cars have
been undergoing internal tests in four countries and by the end of this
year, 60 cars will be running in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Berlin
and Singapore.
|
"Japan's fuel cell
technology rivals or even exceeds that of the U.S., and its technology to
extract hydrogen without the use of fossil fuel is the best in the world."
Taizo Nishimuro, Chairman, Toshiba Corp.
Singapore's Lee: Japan Needs Quick, Sweeping Reform
Nikkei
June 5, 2003
|
| NORWAY NORSK HYDRO Independent Online, South Africa
July 7, 2004 |
HYDROGENVEIEN: THE
HYDROGEN ROAD
EUROPE ESTABLISHES THE FIRST AUTONOMOUS HYDROGEN ENERGY COMMUNITY |
Windless Wind Power Fuels Norwegian Island
Situated off the south-west
coast of Norway and unsheltered from the elements in the North Sea, Utsira
island has launched a pilot project involving the transformation of surplus
electricity produced by wind into hydrogen. It can be stored for use on calm
days or for when wind god Aeolus is huffing and puffing so hard that
windmills can't be used. "Hydrogen produced from renewables could become a
major energy carrier: it could secure a stable power supply, it is
independent from fossil fuels and it has no harmful emissions attached to
it," said Joergen Rostrup, head of new energy at Norwegian energy
conglomerate Norsk Hydro. more |
UTSIRA: Lighting the Way for the Hydrogen Society
Norsk Hydro |
| The
prevailing weather conditions at Utsira make it a natural choice for wind
power generation, and the wind turbines here will generate a significant
surplus of power in optimal conditions. But like all renewable energy
sources, the electricity supply is periodical – wind turbines stand still
when there is not enough wind, or when there is too much. This fundamental
problem is avoided by storing surplus electricity as chemical energy – in
the form of hydrogen. When the wind blows, electrolysers produce hydrogen
for storage – and when it doesn’t (or indeed, when it blows too strongly), a
hydrogen generator and a fuel cell convert the stored hydrogen back into
electricity – supplying a constant power source for ten households based
entirely on renewable energy, and fully independent of other power supplies
– so-called autonomous power. What’s more, surplus power from the system can
be sold. more |
U.S. Energy Secretary Abraham Signs Department's First-Ever Bilateral
Agreement with Norway May 22,
2004
Integrated Hydrogen Utility Systems Glenn
D. Rambach August 1999
Energy and Environmental Engineering Center, Desert Research
Institute
POSTER: WMRS Summit
Remote Renewable Hydrogen Energy Power System proposed
by Richard D. Masters for the University of California high altitude
research station and observatory in 1998. Evaluated at the
White Mountain Research Station Hydrogen Retreat in June, 2002. |
| NEW JERSEY STATE
UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY AT RUTGERS
July 2004 |
 |
New Jersey: Opportunities and Options
in the Hydrogen Economy
The Center for Energy, Economic and
Environmental Policy
The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy Rutgers,
The State University of New Jersey |
New Jersey has
the opportunity to take a leadership role in the commercialization of
hydrogen fuel and the build out of
its corresponding infrastructure. |
"Hydrogen, like electricity, must be manufactured from other sources. Any
form of energy – fossil, renewable or nuclear – can be used to generate
hydrogen. Each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages that
policymakers must sort through and weigh to gauge the various trade-offs.
Renewable energy and nuclear energy can produce hydrogen from water through
electrolysis. Natural gas, coal, gasoline, and propane can yield hydrogen
using a process called reformation. This diversity of possible production
methods, coupled with the fact that hydrogen used in fuel cell applications
is totally emission free at the point of electric generation, has gained
hydrogen an equally diverse set of supporters. Environmental groups; oil,
natural gas and nuclear energy companies; automobile manufacturers and
stationary power companies all regard hydrogen as a potential future source
of energy. However, the different processes used to extract hydrogen, some
argue, can be costly, energy intensive or create their own sources of
pollution. This has generated criticism that there are more proven, less
costly ways to reduce pollution and energy consumption.
"This report identifi es these and other key policy
issues and provides the information for policymakers, business leaders and
other stakeholders to make informed decisions on hydrogen."
|
| HAWAII |
July
2004 |
 |
Nurturing a
Clean Energy Future in Hawaii
Assessing the Feasibility of the Large-Scale
Utilization of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in Hawaii
Hawaii Natural Resources Institute
Sentech
Hydrogen
has the potential to revolutionize the way we produce and use energy in the
United States and the |
| world. Hawaii, in turn, has the opportunity to
assume a leadership role in the transition from a fossil-fueled energy
society to a cleaner energy future. Hydrogen is the link between renewable
energy and clean transportation fuel. The roadmap defined by this study will
enhance Hawaii’s leadership in the research and applications of hydrogen
fuel, which in turn will likely attract significant economic investment to
the state. |
CALIFORNIA
ENERGY RESOURCES GROUP - UC BERKELEY
June 30, 2004 |
 |
A
Review of Advanced Power Technology Programs in the United States and Abroad
Including Linked Transportation and Stationary Sector Developments
Prepared for the California Air Resources Board
(ARB) and the California Stationary Fuel Cell Collaborative (CaSFCC)
Dr. Timothy E. Lipman
Mr. Gregory Nemet
Prof. Daniel M. Kammen
Energy and Resources Group, University of California - Berkeley |
"A new generation of advanced power technologies is rapidly emerging based
on the concept of distributed generation (DG) and, more broadly, distributed
energy resources (DER). DER systems have the potential to dramatically
increase the efficiency of end-user energy use, particularly when coupled
with the utilization of waste heat for local heating and/or cooling needs.
At the same time, DER can help to reduce the need for siting large power
plants and transmission lines. Furthermore, DER systems can also offer
environmental benefits through installation of clean technologies such as
solar photovoltaic (PV), wind, and fuel cell systems, and by replacing or
displacing the construction of relatively high emission ‘peaker’ power
plants.
"Global competition for renewable energy and other DG
markets, particularly with regard to wind power and solar PV, has been
intense in recent years. While as of about 1990 the U.S. played a dominant
role in clean energy technology, it has lost ground since then with Japan
and Europe now setting the pace with regard to total installed clean energy
generating capacity, share of global markets, and ownership of manufacturing
companies and facilities. In the opinion of many industry analysts including
ourselves, this has been due to a lack of consistent and appropriate
government support for these promising new technologies, particularly in
relation to support and subsidies for traditional fossil fuel and
nuclear-based power generation." |
| UNITED STATES EUROPEAN
UNION |
US Department of State June 26, 2004 |
Ongoing U.S.-EU Cooperation on Hydrogen Technology Pledged
The United States and the European Union (EU) pledged
cooperation on hydrogen research and technology development at their summit
in Shannon, Ireland. "Accelerating the development of the global hydrogen
economy," the White House said in a fact sheet released June 26, "will
enhance security of energy supply, increase diversity of energy resources,
promote economic growth and job creation, and improve local and global
environmental quality."
Joint
Statement on Hydrogen Cooperation
The White House June 25, 2004
Joint Statement by President George W. Bush, European Council President
Konstandinos Simitis, and European Commission President Romano Prodi on
Hydrogen Cooperation We affirm our commitment, on behalf of the United States
and the European Union, to collaborate on accelerating the development
of the hydrogen economy as part of our broadening cooperation on energy.
We aim to enhance the security of energy supply, increase diversity of
energy sources, and improve local and global environmental quality. Our
cooperation will lay the technical, legal, and commercial basis needed
to accelerate the commercial penetration and trade of emissions-free
hydrogen technology worldwide, in cars, buildings and power generation,
to secure to our citizens and our posterity the abundant, secure, and
clean energy required to sustain growth, ensure security, and protect
the environment.
In this context we see the potential of
the hydrogen economy in establishing a secure energy supply through
clean and environmentally sound systems. We will seek to build on
complementarities in our research efforts in exploring actively all
technology options, including a major focus on renewable energy sources,
for boosting the development of hydrogen energy.
We agree to:
- further the goals of sustained
economic growth;
- strengthen our cooperation to work
for universally compatible codes, standards, and regulations;
- strengthen our cooperation on
research and development;
- and work together to foster
public-private collaboration.
This effort will enable us to leverage
resources; bring to bear the expertise of the public and private sector
to solve the complex challenges surrounding the hydrogen economy;
establish sound, universally compatible codes, standards, and
regulations for hydrogen fuel utilization; and provide a strong and
broad foundation for the International Partnership for the Hydrogen
Economy and other partnerships in support of the hydrogen economy. |
|
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research
The Role of the European Commission
Hugues Van Honacker
Energy Production and Distribution Systems
European Commission - Research Directorate-General |
| JAPAN TOHO GAS NIPPON STEEL NIPPON SANSO
June 21, 2004 |
| Government of Japan
Eyes Three Trillion Yen Clean Energy Industry
Yomiuri Shimbun |
The Economy, Trade and
Industry Ministry has devised a policy to develop by 2030 a new clean energy
industry, based on solar, wind and biomass energy, as one of the nation's
driving economic forces in the future, ministry sources said Sunday. ...In
addition, the policy aims to increase the international competitiveness of
the country's new energy industry and take the lead position in the world
market for the sector. |
| Firms to Construct H2 Stations for Fuel Buses within
Premises of 2005 World Exposition
Japan Corporate News June 23, 2004 |
| Toho Gas, Nippon Steel, and Nippon Sanso have
announced plans to jointly construct hydrogen stations for fuel cell buses
within the premises of the 2005 World Exposition to be held in Aichi
Prefecture beginning in March 2005. The three companies will construct two
hydrogen stations... |
| UNITED KINGDOM BREHON ENERGY |
IC Wales (UK)
June 18, 2004 |
Hythane Consortium Seeks Sites in Wales
Rhodri Evans
Irish-registered Brehon Energy is looking at Wales as a possible
location for its European base to produce the alternative fuel Hythane. The
fuel is made from a combination of hydrogen and compressed natural gas and
produces only a third of the carbon dioxide emissions of fossil fuels.
...[Welsh Development Agency] international project manager David Muxworthy
said the agency was aiming to create a cluster of hydrogen energy businesses
in Wales, and make Wales known as the place to do business in this emerging
energy industry. |
| MICHIGAN
DTE ENERGY
US DEPT OF ENERGY |
June 14, 2004 |
DTE Energy Breaks
Ground on Hydrogen Technology Park
DOE will provide 49 percent of
the funding for the $3 million, three-year project, which will result in a
system capable of delivering about 100,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per
year -- enough to power a small office building or about 20 homes -- and
enough compressed hydrogen gas to fuel three vehicles per day. |
| UNITED KINGDOM UK RENEWABLES ADVISORY BOARD
SHELL June 7, 2004 |
 Quest for Energy is
Race Against Time
Opinion by Jeremy Leggett, CEO, Solarcentury
Guardian (UK)
United Kingdom's largest independent solar electric
company |
New forms of energy need to
be developed quickly or else the world faces a cataclysmic economic and
environmental future. |
|
The more optimistic practitioners in the embryonic clean energy industries
believe our technologies could probably power and fuel the world completely
within 10 to 20 years. Given the political will directed at the war against
terrorism, this should be very possible. |
| GERMANY |
AFP/Yahoo June 3, 2004 |
"Our goal is for renewables to account for a 20-percent share of electricity
needs by 2020. This 20-percent goal is in the renewable energy law. We did
not put it in a statement, we made it binding. ...It is now
cheaper to put a wind farm on the Germany coast than to build a new nuclear
plant. And further cost reductions of between a third and fifth can be
envisaged."
German Environment Minister Juergen
Trittin
World Ministers Make Push for Renewable Energies at Bonn
Meet |
| Representatives from 154 countries are attending
the "ministerial segment" of the four-day meeting, gathering 3,000 people,
many of them from corporations eager for a share in the burgeoning market
for green energy. "This is the largest meeting on renewable energies the
world has ever seen," said Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Germany's economic
cooperation and development minister. |
| ARGENTINA
CAPEX SA GROUP
Hannover Fair PR
June 4, 2004 |
 |
Large Scale Wind
Hydrogen Production in Argentine Patagonia
The final goal in the Large
Scale Hydrogen Production Project is to supply the potential needs of
Regional and International Energy Markets. Capsa - Capex is an Energy
Entrepreneurial Group engaged in Oil, Natural Gas, LPG and Electric Energy
Production in Patagonia since 1977, is strongly committed to the Environment
and considers that the World Energy Matrix Change must be launched at a
Large Scale immediately. |
| DENMARK
DANISH WIND POWER ASSOCIATION |
May 31, 2004 |
Wind Power
Hub Includes Hydrogen Production P.E. Bok
H2Cars.biz
The strategic plan from the Danish Wind Industry Association includes
hydrogen production from wind energy as a long term goal. According to the
plan about 4000 MW wind power from 1000 offshore hydrogen producing wind
turbines will generate enough energy for the Danish transport system. |
CANADA
DYNETEK INDUSTRIES WESTPORT INNOVATIONS CLEAN ENERGY
SACRE-DAVEY ENGINEERING QUESTAIR TECHNOLOGIES
POWERTECH LABS
SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
CANADA
June 3, 2004 |
Sustainable Development Technology Canada Announces a Fourth Round of
Funding - $32.4 million for Clean Technology Projects
CNW
[Project #10] This project will involve the development and
demonstration of a hydrogen fuel refining, storage, distribution and
infrastructure program. It will showcase fuel cells in power generation,
heavy and light-duty hydrogen burning vehicles, and vehicle refueling
technologies. The program is based on recovery and utilization waste
hydrogen from an electro-chemical plant to advance the hydrogen economy. |
| UNITED STATES |
CNN/Reuters
May 28, 2004 |
Sky-high Prices
Spark Renewable Energy
"We have unnecessarily endeavored to treat the symptoms and
not the core problem for far too long," said Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.)
in a speech to the Senate last week. "A serious energy efficiency
program, bolstered by the promotion of renewable energy and other clean
home-grown energy sources, provides a compass point for a U.S. energy
strategy." |
| CHINA
DAIMLERCHRYSLER
China.org |
May 26, 2004 |
Beijing to See Buses Powered by Hydrogen Next Year
Statistics from MST show that a total of US$32.36 million has been
injected into fuel cell bus commercialization -- which was started in March
last year -- under the auspices of Global Environment Facility (GEF), United
Nations Development Programme and cities of Beijing and Shanghai. |
| INDIA |
Business Standard (INDIA) May 26, 2004 |
India for National Hydrogen Energy Road Map
India is preparing a national hydrogen energy road
map to effectively tap hydrogen as a reliable, sustainable, safe and
affordable source of energy and welcomed international cooperation to make
hydrogen applications a global reality. In order to effectively coordinate
the national efforts on hydrogen and fuel cell technologies and prepare a
national hydrogen energy road map, the government has set up a national
hydrogen energy board, Indian Ambassador to China Nalin Surie said [in
Bejing.] |
CHINA
CHINA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR A HYDROGEN
ECONOMY |
May 25, 2004 |
IPHE Policy Guiding
Committee to Convene Xinhua (CHINA)
The International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy (IPHE) will
organize the second session of its policy guiding committee from May 26 to
28 in Beijing. Shi Dinghuan, secretary-general of China's Ministry of
Science and Technology and also a member of the IPHE committee, will head
the Chinese delegation to the meeting. |
| ICELAND |
US National
Public Radio May
17, 2004 |
 |
Living on Earth: The Hydrogen Horizon
with Cynthia Graber
Part One: In this Living on Earth special "The
Promise of Hydrogen," reporter Cynthia Graber visits Iceland, a country with
an ambitious mission: to convert all buses, cars, and fishing boats and
trawlers to running off hydrogen. The reporter visits with the President,
the visionary who |
|
proposed this transition, and with the man who’s implementing this
international program. Part Two: Reporter
Cynthia Graber continues "The Promise of Hydrogen" with a visit to Icelandic
scientists who are attempting to solve one of the major roadblocks to
replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen, and explores the challenges to
converting all the fleets to hydrogen even in Iceland, a country blessed
with the natural resources that could make this promise a reality. (29:45)
Transcript / Photos
|
| COLORADO
ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE
US Natl Public Radio |
May 14, 2004 |
|
Living on Earth: Hydrogen at Home
Host Steve Curwood talks with Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute
in Colorado about the challenges of implementing a hydrogen economy in the
United States. (16:30) Transcript |
| UNITED STATES U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
May 2004 |
 |
Hydrogen Research
Leads 2005 Energy Supply Appropriations Request
U.S. Department of Energy
Energy Supply / Renewable Energy Resources
FY 2005 Congressional Budget |
The Hydrogen Technology Program is a key
component of both the President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, which allows the
Nation to aggressively move forward to achieve the vision of a diverse,
secure, and emissions-free energy future. To the extent that hydrogen is
produced from domestic resources in an environmentally sound manner, the
Hydrogen Technologies Program will provide a significant environmental
benefit for the Nation. Research undertaken by the Hydrogen Technology
Program is targeted to reduce the cost of distributed production of hydrogen
from natural gas by a factor of 3-4, enable cost competitive production from
renewables, and provide storage technology that enables greater than 300
mile driving range for vehicles. Together, the FreedomCAR Partnership and
the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative will facilitate a decision by industry to
commercialize hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles in the year 2015.
Widespread commercialization of hydrogen-powered vehicles will support our
national security interests by significantly reducing to our reliance on
oil.
MORE:
FY 2005 BUDGET REQUEST - DOE |
 |
The American Solar Energy Society Publishes Three
Exceptional Articles on Renewable Hydrogen
May/June 2004 Issue |
1) Renewable Hydrogen:
The Right Future?
Ronal W. Larson, Ph.D.
Despite challenges such as its storage and conversion, hydrogen
remains a promising carrier and storage medium. Yet most federal dollars
remain devoted to hydrogen based on coal and nuclear |
| R&D. The outstanding potential of renewable hydrogen
justifies significant funding to quickly advance the technology and overcome
barriers. more |
2) Renewable Hydrogen:
Can We Get There?
Susan Hock, Carolyn Elam and Debra Sandor
Fortunately, renewable energy sources are abundant and widely
distributed throughout the United States. Combined, these renewable
resources can meet the energy needs of the entire country. Already,
renewables account for about 10 percent of the total electricity generated
in the United States. The nationwide distribution of renewable resources
enables the use of decentralized hydrogen production, which can reduce or
eliminate the cost associated with hydrogen storage and delivery and help
communities become energy self-sufficient. more |
3) Renewable Hydrogen:
Can We Afford It?
Margaret K. Mann and Johanna
S. Ivy
In order to produce the most economic, environmentally benign
hydrogen, local renewable resources should be a significant part of the
production mix. Solar energy benefits from its distributed nature, its
ability to co-produce electricity and hydrogen, and research advancements in
photovoltaics, PEC and electrolyzers. These factors increase hydrogen’s
flexibility for meeting the nation’s future energy needs. more |
AUSTRALIA UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA
HYDRO TASMANIA
Sunday Tasmanian |
May 16, 2004 |
Imagination Powers
the Switch from Oil
Simon Bevilacqua
Professor Karri predicts the rising price of fuel and the
shrinking cost of hydrogen power technology will mean hydrogen cars will be
viable within eight years. "Australia has very little technology in this
area, we are at rock-bottom," professor Karri said. "Germany, Japan and the
US are way ahead and they are playing their hands very close to their
chests."
Hydrogen Cars Vision
for Tasmania
Simon Bevilacqua
The university is collaborating with Hydro Tasmania and a
German research institute in a bold bid to join world leaders in hydrogen
power development. |
| EUROPEAN UNION
NETHERLANDS GASUNIE
RESEARCH |
May 7, 2004 |
 Start
of the NATURALHY Project Gasunie
The first meeting of the full consortium of the NATURALHY project
took place on 6 -7 May 2004 in Leiden, The Netherlands. The NATURALHY
(Preparing for the hydrogen economy by using the existing natural gas system
as a catalyst) project brings together 39 European partners, including 15
from the gas-business. It is an Integrated Project within FP6 with a total
budget of 17.3 M€ of which |
11 M€ is an EC grant. This is the largest support provided to a project
funded by EC under FP6 in the field of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells. The
project's official start date is 1 May 2004 and its duration will be 5
years. The main objective of NATURALHY is to prepare EU countries for the
hydrogen economy by identifying and removing the potential barriers
regarding the introduction of hydrogen into society, using the extensive,
existing natural gas system. The basic concept of the project is the smooth
and short term introduction of hydrogen, at relatively low cost, by using
the existing natural gas system to carry and distribute mixtures of natural
gas and hydrogen. The main drivers for hydrogen are the improvement of
energy security, the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, according to the
Kyoto protocol, and the improvement of air quality. However, the transition
to the hydrogen-economy will be lengthy, costly and will require significant
R&D. The project "kick-off" meeting, which was held on May 6 - 7 May in
Leiden, Netherlands, actually initiated this ambitious project by
consolidating all of the Netherlands.
NATURALHY Project
December 8, 2003
The possible use of existing networks for mixtures of
natural gas and hydrogen offers a unique and cost-effective opportunity to
initiate the progressive introduction of hydrogen as part of the development
of a full hydrogen system. The aims of NATURALHY are to test all the
critical components of a full hydrogen system by adding hydrogen to natural
gas in existing networks. This transitional approach will provide further
experience with the transmission of mixtures of hydrogen and natural gas
and, by means of innovative separation technologies, the hydrogen
utilisation in stationary end use applications. A systematic and co-ordinated
approach for the generation of clear outcomes will be adopted in NATURALHY
with a comprehensive collection of work packages which focus on all vital
components of transitional hydrogen systems. A European consortium of 40
partners with extensive experience and skills is assembled for NATURALHY
which involve major network operators, hydrogen producers, specialist
practitioners and academic researchers in all relevant fields. Potential
collaboration and synergies will be fostered with complementary projects as
HYWAYS and HYSAFE. Established information networks will be used in
dissemination. In order to establish a platform for dissemination and public
awareness and understanding, a strategic advisory committee has been defined
that consists of global leading entities from politics, decision makers,
regulators, normalisation and authorities active in the said fields such as
International Gas Union (represented by Dr. Bob Harris), International
Energy Agency, UK HSE, ministries of economic and environmental affairs,
European Natural Gas Vehicle Association, the Carbon Trust and HYNET and is
chaired by the chairman of CEN. |
| RUSSIA UNITED STATES |
New York Jewish Times/RIA
Novosti May 3, 2004 |
Russia, USA Discuss
Energy Cooperation
The US Ambassador to Russia also touched upon the
cooperation in the sphere of space exploration, "climate" for foreign
investments into the Russian energy sector and the Camp David initiative on
the agreements about the protection of technologies, says the press release.
The sides stressed the importance of the natural gas and hydrogen fuel
projects and discussed the opportunities of further investments into those
projects. |
| UNITED STATES |
April
27, 2004 |
 |
Nobel Laureate and Co-discoveror of Fullerenes Richard Smalley Calls for
Research on Advanced Batteries - Successful Technology Would Focus Hydrogen
on Stationary Applications
Testimony of R. E. Smalley to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources; Hearing on
Sustainable, Low Emission,
Electricity Generation |
We are heading into
a new energy world. With economic recovery in the countries of the OECD and
rapid development of China and soon India, huge new demands will be placed
on the world oil and gas industry. Yet oil production will probably peak
worldwide sometime within this decade, and the future capacity of natural
gas production is unclear. Coal will be able to pick up some of the slack,
but with current technology this will amplify the threat of massive climate
change.
Energy is at the core of virtually every problem
facing humanity. We cannot afford to get this wrong. We should be skeptical
of optimism that the existing energy industry will be able to work this out
on its own.
Somehow we must find the basis for energy
prosperity for ourselves and the rest of humanity for the 21st century. By
the middle of this century we should assume we will need to at least double
world energy production from its current level, with most of this coming
from some clean, sustainable, CO2-free source. For worldwide peace and
prosperity it needs to be cheap.
We simply cannot do this with current technology.
We will need revolutionary breakthroughs to even get close.
Oil was the principal driver of our economic
prosperity in the 20th century. It is possible that Mother Nature has played
a great trick on us, and we will never find another energy source that is as
cheap and wonderful as oil. If so, this new century is certain to be very
unpleasant.
However, I am an American scientist brought up in
the Midwest during the Sputnik era, and like so many of my colleagues in the
US and worldwide, I am a technological optimist. I think we can do it. We
can find “the New Oil”, the new technology that provides the massive clean
energy necessary for advanced civilization of the 10 billion souls we expect
to be living on this planet by 2050. With luck we’ll find this soon enough
to avoid the terrorism, war, and human misery that will otherwise ensue.
Electricity is the key. As we leave oil as our
dominant energy technology, we will not only evolve away from a wonderful
primary energy source, but we will also leave behind our principal means of
transporting energy over vast distances. By 2050 we will do best if we do
this transportation of energy not as oil, or coal, or natural gas, or even
hydrogen. We should not be transmitting energy as mass at all. Instead we
should transport energy as pure energy itself.
Consider, for example, a vast interconnected
electrical energy grid for the North American Continent from above the Artic
Circle to below the Panama Canal. By 2050 this grid will interconnect
several hundred million local sites. There are two key aspects of this
future grid that will make a huge difference: (1) massive long distance
electrical power transmission, and (2) local storage of electrical power
with real time pricing.
Storage of electrical power is critical for
stability and robustness of the electrical power grid, and it is absolutely
essential if we are ever to use solar and wind as our dominant primary power
source. The best place to provide this storage is locally, near the point of
use. Imagine by 2050 that every house, every business, every building has
its own local electrical energy storage device, an uninterruptible power
supply capable of handling the entire needs of the owner for 24 hours. Since
the devices are small, and relatively inexpensive, the owners can replace
them with new models every 5 years or so as worldwide technological
innovation and free enterprise continuously and rapidly develop improvements
in this most critical of all aspects of the electrical energy grid. Today
using lead-acid storage batteries, such a unit for a typical house to store
100 kilowatt hours of electrical energy would take up a small room and cost
over $10,000. Through revolutionary advances in nanotechnology, it may be
possible to shrink an equivalent unit to the size of a washing machine, and
drop the cost to less than $1,000. Since the amount of energy stored is
relatively small, there are many technologies that are being considered. One
is a flow battery with a liquid electrolyte based on salts of vanadium.
Another features a reversible hydrogen fuel cell which electrolyzes water to
make hydrogen when it stores energy, then uses this hydrogen to make
electricity as it is needed. Another uses advanced flywheels. With intense
research and entrepreneural effort, many schemes are likely to be developed
over the years to supply this local energy storage market that may expand to
several billion units worldwide.
With these advances the electrical grid can become
exceedingly robust, since local storage protects customers from power
fluxuations and outages. With real-time pricing, the local customers have
incentive to take power from the grid when it is cheapest. This in turn
permits the primary electrical energy providers to deliver their power to
the grid when it is most efficient for them to do so, and vastly reduce the
requirements for reserve capacity to follow peaks in demand. Most
importantly, it permits a large portion -- or even all -- of the primary
electrical power on the grid to come from solar and wind.
The other critical innovation needed is massive
electrical power transmission over continental distances, permitting, for
example, hundreds of gigawatts of electrical power to be transported from
solar farms in New Mexico to markets in New England. Now all primary power
producers can compete with little concern for the actual distance to market.
Clean coal plants in Wyoming, stranded gas in Alaska, wind farms in North
Dakota, hydroelectric power from northern British Columbia, biomass energy
from Mississippi, nuclear power from Hanford Washington, and solar power
from the vast western deserts, etc., remote power plants from all over the
continent contribute power to consumers thousands of miles away on the grid.
Everybody plays. Nanotechnology in the form of single-walled carbon
nanotubes (a.k.a. “buckytubes”) forming what we call the Armchair Quantum
Wire may play a big role in this new electrical transmission system.
Such innovations in power transmission, power
storage, and the massive primary power generation technologies themselves,
will come from miraculous discoveries in science together with free
enterprise in open competition for huge worldwide markets.
It would be useful to have these discoveries now.
America, the land of technological optimists, the
land of Thomas Edison, should take the lead. We should launch a bold New
Energy Research Program. Just a nickel from every gallon of gasoline,
diesel, fuel oil, and jet fuel would generate $10 billion a year. That would
be enough to transform the physical sciences and engineering in this
country. After five years we should increase the funding to a dime per
gallon. Sustained year after year, this New Energy Research Program will
inspire a new Sputnik Generation of American scientists and engineers. At
minimum it will generate a cornucopia of new technologies that will drive
wealth and job creation in our country. At best we will solve the energy
problem within this next generation; solve it for ourselves and, by example,
solve it for the rest of humanity on this planet.
Give a nickel. Save the world.
|
|
UNITED STATES
The White House
April 26, 2004 |
| U.S.President
Unveils Tech
Initiatives for Energy |
 |
Today, the Department of Energy has selected recipients for $350 million of
research grants. In other words, the administration is now acting upon the
Congress' appropriations. They're funding research into practical hydrogen
fuel storage. So not only how you distribute it, how do you store hydrogen.
They're encouraging the construction of hydrogen refueling stations around
the country. |
|
|
A STOP ALONG THE HYDROGEN HIGHWAY...
OREGON WASHINGTON
BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION |
THE MOST
IMPORTANT ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN 2003
"Because of the Columbia River, the Northwest can produce hydrogen
cheaper, faster and cleaner than anyone else in the world."1
"The end of the age of oil
can begin here."2
Jack Robertson |
Columbia's Power
The River Contains the Secret to Drive a
National Energy Revolution
Jack Robertson
Register-Guard/Bluefish |
Jack Robertson of Portland
worked for the Bonneville Power Administration from 1986 through 1999,
serving as acting chief executive officer and deputy CEO. He helped found
the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. From 1973 to 1982, he worked on
the staff of Oregon Sen. Mark Hatfield in Washington, D.C.
The mighty Columbia
River's nighttime flow holds a remarkable secret. This secret can put the
Northwest at the center of a global energy revolution, create thousands of
new jobs and help end forever our dependence on Middle East oil.
While you sleep, the power of the Columbia River can
create a revolutionary new energy source - lighter than air, completely
renewable, and yet with the highest energy content of any fuel. In the
Northwest we can produce this new fuel faster, cleaner and cheaper than
anywhere in the world. What's its source?
Water. That's right. The power of the Columbia River can
unlock hydrogen from water. It can turn the Northwest into the Saudi Arabia
of hydrogen - the revolutionary fuel at the center of President Bush's bold,
$1.2 billion proposal to build hydrogen-powered cars and a national hydrogen
infrastructure.
For centuries, people have dreamed of a limitless, clean
source of energy. For decades, scientists have known that hydrogen - the
most common element in the universe - holds the answer to a global energy
revolution. more
|
| CANADA
Steve Sharratt
The Guardian |
April 23, 2004 |
Prince Edward Island
Proposes H2 Economy Powered by Wind
Premier Pat Binns said the province is
promoting the idea before the federal government to develop wind/hydrogen
technology combinations that could one day be as commonplace as the gas
pump. “We have a proposal in front of Ottawa right now regarding a
wind/hydrogen combination,’’ Binns said in his annual address to the Rotary
Club here Wednesday. “We want to look at hydrogen applications for small-
scale operations such as farm tractors, fishing boats and even pickup trucks
and to demonstrate their feasibility.” The premier said the hydrogen economy
is just around the corner and Prince Edward Island could be the logical
place to develop and demonstrate small scale applications in hydrogen as
well as wind energy. “We plan to expand wind energy here and Prince Edward
Island is one of the best wind regimes in the world.” |
| CHINA
Peoples' Daily |
April 23, 2004 |
Hydrogen Listed into China's Energy Development Strategy
China has listed rational use of hydrogen into its
energy development strategy and will hike up investment for research of
automobiles powered by hydrogen cells. The Chinese Ministry of Science and
Technology set aside over 400 million yuan (about 48.2 million US dollars)
for research on hydrogen cell-driven automobiles in the first five years of
this century, said Lun Jingguang, state project coordinator with China Fuel
Cell Bus Program Office. |
| FLORIDA |
Pensacola News Journal
April 22, 2004 |
OPINION: Research,
Infrastructure Key to Hydrogen Future
The Florida Legislature should follow
the recommendation of Gov. Jeb Bush and provide the full $15 million he is
asking for to fund research and testing of fuel cells and hydrogen-powered
automobiles. |
NEW MEXICO
CANADA CALIFORNIA
WESTERN GOVERNORS' ASSOCIATION NA ENERGY SUMMIT |
April 17, 2004 |
Green Energy's Potential is Slowly Being Realized
David Green Toronto
Star (CANADA) |
No one has
announced it, but the energy profile of North America is changing, with the
environment one of the key drivers for a shift to clean energy. One reason
the change is not noticeable yet is that much of it is being carried out at
the regional level, by provincial and state governments rather than
headline-grabbing national governments.
The North American energy summit held here this week by the Western
Governors Association — representing the 17 U.S. states that run south from
North Dakota to Texas and west to the Pacific coast — revealed this in
spades.
...Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger of California set the tone by urging their counterparts to
pledge their states to developing at least 30,000 megawatts of clean energy
from sources such as wind power and photo-voltaics in the west by 2015, and
to increase the efficiency of energy use by 20 per cent by 2020.
They also proposed that the western states create new energy sources
such as hydrogen fueling systems on western highways. Building a hydrogen
economy indeed was one important theme here.
Schwarzenegger has already proposed that California create a
"hydrogen highway" with 200 hydrogen fueling stations operating by 2010. The
state's South Coast Air Quality Management District is building 14 fueling
stations to serve seven fleets of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
British Columbia is looking at a hydrogen highway from the U.S.
border to Whistler in time for the 2010 Olympics. Indeed, it's not hard to
imagine a Pacific coast hydrogen highway stretching from British Columbia,
through Washington and Oregon, and south to California. Washington state is
now looking at this. Indeed, the west can set an example for Ontario, where
there is no serious long-term strategy for clean energy or energy
conservation. more |
UNITED STATES
BRAZIL U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
ENERGY
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR THE
HYDROGEN ECONOMY |
April 15, 2004 |
 Energy
Secretary Looks Forward to Brazil
Meetings Aimed at Expanding Energy Cooperation
U.S. Newswire
"President Bush is committed to
working with our neighbors in the hemisphere to develop mutually beneficial
energy policies that can promote economic growth," Secretary Abraham said.
"I look forward to my meetings with Minister Dilma Rousseff and Foreign
Minister Celso Amorim, as well as Eduardo Campos, Minister of Science and
Technology, to expand areas of cooperation and discuss future activities
that will allow our two governments to continue this important relationship,
especially in the areas of hydrogen and scientific collaboration." ...Brazil
and the U.S. are working together on two major international initiatives to
develop energy technologies that will address common energy challenges, the
Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum and the International Partnership for
the Hydrogen Economy. |
AUSTRALIA DAIMLERCHRYSLER BP CERAMIC FUEL
CELLS WOODSIDE ENERGEX BHP
BILLITON BOC
BMW
CSIRO PERTH BUS TRIALS
GOVT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA |
April 15, 2004 |
The
Hydrogen Revolution
Rod Myer The Age
There is a quiet revolution taking place in the car industry
that will fundamentally change the way we live. Imagine cities without smog.
Without oil tankers. With less noise. And all because the new vehicles will
be powered on the most common element of all - hydrogen, a constituent part
of water. |
UNITED
STATES NEW MEXICO U.S. DEPARTMENT
OF ENERGY April 15, 2004
WESTERN GOVERNOR'S ASSOCIATION NORTH AMERICAN ENERGY SUMMIT |
Federal Official Says U.S. Energy Policy Must Diversify
KBOTV, Albuquerque |
[Deputy U.S. Energy Secretary Kyle] McSlarrow spoke at a morning session of
the North American Energy Summit in Albuquerque. He says that in addition to
the mainstays of oil and natural gas, energy policy must look to coal,
nuclear energy and renewable sources. Those renewable sources would
include wind and solar
power, and
McSlarrow says the future of energy policy must look to hydrogen. He says
hydrogen is in plentiful supply domestically, and he says that would give
the United States both a cleaner fuel and a more secure one. |
|
|
