Issue 0401    

Content:

Market news

Heat and power generation at home with fuel cells

Regenerative energies go public

Sven Geitmann reports

BMW in Brussels

The Best Fuel for Fuel Cells

First Hyundai Fuel Cell Car

Toyota Shows New Hybrid Fuel Cell Vehicle

UNO Report Supports Fuel Cells

The Interview

This time with Thomas Stricker and Dr. Joachim Wolf, Linde AG

Event news

Car manufacturers to offer test driving at Hydrogen Expo

The CUTE project at Hydrogen Expo

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Market news

When asked about their own fuel cell development activities, Buderus Heiztechnik (Heating Technology) GmbH remained rather vague only a couple of weeks ago. Now the Buderus AG subsidiary announced their cooperation with IFC International Fuel Cells from the U.S., themselves a member of the UTC United Technologie Corporation group of companies. Together the two want to further develop the IFC fuel cell system for private and medium sized corporate households and to market it throughout Europe. Buderus regards the fuel cell heat and power generators as an integral part of its growth strategy. "With IFC we found the partner we were looking for to develop this promising business." says Buderus Heiztechnik Chairman Uwe Lueders. Joh. Vaillant GmbH went out into the open with their fuel cell heating station much earlier. Already in 1999 the company signed an agreement with US American fuel cell manufacturer Plug Power. Vaillant now announced plans to put more than 400 fuell cell heating stations into field tests in various European countries. The objective of this extensive test phase is to optimize the functionality of this innovative technology. Therefore, Vaillant finalized cooperation with several German utility companies. "The results of the field tests will determine the date when we introduce the system to the market." says Vaillant CEO Dr. Michel Brosset. The Buderus and Vaillant systems provide both heat and power and rely on natural gas, from which hydrogen for the fuel cell is generated in a reformer.

Farmatic Biotech Energy AG, a company which generates energy from waste, goes public in April. Earnings from the stock emission will be used for research and development, for example for generating hydrogen from biomass. The stock price is expected to lie between 21 and 27 Euros, options can be signed April 2-5. Enro AG is another company which has dedicated itself to emission-free power generation. Stocks are predicted to range between 13 and 17 Euros, options can be signed April 3-6. Enro's primary business is bio power plants and water supply. Other companies from the regenerative energy market to go public in April are: Conergy (to be signed 30.3.-5.4.) and Nordex (to go onto the stock market 2.4.).

Sven Geitmann reports

BMW in Brussels

BMW made its second stop of the "Clean Energy World Tour" in Brussels/Belgium to show their hydrogen driven vehicles (750 hL). Among the top level representatives who came to this occasion were Klaus Toepfer, director of the Environmental Program of the United Nations (UNEP) and Loyola de Palacio, Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Traffic and Energy. In his speech BMW Chairman Milberg asked for political help. "If politics has any interest in environment-friendly mobility, then we need political support until the new fuel is established on the market." He introduced a special program to make the way for the much talked about hydrogen age. Within the next few weeks BMW will continue the "Clean Energy World Tour" with visits to Milan, Tokyo and Los Angeles.

Gasoline, diesel, methane, natural gas – it is still unclear, which fuel fits best to prepare for the fuel cell world. All fuel cell powered vehicles need hydrogen, whichever firm if may be in. The car manfufacturers favour different fuels as intermediaries until there is enough hydrogen for everyday use. General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen AG now agreed that gasoline is the most practical solution for them. DaimlerChrysler AG relies on methanol. One of the great advantages of gasoline would be the well established infrastructure. GM is working on a fuel similar to gasoline called "clean hydrocarbon fuel", which might be dispensed at gas stations for regular cars but might also be used for fuel cells. Clean hydrocarbon fuel might be an "interim solution" said GM official George Hansen, however refusing to say which specific components would make up that fuel. According to GM partner Toyota the fuel is made from crude oil or natural gas and is expected to become prevalent years ahead of the widespread use of hydrogen.

Hyundai Motors Co. unveiled the first fuel cell car in a ceremony attended by Hyundai Motor President Lee Chong-koo, representatives of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the International Fuel Cell organization (IFC). It is the first time that a Korean automaker has developed a model powered by fuel cells without the help of batteries. After the ceremony at Hyundai Motor's research center south of Seoul, the Santa Fe sport utility vehicle (SUV) installed with the fuel cells was revealed and tested. Hyundai and Kia Motors Corp. developed the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle with the help of IFC. The Santa Fe uses a highly pressurized hydrogen gas tank (72 liters), allowing the vehicle to travel over 160 kilometers without refueling. The 75-kW fuel cell allows the Santa Fe to run at a maximum speed of 124 km/h. In addition, the vehicle's efficiency is increased by its lightweight aluminum frame. Hyundai and Kia are also developing a gasoline fuel cell vehicle, which will be presented next year.

The Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. displayed a new experimental fuel cell vehicle – the FCHV-3 - at a symposium on fuel cell technology. This model is quite similar to Toyota's hybrid Prius, which is already on the market. The Prius switches between its electric motor and gas engine, the fuel cell hybrid switches between the fuel cell and an additionally battery to maximize efficiency and store energy created by braking. The FCHV-3 runs on pure hydrogen stored inside the car in a metal alloy.

The latest UNO climate report, which was just presented in Accra/Ghana, pleads for new technologies to reduce the worldwide pollution. This might result in substantial reduction greenhouse gases within the next 20 years. The most promising technologies are fuel cells, hybrid engines, wind turbines, and the use of biogas. Additionally, Greenpeace announced their support and demanded more engagement of all governments for alternative energy.

A hydrogen transporter was damaged during a severe accident on the A1 highway near Cologne/Germany early last month. A truck crashed into the transporter with high speed in the end of a traffic jam due to inattention. Three of the nine vessels were damaged and hydrogen was released and ignited. Firemen closed the highway in both directions. They did not try to extinguish the fire according the regulations for hydrogen handling. Instead of this, the other tanks were cooled with water to prevent more damage. The hydrogen leaked from the punctured tanks and burned under control until the tanks were empty. The truck driver died in his cabin as a result of the crash. Other persons or vehicles were not involved in this accident. A spokesman of the fire department in Cologne pointed out that accidents with hazardous goods like this were very rare. In most cases there was no more damage than in other accidents. Special tanks for liquefied gas and gas tanks were generally extremely resistant.

The Interview

H2 Report: Mister Stricker, you look after the marketing side of hydrogen activities at Linde. What is Linde going to show at Hydrogen Expo?

Thomas Stricker: We are going to show the hydrogen tank which is built into the BMW car. Further, we will have a display wall presenting further H2 activities at Linde. This goes from generating, that is liquefying hydrogen to ist transport and ist applications – the whole story.

H2 Report: From a marketing perspective, how do you see the future of the hydorgen economy?

Thomas Stricker: We put our bet on hydrogen, there is no doubt about that. Hydrogen will mean significant business for us, and we invest a lot here to make things develop faster.

H2 Report: Linde is one of BMW's project partners. Does this mean that you favour hydrogen combustion engines to fuel cells?

Thomas Stricker: As a general rule we remain neutral in this question. We work with several car manufacturers, with BMW, DaimlerChrysler and Opel. Of course, we benefit from BMW being more active in promotion. But we do not favour one method or the other. Basically, we are provide the gas and a couple of peripheral hardware components. In each case we simply deliver what the project needs.

H2 Report: Dr. Wolf, you will lecture at the show about the current status and future of hydrogen technologies. In which H2 projects is Linde involved at the moment?

Dr. Wolf: One of our current projects is the BMW World Tour, the continuation of what is know as "Clean Energy". This includes 15 cars of the BMW 7 series which are equipped with a liquefied hydrogen tank system. For the World Tour opening event we brought 20.000 liters of hydrogen to Dubai. This was not an easy task, but we managed to do it. In the same manner that we can have tank trucks on the streets we can have them on ships. Thereby we could transport the hyodrogen without any loss. This amazed me, too. The tank truck's specification reads that it is possible to store hydrogen for 90 days before before it starts to emit. We could prove this in a remarkable way here. The hydrogen load was "on the road" for 30 days, and as I said we did not lose anything and had only minor pressure build. Another project is the MAN fuel cell bus, which is equipped with a pressure gas system. One bus is currently in use for public transport in Nuernberg. Here we provided the whole "gas street" as we call it, that is the management to the tanks and from the tanks to the consumer, which in this case is a fuel cell. Naturally, a filling station is part of the deal. We do not stop at the vehicle, our ultimate goal is to get the hydrogen where it is needed. This is a service we simply have to offer. Infrastructure is generally an issue we spend a lot of thought on, be it for liquefied or gaseous hydrogen. We are in discussions with all major petrol companies who are showing increasing interested. A lot is happening here at the moment. The message to the hydrogen world and everyone interested in hydrogen is that we are beginning to solve the hen-egg-problem. There will be another MAN bus on Berlin streets as of beginning of next year. This bus will have a liquefied hydrogen tank system mounted to the roof. The first tests are underway, and within the next 1 to 1 ½ months we will deliver to MAN, where the system will be installed. The actual bus will then be handed over to the Berlin public transport company.

H2 Report: This bus has a liquefied hydrogen tank, does this mean that it is powered by a combustion engine?

Dr. Wolf: There is no direct relation between combustion engines and liquefied hydrogen, or between fuel cells and pressure gas. However, there seems to be a tendency among the companies developing these vehicles to combine fuel cells with pressure gas and combustion engines with liquefied hydrogen. But it does not have to be this way. Liquid storage simply means that there is more energy in the tank. In this case, density is much higher than in pressure gas. We also have a project with Opel. Some of the Zafira cars will be equipped with liquefied hydrogen tanks. The Zafira is a fuel cell car. Therefore, we have another example here where liquid fuel supply is combined with a fuel cell. The reason to have liquefied hydrogen generally lies in the desire for a higher energy density and therefore greater reach. Both systems need about the same amount of space.

H2 Report: Would you say then that in view of the not yet existing H2 infrastructure liquefied hydrogen tank systems are at least in the short run more feasible in that they offer greater reach and work around the problem of missing filling stations?

Dr. Wolf: I would not put it that way. The hydrogen filling station will be able to offer both, pressure gas and liquefied hydrogen. Liquefied hydrogen is delivered as a liquid and can be filled that way. Our filling station approach relies on the general assumption that liquefied hydrogen will be transported on the road, same as petrol. This means that you need to do the tour only once instead of ten or twelve times. A pressure gas tank truck has to load quite a number of pressure gas vessels which are heavy even if made from lighweight material. Therefore, such a truck has to travel ten or twelve times, while a liquefied hydrogen tank truck with a basic weight of 40 tons needs to do the route only once. Our filling stations can on the one hand change liquefied hydrogen to pressure gas, and this is achieved without compressors. We use pumps which push the liquid through heat converters, which consumes significantly less energy and results in much lower costs. On the other hand, simultaneously, liquefied hydrogen can be offered.

H2 Report: So you are saying that it will be decided on the road which fueling system will be used.

Dr. Wolf: This is how I see it. It is my opinion that it does not depend on the filling station or the logistics if pressure gas or liquefied hydrogen is used. It rather depends on the actual application and whether pressure gas or liquefied gas is available locally. It depends on whether we are talking about a small or a big vehicle, whether it is used to cover great distances. We usually have cars that are used for half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening. With taxis, busses or trucks this is different. Such criteria will determine which fueling system comes to practice.

H2 Report: Does this mean that even in the long run there will always be different fueling systems, depending on the vehicle, in the same manner that today cars covering long distances tend to have diesel engines and others tend to use petrol?

Dr. Wolf: We see it that way. Time will show if this is really the case.

H2 Report: How do you see the future of the hydrogen economy?

Dr. Wolf: I would not say it is all rosy. But we can see that a lot is happening. The increase in activities is almost exponentially. I can speak for Linde when saying that we see a great potential for the hydrogen market. Nowadays it is more than just a hand full of initiatives from Munich. A lot has been achieved in fuel cell technology. Fuel cells need hydrogen, there is no way around it. Even if some people put their money on methanol, on-board reforming or even on fossil fuel. We believe that in the future there will be hydrogen fueling in the first place. And there is also a lot happening with stationary fuel cell applications, for example through the manufacturers of heating stations. Or with regards to hydrogen powered block heating plants. We see a great future lying ahead.

Event news

Some of the car manufacturers which present their alternative fuel concepts at Hydrogen Expo on October 11 to 13, 2001 in Hamburg will offer test driving on the fairgrounds. A route outside the exhibition halls serves to prove the different emission-free vehicles' functionality to the visitors. Further, a fuel cell shuttle bus is planned to run on Hamburg City streets. Visitors can register for free admission to the show at: www.hydrogen-expo.com/regie.htm

CUTE stands for Clean Urban Transportation for Europe. The European Commission funded project will have emission-free fuel cell busses on the streets of ten European cities, Germany being represented by Hamburg and Stuttgart. At Hydrogen Expo Hamburg Utilities Company HEW and Public Transport Company Hamburger Hochbahn (HHA) will present the project, for which DaimlerChrysler subsidiary Evobus will deliver 30 Citaro busses. HEW and HHA are going to introduce the common vision of an energy provider and a transport company of how a hydrogen infastructure can be built and utilized.