Regional News

During the World Rowing Championship 2011 the Municipality of Bled had a demonstration of a fuel cell bus produced by Rampini. In addition, there were demonstrations with other hydrogen vehicles: a Hydrogenics bus and a Fiat Multipla car. The Municipality of Bled is an icon of Slovenia and this green Alpine region is a destination for more than 200.000 visitors yearly. Therefore, it is a perfect place for hydrogen promotion. The demonstration of the Rampini produced bus and the Fiat Multipla car during the World Rowing Championship were highlights in the hydrogen promotion. The project has been coordinated by the Development Centre for Hydrogen Technologies (DCHT) partner DOMEL, the mobile hydrogen station had been provided by the other partner TPC-SOL Group with financial support from CO NOT, PETROL and other DCHT partners. The hydrogen promotion of the Municipality of Bled continues. A cooperation agreement with PETROL has been signed recently, which will bring out the implementation of a permanent hydrogen station that is expected in 2013.  

Pay-as-you-drive electric car rentals are expected to help cut pollution and reduce traffic in Paris, as the new fleet of fully electric Autiolib’ vehicles hits the French capital. Since December 2011 Parisians can  take the bubble cars for a ride from more than 1,200 parking spots where they rest for recharge. A subscription cost €10 a day or €15 a week, while an annual subscription of €144 subscription allows users to take the car for only half an hour each time for €5, just over the price of two underground tickets. The Autolib’ system builds on the success of the Velib’ bicycle-sharing service as soaring insurance and parking costs have already persuaded 25% of French citizens to cut back or give up on using their cars, according to a study published last year by Chronos TNS Sofres. The little four-seater Bluecar,  will have a range of up to 250 km between before a recharge which will take about four hours. The car rental scheme follows the car-sharing project launched on 30 September 2011, which also aimed to clear the traffic-clogged Parisian boulevards and deliver what its backers hoped would be a major boost for electric vehicles. Under the €235 million [...]

Motorists will be able to test-drive and hire electric vehicles at a new dedicated facility which is set to open in the heart of Glasgow. The facility will open alongside a permanent renewable energy exhibition at power firm SSE’s Scottish Hydro Centre for Renewable Excellence. Cars, electric scooters and bikes will be available to rent from the centre, close to Glasgow Central train station. The facility will also allow motorists to charge their vehicles for free. SSE said it would be the UK’s first dedicated centre offering free electric vehicle charging, as well as hiring and parking. Kevin O’Neill, from SSE, said the centre would help address common “myths” about electric cars. He said: “What we are trying to do with these cars is prove to people that if you are living in the city centre or outwith and use one of these vehicles for 20 or 30 miles a day, they are really easy and actually fun to drive. “That is why we are inviting people down to try them out. We also have a hire facility so anyone coming off the train from London, say, can come along and get a hire car for the day and go [...]

A hydrogen station capable of delivering 750 kilograms of hydrogen per day opened on Friday the 17th of February in Hamburg’s HafenCity development, supplied by power company Vattenfall. It is Europe’s largest and will deliver fuel for twenty fuel cell buses operated by public transport authority Hamburger Hochbahn as well as making hydrogen available for fuel cell cars. The cost of around €10 million was shared by Vattenfall and the German Federal Ministry of Transport. Half the hydrogen is produced on site by electrolysis of water using renewable energy and the other half is delivered. At the inauguration of the station, Pieter Wasmuth, Executive Vice President of Vattenfall, said that hydrogen storage is a key technology in the integration of a growing proportion of electricity from wind power and photovoltaics into the German energy system. The inauguration was attended by Frank Horch, Senator of Commerce of the city of Hamburg, and Rainer Bomba, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development. The station is part of the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), in which Vattenfall is involved with other partners in creating hydrogen infrastructure in Germany. It is also part of the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen [...]

Munich. In 2011, worldwide, 12 new hydrogen fueling stations have been opened. This brought the total number of in-service gas stations on 215. This is the result of the fourth annual evaluation of H2stations.org, a website of the Ludwig-Bolkow-Systemtechnik (LBST), and by TÜV SÜD. An additional 122 stations are worldwide in planning. Three new stations were put into operation in Germany last year, two of them in the Southwest. In addition to the focal points of Hamburg, Berlin and the Ruhr area the nationwide network of hydrogen refueling stations is taking more and more shape. Especially, the gas stations on the direct line from Berlin to Munich are missing. The corridor to the south is expected to be pushed further on for this year with the opening of a gas station in Bozen. The openings of the year 2011 in Switzerland and Mailand complement the corridor to the southwest. In Germany, in 2011 a total of 29 operational hydrogen fueling stations were recorded, 12 stations are planned in detail. For a further 20 stations to be built by 2014, the site has not yet been determined. Overall in Europe nine stations opened last year. In Finland the first hydrogen filling [...]

The WaterstofNet Hydrogen Fueling Station was officially opened on Thursday February 9th at Colruyt’s headquarters and central warehouse in Brussels. The inauguration was led by Mr. Colruyt and was attended by Mr. Kris Peeters, Flemish Minister-President as well as Adwin Martens Executive Director of WaterstofNet and member of HyER, Flanders Region. This station features Hydrogenics’ fifth generation HYSTAT 30 water electrolyzer, a compressor, a high pressure cascade storage and a 350 bar dispenser to supply up to 65kg of clean hydrogen fuel per day. The station will be used for refueling forklifts, buses and other vehicles.  

Today saw the launch of UKH2Mobility at the Royal Society in London. The project brings together thirteen industry participants with three UK Government departments and the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU). All participants have signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to share knowledge and expertise towards the shared goals. See document: UKH2Mobility Source: FuelCellToday

Air Liquide has been continuously running two Hydrogenics Hystat 60 Generators since 2006 at their plant in Calarasi, Romania which has produced 5.0 million cubic meters of Hydrogen between the two units without any performance or service issues. According to plant manager Claudiu Belciu “During this period the units have run without any major problems.” They were more than pleased with the performance and reliability that they are willing to present these units to other prospective customers who are interested in this technology. Hydrogenics has over 1,800 installations worldwide across a wide range of industrial applications, fueling stations, renewable energy storage and conversion systems. Over the past ten years the Hystat has become a go to choice for major gas suppliers such as Air Liquide. Hydrogenics has added over 200 of them to our install base. It’s safety, quality and dependability make it the best choice for customers’ on-site hydrogen generating needs.    

Hydrogenics Corporation has announced a contract with Ballast Nedam IPM, awarded at the end of 2011, to supply a HySTAT®30 electrolyser for a Netherlands-based hydrogen fuelling station. The station owner will be WaterstofNet, a non-profit organisation financed by the Flemish and Dutch governments. The electrolyser, which is capable of producing up to 65 kilograms per day of pure hydrogen, is anticipated to be delivered in mid-2012 and be operational by the end of the year. Hydrogenics’ HySTAT electrolyser products have been used in over 35 hydrogen fuelling installations worldwide. This is the fourth hydrogen fuelling station contract awarded to Hydrogenics in 2011. Hydrogenics has also acknowledged the valuable role WaterstofNet plays in the Dutch/Flemish region, where it has for a number of years provided strong leadership in promoting hydrogen technology development and deploying hydrogen solutions. Ballast Nedam IPM specialises in the design and construction of filling stations and plays a leading role in developing refuelling stations for alternative fuels. Source: FuelCellToday

H2 Logic A/S has recently supplied a hydrogen refuelling station 150 meters north of the polar circle, at the Arctic Driving Centre in Finland. The station is based on H2Station® technology and provides three minutes fast fill of hydrogen at 700 bar for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) being tested by car manufacturers under extreme cold climate conditions. The station is rented by the leading Finish gas company Oy Woikoski Ab which also handles the supply of hydrogen. The decision by the driving centre to install facilities for testing of FCEVs was in response to demand from automotive OEMs. Despite an average temperature of −15°C and sometimes as low as −45°C, FCEVs should be able to refuel for long ranges in a few minutes, just as if they were using gasoline. Fast-fill of hydrogen to any FCEV at any refuelling station worldwide, irrespective of local climate, is possible thanks to various industrial and globally agreed hydrogen refuelling standards such as the SAE J2601 fuelling protocol and because of a globally agreed nozzle design. The H2Station® from H2 Logic provides full compliance with all applicable international standards, including refuelling in accordance with the specifications in SAE J2601, thus offering three minutes fast fill. During 2011 H2 [...]