Scandinavian Regions News

About 10.000 people got a chance to see the latest FCEVs brought to Oslo by the EU-project “H2moves Scandinavia”. After a new hydrogen station had been opened on Monday 21st in Oslo, the public was invited to test low-carbon cars to make sure that they offer the same comfort and luxury as more conventional vehicles. – 4 Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL, – 2 Hyundai ix35 FCEV and – 4 Th!nk City Cars with fuel cell range extender The vehicles were offered for a free test-drive to everyone showing their driver’s license on November 26 2011. Many commented that driving a fuel cell vehicle was “like driving through a cloud”. Most of the people said they didn’t expect a FCEV to deliver the same level of comfort as “regular” cars do. FCEVs allow zero emission driving at a longer distance and shorter refueling times. It took most of the test drivers less than 4 minutes to refill their tanks at the Gaustad hydrogen station. Afterwards the cars were ready to go for another 400-500 km only leaving behind a trail of water. If you are interested in owning or leasing one of these cars, please contact H2Moves Scandinavia at info@h2moves.eu. Source: H2Moves [...]

During the conference held on May 5th -6th, Baltic politicians and leading members of the hydrogen industry joined to look for opportunities where private and public forces could join in Green Growth projects in the Baltic Sea Region. Held in Riga, Latvia the event aimed to attract representatives from private and public sector with a view to: – Catalyze synergies between regional, national and transnational green growth initiatives in the Baltic Sea Region; – Identify opportunities and propose instruments for accelerating green growth in the Baltic Sea Region; – Increase private sector participation in cooperation efforts under the Action Plan for the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region; – Provide recommendations on the implications for the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, and – Strategy’s contribution to realizing the objectives of the EU 2020 Strategy. A presentation by Sven Wolf, HyER Board Member (Hydrogen Sweden) was included in the program which examined the Baltic Sea Region as a demonstration region for hydrogen cars. Source: Green Growth BSR

In 2006 the Scandinavian countries joined forces in the Scandinavian Hydrogen Highway Partnership (SHHP) with the ambition of becoming one among the first regions in Europe where hydrogen is available and used in a network of refueling stations. The SHHP collaboration consists of regional clusters involving major and small industries, research institutions and local/regional authorities.  The SHHP coordinators are national networking bodies in Norway (HyNor), Sweden (Hydrogen Sweden) and Denmark (Hydrogen Link). SHHP also collaborates with partners in Iceland, Finland and Canada (BC Highway).  Status in January 2010 is 26 hydrogen vehicles and 7 stations in operation with 3 stations under construction and plans for additional 7 stations. Projects are ongoing to increase the number of vehicles, thus supporting the many stations in operation. Municipalities and regions are in the process of being aligned towards joint procurement of vehicles from 2011 and beyond.   The stations so far have focused on testing of various hydrogen production and supply concepts as well as supporting a local hydrogen vehicle fleet. With this approach several concepts for hydrogen supply have gone, or are going through, evaluation paving way for further efforts on commercialising the technologies suitable for the future.  Next phase of the SHHP [...]

The United Nations Climate Change Conference will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, between December 7 and December 18, 2009. The conference includes the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 5th Meeting of the Parties (COP/MOP 5) to the Kyoto Protocol as well as meetings of other working groups and subsidiary bodies. COP 15 is the supreme body of the Convention. It currently meets once a year to review the Convention’s progress. The sessions (COP 15) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are open to Parties of the Convention and Observer States (Governments), the United Nations System and observer organizations (IGOs and NGOs) duly admitted by the Conference of the Parties. UNFCCC’s Overview Schedule of COP15 could be found here and the link to the Side Events at COP15 could be found here. The European Union is working for an ambitious, comprehensive and legally binding global climate agreement that will prevent global warming reaching dangerous levels, that is, more than 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures, as researchers have projected for this century. The EU has independently committed itself to reducing its emissions by at least 20 per cent [...]

A report by the Stockholm Environment Institute, entitled ‘A European Eco-efficient Economy’, will provide a basis for discussions during an informal meeting of energy and environment ministers in Åre on 23-25 July. Thus, Sweden, which took over the EU’s rotating Presidency on July 1st, has pledged to put energy efficiency high on its agenda. One of its priorities is to lead a shift to an eco-efficient economy where economic growth and climate-friendly policies go hand-in-hand. The report argues that Europe’s leadership is “primarily evident” in its climate change commitments, but in order to continue attracting investment and businesses, greater efforts must be made to promote innovation and energy efficiency. Crucially, the report urges the EU to step up programmed interventions, alongside more generic policies, to induce development and diffusion of eco-efficient technologies such as hydrogen. Due to the lack of support system, EU has so far lagged behind main competitors such as the US and Japan. The importance of a strong domestic market to nurture the growth of new industries is well known but the potential of Europe becoming a lead market for new technologies is partly unfulfilled today. The report suggests that one example to learn from is the [...]