Issue 0503    

The latest from the hydrogen and fuel cell markets

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California takes the lead again in H2/FC technologies

U.S. proposes International Hydrogen Partnership

HDW: FC submarine technologically superior and cost-effective

Hydrogen from borax goes maritime: Millennium Cell and SRE compete

Voller Energy: Portapack suitable for construction, entertainment and military

H.C. Starck: acquisition, series production to create jobs in Bavaria

Danfoss joins H2 technologies venture capital fund

The last curtain: as Hannover loses ground, Hamburg becomes the place to be

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Much is happening in California these days. President Bush's FreedomFUEL announcement has pushed the discussion about the hydrogen economy up to higher political levels. What the likes of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), and the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP) have been proactively promoting for years is now receiving increasing support by the Congressmen and women of the Golden State. On April 24, Congresswoman Jane Harman together with the National Hydrogen Assocation (NHA) hosted a meeting in Torrance, CA, that was meant to lay the grounds for "A Regional Plan for Hydrogen". The meeting also proved that Los Angeles was the natural choice for the next NHA Annual Meeting, which will again be partnering with Hydrogen Expo USA on April 26-29, 2004. In her opening remarks, the Democrat Harman listed the reasons why she not only commended a Republican President's initiative but asked for more, sustained support for hydrogen technologies: homeland security, economic security and the environment. "What does hydrogen fuel have to do with homeland security?" Harman asked and went on: "The answer is: everything. Currently, the US government is doing business with non-democratic, despotic regimes in order to ensure an uninterrupted flow of crude oil. No matter what some people might say, we cannot drill our way to energy independence." If this was not enough reason to secure government support for hydrogen in its nascent phases, economic security made it indispensible. Said Harman: "The growth of alternative energy sources would lead to less uncertainty in our economy. It is that simple. Commercialization of hydrogen technologies is ... a potential boon to our region’s economy." According to Harman, California had taken the lead to make the promise of hydrogen technologies a reality. The Congresswoman pointed out that in December 2002 fuel cell vehicles manufactured by Honda and Toyota respectively went into fleet operation in the City of Los Angeles. Some of these were on display at the Torrance meeting. Twelve of the 17 hydrogen filling stations are located in California, with several others in the works, including one at Los Angeles International Airport. "We already have a head start here in the South Bay", added Harman. "Many of the technologies to develop alternative sources of energy are made here; specifically, both manufacturers and users of hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cells are already present." Last but not the least, the promise of a cleaner, healthier environment would be enough reason for hydrogen in itself and it did not, as the Congresswoman emphasized, work against economic prosperity. Harman found herself in unison with many of the meeting's attendees when commenting on the health-damaging air quality in Los Angeles not so long ago. "I remember all too vividly the smog warnings and the brown blanket that covered out city in the 50s. We have made vast improvements in air quality in the Los Angeles Basin since my days at Warner Avenue Elementary School. That progress has not come at the cost of economic growth. Unleaded fuel, increasingly efficient vehicles and power plants, energy conservation, solar, wind, geothermal and biomass energy generation have changed Southern California’s environment and our economy for the better." Giving the stage to the meeting's panelist which included speakers such as Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, Catherine Dunwoody (CaFCP), Venki Raman (Air Products and Chemicals), Roger Johnson (Los Angeles World Airports) and actor Dennis Weaver, Harman gave another vivid example of the economic potential of clean energy technologies: "DOE's energy efficiency programs have yielded exemplary returns considering the relatively small national investment that has been made. For the total federal investment of USD 2 billion for these programs since 1978, the technologies that have emerged are estimated to have yielded more than USD 100 billion to the U.S. economy." In Harman's opinion there was no doubt that hydrogen technologies can help build a better future for her community and her country. The question was how and how fast this could be achieved. For more information on the NHA Annual Meeting and Hydrogen Expo USA visit: www.hydrogenexpo.com

Collaboration across national borders is one of the key conditions for the success to meet the technological and commercial challenges for hydrogen and fuel cells. While regrettably little is happening on the federal level in Europe to foster this, U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham during his recent presentation to the International Energy Agency (IEA) Ministerial meeting in Paris took the initiative and called for the development of an international hydrogen partnership. His vision of such a partnership included the establishing cooperative and collaborative efforts in H2 production, storage, transport, and end-use technologies; common codes and standards for H2 fuel utilization; and the sharing of information necessary to develop a fueling infrastructure. "International cooperation is key to achieving hydrogen and fuel cell program goals such as those President Bush stated in his recent State of the Union address," Abraham said. "Partnerships that leverage scarce resources, develop technology standards, and foster private-public technology and infrastructure collaboration can more easily overcome the technological and institutional barriers that inhibit the development of a cost-competitive, standardized, widely accessible and safe hydrogen economy." A growing number of countries have committed to accelerate the development of hydrogen energy technologies in order to improve their energy, economic, and environmental security. According to a release by the U.S. Department of Energy, the reason for these activities lies in the fact that most OECD countries face undesirable levels of risk to the reliability of their energy sectors and environmental quality resulting from over-reliance on imported petroleum, unstable energy prices, aging electricity and natural gas infrastructures, and the air and water pollution issues associated with the extraction and use of traditional fuels. In addition, greenhouse gas emissions were a growing concern.

Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) released news about the maiden voyage of its U31, the world's first fuel cell powered submarine. The FC submarine, which will be delivered to the German Navy in 2004, is currently undergoing sea trials in the Baltic Sea, followed by extensive testing in the HDW shipyard in Kiel, Germany. The Baltic Sea trials in shallow water constitute the first phase of an almost 12-month period, during which the U31 will also be operated in deep water, heading for Norway. In addition to the crew, shipyard and supplier staff as well as supervisors from the German Office for Defense Technology and Procurement will be on board to ensure evulation of the whole system. According to HDW, the new submarine is technologically superior in that it enables under water operation for an extended period of time. Its development resulted from progress made in detection technology, anti-submarine weaponry and extended deployment areas. The FC engine is said to make the U31 noiseless and emissionless and therefore virtually undetectable. A high degree of availability and low maintenance cost further contributed to the expected success of this technology. HDW will showcase its technology at H2Expo 2003 on October 9 to 11 in Hamburg, Germany. For pictures and a detailed description of the fuel cell submarine go to: www.hdw.de/en/presse/index.hdw?c1=cpr01&m1=mpr800

Another maritime application for hydrogen technology comes from Millennium Cell's Hydrogen on Demand(TM) technology. According to a corporate press release, the manufacturer of the hydrogen production and storage system has teamed up with Seaworthy Systems and Duffy Electric Boat Company in a demonstration project for California’s Center for the Commercial Deployment of Transportation Technologies (CCDoTT). The project is designed to show the utility of hydrogen fuel for generating power for ships and facilities in ports, with the first boat expected to be in use in California's Newport Beach harbor in August of this year. The Millennium Cell system will be installed in a 22-passenger water taxi from Duffy, which is meant to serve the public 10 to 12 hours daily. Seaworthy will provide system integration and engineering for the technology. This project comes at a time when many ports in the United States are well in excess of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air and water quality standards, and are facing significant fines or even closure. Says Rex E. Luzader, VP Business Development at Millennium Cell: "We’re confident that we can demonstrate a reduction in air and water pollution so necessary to today’s port facilities." Millennium Cell is no longer the only one working on hydrogen production from sodium borohydride. A Portugese partnership consisting of SRE Solucoes Racionais de Energie S.A. and the National Institute of Engineering and Industrial Technology (INETI) plan to have their system built into a yacht. The prototype will participate in a contest in September 2003 in Portgual.

Portable fuel cell products are said to be the first to become commercially successful by many. UK-based Voller Energy recently introduced its VE1000, which is part of the company's Portapack(TM) range of portable fuel cell products and is said to provide 1kW of continuous power from both AC and DC sockets. According to Voller, the "golf trolley sized" mobile generator can run on either compressed hydrogen or internal canisters of metal hydride and is able to run multiple devices at once. It would be be ideal for a construction site when several power tools needed their batteries recharged at the same time, or to provide emergency lighting. Because the VE1000 required no special installation, could be operational immediately and ran almost silently, it would be an efficient means for film crews on location as well as military uses. For Scotland, siGEN Ltd. has been appointed as the distributor for the Voller products.

At the beginning of April, H.C. Starck GmbH from Goslar, Germany, the Dutch research institute Stichting Energieonderzoek Centrum Nederland (EDN) in Petten, and venture capitalist Planet Capital from Zeist, the Netherlands, announced the acquisition of fuel cell components manufacturer InDEC through H.C. Starck. InDEC was founded in 1999 by ECN to operate a pilot plan for the production of SOFC components. Through the acquisition H.C. Starck wants to capitalize on synergies in materials development and component manufacturing, with series production expected to require additional investements and to create jobs in the Bavarian town Selb. Comments Dr. Kees van der Klein, former Managing Director of InDEC and now a director at ECN: "InDEC has found the suitable strategic partner with the right know-how to set up mass production facilities and to commercialize the fuel cell technology." ECN is an independent, market-oriented foundation for R&D, consulting and knowledge-transfer. For the commercialization of promising developments ECN looks for partners like H.C. Starck who have the necessary sales & marketing infrastructure to successfully position new technologies in a global market.

Danfoss joins H2 technologies venture capital fund

Danfoss AS just released news about its investment in the London-based venture company Conduit Ventures Ltd. The Danish manufacturer thereby joins a group of renowned strategic investors. Shell Hydrogen BV, Mitsubishi Corporation and Johnson Matthey Plc already support Conduit, a venture capital fund which specialises in hydrogen technologies. According to Danfoss its ongoing environmental efforts are part of a long-standing tradition, hence the interest in Conduit. Danfoss CEO Jorgen M. Clausen commented: "We strongly believe that fuel cells and related hydrogen technologies will become the power systems of choice across multiple applications in the future. We believe the combination of expertise of Danfoss, Shell, Mitsubishi and Johnson Matthey, together with the depth of experience within the Conduit management team will result in the development of a first class investment portfolio of companies in this sector." Conduit Ventures is the first European based venture capital company focused on hydrogen and fuel cells. The Fund invests in unquoted growth companies in the post seed to pre-IPO stages that develop and market different H2/FC technologies. Conduit focuses its investments in Europe and North America and already invested in Cellex Power Products Inc., a fuel cell company based in Vancouver, Canada.

1.500 exhibitors and 100.000 visitors less than last year found the Hannover fair an attractive proposition. Among the multitude of featured areas the hydrogen and fuel cells pavilion had its share of suffering, with large areas empty and not much happening in the booths at several stages during the length of the event. Other than in previous years, federal politics never found their way to these exhibitors. It seems that the Hannover Messe management lost interest in H2/FC technologies, too. The announcement that the energy sector is to come back only every other year fits the picture. And it is not unheard of that changing from annual to biennal is just another long good-bye. After all, these large, multi-sector trade shows are losing ground everywhere, because exhibitors feel they get more return for less investment at focused stand-alone events. This makes H2Expo in Hamburg, to be held from October 9 to 11, 2003, even more appealing to international hydrogen and fuel cell exhibitors and visitors alike. The H2Expo organizer Hamburg Messe & Congress GmbH are firm in keeping the annual schedule for a sector, where progress is made in shorter and shorter periods, and have just secured the patronage of the German Federal Economics Ministry. Assistant Secretary of Economics Georg Wilhelm Adamowitsch will speak at the Opening Ceremony on October 9. The German Federal Environment Ministry, which endorsed the expo in previous years, has also been invited to renew its support. The growing bi-lingual seminar program, special events such as the youth conference, the "H2 for Kids" initiative, the ride-and-drive, several tours, and international partnerships such as with the National Hydrogen Assocation add to H2Expo's pull. Once again, more than 100 exhibiting companies and institutions are expected to meet with over 5.000 attendees in Hamburg. For more information visit: www.h2expo.com or contact Ines Freesen at tel. +49-211-687858-11 or Ivonne Kislaki at tel. +49-40-3569-2124.