Interview

Energy carrier for the Future: mobile and independent

With Arno A. Evers, Arno A. Evers FAIR-PR
organizer of the Group Exhibit Hydrogen + Fuel Cells

On your website www.hydrogenambassadors.com, you inform the visitor about organizing the world’s biggest Hydrogen and Fuel Cells exhibition at HANNOVER FAIR. What is your secret in achieving this?
Arno A. Evers: At the HANNOVER FAIR’95 we started off with ten exhibitors occupying a space of 300 m². This year, it multiplied by a factor of ten; the Group Exhibit makes use of an area of 3000 m². Among our 99 exhibitors and forum participants, there are almost all producers of Fuel Cell Systems, automobile manufacturers and their suppliers, chemical companies like DuPont, 3M and W. L. Gore, as well as, manufacturers of teaching and testing devices. There is no similar exhibition in Europe, and not even in the US, which presents such an international mixture of exhibitors. In addition to the 10 countries which have traditionally exhibited in the past, Armenia, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Israel, South Korea, Sweden and Russia will join in for the first time.

Worldwide, there are already several hydrogen cars in operation. When do you foresee the breakthrough of those cars leading to mass production?
Arno A. Evers: You probably have to wait for another couple of years. However, if you take the Otto Motor for example, it took a few decades until it became as efficient as it is today. At this point in time, there is no car manufacturer in the world that does not work on hydrogen vehicles and fuel cell technology.

Your Group Exhibit teams up huge competitors such as DaimlerChrysler next to General Motors Corporation and Adam Opel AG. How did you succeed in doing this?
Arno A. Evers: The answer is that there are synergetic effects to be experienced as part of our community. Everyone benefits from one another. Companies representing all stages of the entire H2/FC value chain form the basis for our Group Exhibit: from R&D to manufacturing to sales. Especially, on a daily basis after the official end of the Fair, we invite all exhibitors to attend our “Networking Evenings”. In such an informal atmosphere, experiences are exchanged, in an environment you cannot yet find on the Internet. The founders of small enterprises meet the chairman of the board of a multinational; the professor gets together with an engineer; the supplier talks to the developer, in English, German, in French or whatever language. It is here where you find the nucleus for new ideas and future partnerships.

Which applications are presented by your exhibitors, convincing even average consumer of the clean, quiet and environmentally friendly technology?
Arno A. Evers: One of our exhibitors, IdaTech, USA, for example, creates running fuel cell systems supplying energy for various applications. The Fraunhofer Initiative Micro Fuel Cell takes pictures with their camera powered by a small fuel cell. We will publish these impressions on the Internet. In the future, you no longer need a battery for your notebook, because Fuel Cells will function as the energy source. Just imagine what this means for countries where there is no power station available at every corner of the street – the opportunities are countless, the market is huge and promising.

What about costs? Goods and services become cheaper when produced in large quantities. When do products, displayed in Hanover, become affordable?
Arno A. Evers: You should have asked Thomas A. Edison the same questions, when he invented the first light bulb for the steamer “Columbia” in 1897. Its development took several years. Today, everybody can buy a light bulb in every shop for only a few cents.

Instead of transportation covering long distances, energy and heat is supposed to be produced at home with the help of Fuel Cells. Every homeowner as his own producer of electricity? How vulnerable are such energy systems?
Arno A. Evers: Today, the transport of electrical energy over a distance of hundreds of kilometres and miles constitutes the norm. However, by no means is this economical. From a physical point of view, it is much more effective to produce electricity and heat at locations close to the consumer. In the age of Internet and global networks, it should not be a difficulty in controlling power electronics as part of a decentralized energy management system. In the end you save money: less material, less environmental pollution, less noise, less global warming, less CO2. Our exhibitor, MTU, Germany, already presents such a system, which can be used for stationary energy supply in hospitals for example. All experiences that are made here will increase future profitability of the products.

What does the future look like for Hydrogen applications?
Arno A. Evers: In my opinion, the breakthrough of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells will not be achieved by replacing existing products but by introducing entirely new applications. I am thinking more about areas such as education, social care or entertainment. There are probably opportunities and chances that are unknown or unimaginable today, which in the future will be powered by Fuel Cells but only coincidentally.

All in all there are approximately 800 exhibitors at the Energy Trade show as part of the HANNOVER FAIR’03. How do you capture the visitor’s attention?
Arno A. Evers: Our exhibitors have competent experts as part of their booth staff. In addition, they display exhibits, which were, in some cases, specifically designed to be presented to the public for the very first time at the HANNOVER FAIR. Examples are stationary systems that as part of special demonstrations run for real at the Group Exhibit, producing energy and heat with the help of Hydrogen. Furthermore, our Forum also constitutes a consistent magnet for visitors. Possibly due to the reason, that there are no usual Powerpoint presentations. Instead, our young and motivated presenters are interviewing experts belonging to the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Community. During there Forum sessions even the non-technical fair attendee can contribute to the discussion by asking questions.

Why do you care so much about Internet documentation?
Arno A. Evers: We have thousands of surfers coming from more than 80 countries. Since HANNOVER FAIR ’00, we document all activities of our exhibitors at their booths and in the Forum. Photos and accompanying texts are immediately published on our website. Last year, we successfully updated our website every ten minutes “real time”. Since HANNOVER FAIR ’02, interested visitors have informed themselves continually with unique Internet documentation about the ongoing activities of our Group Exhibitors.

For sure you did not leave things at the current state. What news is there this year with regard to the Internet?
Arno A. Evers: This year we present the first “ real” Virtual Fair. With the help of the mouse, the Surfer can explore virtual booths that are only available on the net and not in Hanover, according to the Slogan: From Fair Kick to fair click.
Be sure to stop by for a visit www.virtual-fair.com.

The interview was conducted by Gerda v. Radetzky, Journalist in Munich for the HANNOVER FAIR’02
http://www.vonradetzky.de/presse-kontor.html

updated by Jenny Elshorst, 01.04.2003

Press Contact:
Tobias Renz, + 49 177 521 8535 or + 49 8151 998 923, tobias@fair-pr.com during the fair April 5-12: 0511 89 44129

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