Press Release Seminar Hydrogen, March 15th 2011

The European parliament’s

ALDE group held a seminar with
experts on hydrogen as a key
future energy and mobility
resource on March 15th 2011.
Please see below for details of
the discussion.

Gesine Meissner (ALDE, DE)

speaking from a transport
perspective, introduced the
seminar as an opportunity to
learn from the experts about
hydrogen as a viable option.

Vladko Todorov Panayotov

(ALDE, BU) linked the energy
aspect of the seminar with the
raw materials debate. He stated
that storage capability is a big
advantage of hydrogen, as well
as the energy capability being
three times as much as oil.
However there are still
technological and cost issues in
terms of hydrogen fuel cells
and the resulting technologies.
There are also, of course,
safety questions, he said.

Part 1: The EU legal framework: Acquis and evolution

EU energy infrastructure priorities: the challenge of energy storage

Prof. J.M Bemtgen, DG ENER, European commission, explained that since

1987 in the European commission, he has seen two rises in interest in hydrogen
as a key energy source, and now is the third. He stressed how important this
issue is, and that much research into it is still needed. On energy storage, he
explained how Europe was behind Asia. We need new capacity building, new
scientists, engineers and so need to coordinate efforts across universities and
research facilities across Europe, he said. Not one facility can do it by themselves,
but together it is possible. Energy storage will stay high on DG ENER’s agenda
and they will try to maintain a high budget for it.

The key issue today is production, he said. If we want high quantities we have to
make sure it is produced and used with green energy. Wind is the key source
being considered, but the consistent production of energy from wind has not yet
been achieved. If we want to have a de-carbonised Europe by 2050, we cannot
continue as we are.

Cars 21 and the new strategy for clean and energy efficient vehicles
Thomas Spoormans, DG ENTR, European commission, made a detailed
presentation with lists of past, current and future commission actions. Please see
the presentation slides for details, but below for the key issues presented:

 Cars 21 – since its re-launch in 2010 it focuses on competitiveness

and sustainability, and assists the commission in implementing key
initiatives such as resource efficiency, industrial policy, clean and
energy efficient vehicles. He explained the composition and the
functioning of the group in some detail (please see presentation
slides). The final report is scheduled to be adopted in Spring 2012.
 European Strategy on clean and energy-efficient vehicles – adopted
in 2010 and was designed to support industry in meeting its
medium to long-term challenges, and to facilitate the proliferation
of breakthrough technologies. The commission recognised that the
type approval system has to be suitable for each of the various
technologies, and this was so for hydrogen but not for other electric
vehicles. He then listed the actions undertaken in 2010, as well as
upcoming actions for 2011, including in terms of market uptake
and consumer information. In terms of global actions, he explained
that these are all already underway, such as standardisation, policy
dialogues, and the raw materials initiative (RMI).
 Specific actions on electric vehicles – he listed last year’s and this
year’s actions in detail.

Preparing for commercialization: EU Joint Undertaking for fuel cells and hydrogen

Bert de Colvenaer, director of FHC JU Program Office, again made a

comprehensive presentation which you can view for details. He explained the
joint undertakings place in the policy framework. He went on to identify the key
policy challenges as being; sustainable development, security of supply and
knowledge and know-how on these specific technologies (allowing for a
competitive advantage). The SET-Plan is the technology pillar of EU climate
policy, he said. He presented a SET-Plan technology map showing supply and
demand for specific technologies and sectors. Fuel-cells and hydrogen are firmly
considered a key technology in the SET-Plan. He explained the strong public
private partnership (PPP) element of their work, as well as the strengthening of
the research and production side of these technologies, to try to ensure swift
arrival on the market of some of these technologies. He went into some detail
over the large budget that the undertaking has, but explained that industry must
put in 50% of the project funds, and so it is a cost sharing effort. A third of total
funds are focused on transport, half of the activity of the undertaking is focused
on research, and a large proportion on demonstration projects.

Colvenaer went on to list the types of projects supported by the undertaking.

These included car and bus projects. In terms of upcoming activities, he said that
commercial deployment was the key aim. Of course, international cooperation is
the only way, with Japan, Korea, China and so on. He stressed the importance of
safety standards, and how these need to be harmonised internationally. He
mentioned a key study of theirs on this, which will be available on their website.

Duration of batteries, and the greenness of the energy production are still key
challenges for hydrogen industry development. He explained that the internal
combustion engine still had somewhere to go in terms of emissions reductions, if
driving range is to be kept at a desirable level. He said that this should be
achieved over the next few decades.
Part 2: National and private initiatives leading the way to Green
innovation and performance in the European transport sector

H2 Mobility: the German roll out plan

Klaus Bonhoff, director of NOW, made a presentation, beginning with an

explanation of his organization which is a PPP with shared funding like the FHC
JU, and a substantial budget. The organisation identified hydrogen as a key future
energy technology early on. Part of the attraction is that it can be produced from
various sources, and has vast potential in terms of reduced Co2 emissions. The
study he presented was from private industry data and so is reliable as an
indicator for policy and business, he stated. Batteries and fuel -cells will need to
be firmly on the market for the hydrogen industry to develop. Best total cost of
ownership (TCO) and Co2 advantages are for larger cars, he explained. TCO
disadvantages are mostly due to lack of economies of scale and will converge with
the industrialisation of fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV). Fuel cell system costs are
expected to decrease by 90% by 2020.

He went on to say that overcoming the risk of early investment is a key issue that
needs to be worked out between industry and politicians. They are currently in
the market preparation phase in Germany. The NIP (national innovation
programme) dedicates 50% of its resources to the transport sector (R&D and
demonstration), one third of the programme for hydrogen fuel-cells in terms of
combined heat and power systems, and 10% is dedicated to special markets such
as fuel cells for back-up power, telecommunications and other areas.

Another side of their operation is increasing the number of hydrogen fuel stations,
and working to increase the level of clean energy available. Hydrogen from wind
and biomass are the main focus, although other renewables are also being
worked on. Hydrogen, although not the absolute most efficient energy storer,
although very good, but is the only one that can store large quantities of energy
over long periods of time, and so the most suitable for wind energy. This year,
they want to finish the techno-economic evaluation of the possibility of investing
in hydrogen re-fueling stations all over Germany. Various companies are involved
in this exercise. The evaluation also includes a ‘customer value proposition’ i.e.
how much hydrogen and infrastructure is actually needed to support the potential
demand. Lastly he spoke of regulations and standards that need to be considered
in the development of this energy source and its infrastructure.

Towards an EU Regional partnership for electromobility and hydrogen

Andreas Ziolec from HyRaMP (European Regions and Municipalities Partnership

for hydrogen and fuels), also used presentation detailed slides. He is working with
the local government in Germany, and explained that the role of HyRaMP, made
up experts from regional governments and authorities, is to work on
harmonization across these regions, to communicate the work being done to the
European arena, and to help harmonise regional, national and EU activities and
developments. Recent activities include hydrogen and fuel-cell projects, co-
financing of projects, passenger cars and busses. From a regional perspective
they are looking for a long-term strategy. Infrastructure planning is a key area
which needs to be looked at, business is looking at this from a commercial
perspective only and so a regional perspective is necessary too. He showed a
detailed map of hydrogen production across Europe which showed a high
concentration in central Europe, but much less on the outer regions. He then
showed the room a graph showing production and infrastructure developments in
Italy, Spain and France. He listed infrastructure activities at EU level, and those
that HyRaMP has been involved in. When it comes to market deductions, regions
have to play a role, he stressed. Additionally, they have a key role to play in
terms of the transport and public transport side of carbon reduction.

Hydrogen as energy storage solution: industrial perspective

Ian Williamson is director of hydrogen and bioenergy at Air Products and

chairman of the board of the European Hydrogen Association (EHA), the
group for national associations and companies across many countries and
regions. He began by stating that the objective is to bring hydrogen to the public
space, and this has been a goal for the past ten years. Hydrogen is becoming far
more appealing to politicians and organisations of late. He reiterated the
previously made point about hydrogen’s role for the wind energy industry. On a
small scale, this technology is already proven. In Spain they are working on
getting photovoltaic (PV) energy to hydrogen. He introduced the ‘hydrogen
energy station vision’ for industry, which would be for vehicles but could be
extended to energy storage. He also mentioned a production technology which is
almost in operation. Municipal waste plasma gasification is another new
technology, and a plant will be created soon. This will be a grid investment
technology, he said. It will assist electricity flows during high demand times,
helping us to have a more stable supply mechanism.

Fuel-cell companies are creating their offerings for the sector, giving opportunities
for early projects. These include the gas turbines of the future, and these will
potentially deliver 50% more than current gas turbines. Much technology has
already been demonstrated in the transport and smaller scale industries.

The role of energy companies

Thomas Theisen, EURELECTRIC chairman, Task Force Electric Vehicles, and

Head of new technologies at RWE, began by saying that the more renewable
energy in our system, the more the need for storage capacity. Hydrogen is one of
the best options available. The question is how to do this. In terms of
electromobility, we are talking about a whole new way of travel. He said. Working
groups are trying to establish the infrastructure needs as a result of this greening
move. EV (electric vehicle) standardisation is at the fore, he said. The e-mobility
market structure needs to be developed, and so they wrote a market model
paper exploring these future needs. The smart charging statement will be
published in the next few days, and he listed what the coordination and
management of loads would be:

 Facilitate integration of RES into the electricity system;

 Enable grid management which introduces flexibility into the
system;
 Optimise energy efficient charging process;
 Ensure a cost‐effective solution by avoiding unnecessary grid
investments;
 Entail consumer convenience using available infrastructure

The association also launched the Green eMotion programme, which is a

conceptual understanding of the e-mobility system of the future from a customer,
energy supplier and product manufacturing perspective. He introduced the project
consortium, listing the various energy suppliers, car manufacturers and other
stakeholder involved.

The new member states perspectives in hydrogen technologies – the case of

Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Hydrogen Society
Alexander Popov, chairman of the board of the BG H2 Society introduced the
society, explaining how they advice the Bulgarian government on hydrogen
issues.

Prof. Tzvety Bogdanov Tzvetkov, chief executive officer, DSc, head of the
Hydrogen Technology Centre and Central Laboratory ‘NATO – defence
technologies’ made a presentation including a detailed explanation of the
Bulgarian Hydrogen Society and its partners which include the Defence Ministry of
the Bulgarian government. Education and research, through the technology
centre and national research programmes, are the main activities of the society.

Bogdan Tzvetkov, scientific secretary, PhD, Eng UCTM, Sofia, introduced a

project under FP7 called IDEAL-Cell, exploring duel-cells with porous ceramic
membrane. A second project, including the involvement of many international
partners, is the Hydrohouse project. An oxy-hydrogen combustion element in the
heating system is the new element in this project, as well as aiding the better use
of waste heat. He then listed national hydrogen technologies being developed,
which included bio-technologies using biomass. In terms of charging points, the
society is working on the possibility of putting stations in the main car parks of
Sofia, Bulgaria. Pulse electrolysis water splitting is another process being
explored, and some preliminary results show that this could break the 100%
efficiency mark.

State supported research and public-private partnership: Creating the knowledge

based hydrogen society

Marinela Panayotova, Phd, University of Mining and Geology, St John of

Rila, Sofia, began by saying that she was originally going to introduce their pulse
electrolysis water project, but decided instead to focus on the many barriers to
the development of the hydrogen technology: funding, coordination among policy
makers and citizen awareness raising. Please see her detailed presentation slides.
 Funding – she listed the funding streams available and some of the
issues associated with them. There need to be better funding
opportunities for small research facilities, towns etcetera. In a
ManagEnergy meeting last week, it was agreed that municipalities
need streaming funds. In terms of the funding streams coming
from the various European commission DGs, she spoke of a puzzle
that needed to be organized into a picture.
 Awareness raising – we need to further educate citizens. We need
to convince developers, producers and consumers of the
advantages of the potential new technologies. There is a large
percentage of the population which is actually against the
introduction of hydrogen in the energy and technologies market.
She stated that China really educates its population and students
about this technology, which may explain their advancements
compared to the EU.

A physicist in the audience thought that two green energies were missed in the
SET-Plan – nuclear fusion and photovoltaic (PV) energy. Nuclear fusion is a very
green energy, she said. She asked what the hydrogen potential was for aviation
and trains. In terms of hybrid cars, she stated that a larger combination of
energy sources were needed for these.

Ian Williamson replied stating there is a role to play for nuclear fusion, but
these are up in the air after recent events in Japan. H went on to day that PV to
hydrogen is being explored by his association. An airplane has flown on hydrogen,
and in California they are working on trains run on hydrogen. All these
technologies exist, and are being developed.

Vladko Panayotov concluded the seminar saying that Europe is changing, and
the carbon era is coming to an end. The question is whether hydrogen is really
sustainable and green enough. Secondly, how do we make the hydrogen future a
reality, he asked. The EU has to be a leader, and so we must collaborate and
become more competitive.