Arno's EnergyIdeas (8)

"Actually, I prefer hydrogen!…"

When reviewing the proceedings of the 4th German Hydrogen Congress 2008, dated 20 - 21 February, you could learn a lot. Many citations, both in the presentations and in the talks on fringes of the conference started with: "Actually ..."

Dr.−Ing. Peter Beckhaus, Head of Division Fuel Cells & Systems, Zentrum für BrennstoffzellenTechnik (ZBT gGmbH), Duisburg, Germany, at his presentation. (Photo: Arno A. Evers FAIR−PR)

Here are some examples: "...Actually, I prefer hydrogen, but, as long as it is unavailable, we continue to work on the reforming of natural gas..." or: "... Actually, there should be thousands of hydrogen driven cars on the road by now, however, as long as the customer shows no demand..." or: "...Actually, our H2 vehicles in customers' hands have already covered an average of 27,000 km (15.000 miles) each, but per vehicle this only accumulates to less than 800 hours driving time per car..." or: "... Actually, we want a climate-friendly-energy supply, on the other hand, hydrogen is not mentioned in the 4th Progress Report of the IPCC..." one last example: "... Actually, yes, we want to generate hydrogen based on renewable energies, but the electrolyser does not really comply with the fluctuating electricity from the wind generators..."

So the question: “Where will the "progress" for hydrogen and Fuel cells come from?” remains still open. Topics like: "Biological hydrogen production from microalgae" or :"Hydrogen production by anaerobic fermentation" or: "New transportation, distribution and storage options for energy based on hydrogen" may give an answer. These issues were, as incidentally, rather hidden and “on the edge” within the conference programme. I had the same feelings at most of the many other H2/FC conferences, which my team and I attended and documented worldwide since 2003, the one in Essen was number 78.

One major focus of the 4th German Hydrogen Congress 2007 was, with four sessions, dedicated to: "Monitoring", i.e. the identification of the activities of others (IAO). The subjects ranged from: "Overview on IPHE Labelled Projects" with impressive grids or contributions to the "H2 Roadmapping International”. That's all very good to know, but probably more expected and updated on the Internet.

I was surprised by the lack of interest on the part of the excursions, which the congress offered. Only 11 (eleven)out of the official 350 congress participants (according to the final press release by the organisers), took the opportunity to visit the Center for Fuel Cell Technology gGmbH (ZBT gGmbH) in Duisburg and the company Coatema Coating Machinery GmbH in Dormagen.

Two specialized tours with excellend guides, well worth to participate. Actually, for me (as one of two German participants at the excursion) the impressions won here, provided more value than the entire conference.

I am happy to start a dialogue on these and other "EnergyIdeas".

You can reach me at: arno@hydrogenambassadors.com

Date: 04.03.2008

Links:
https://www.hydrogenambassadors.com/meet-aae/h2congress/technical-tour-zbt.php
https://www.hydrogenambassadors.com/meet-aae/h2congress/technical-tour-coatema.php

Photo: Arno A. Evers FAIR-PR