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How important are those fuel cells, Ms. Merkel?
The Hydrogen World of Arno A. Evers FAIR-PR

Hannover Fair
(SG) This year’s HANNOVER FAIR, which takes place April 24-28, offers a wealth of prime “sight-seeing” when it come to hydrogen – the majority of which can be found at the Group Exhibit Hydrogen + Fuel Cells, organized by Arno A. Evers and the FAIR-PR Team. There you’ll find the winners of the international Hydrogen Ambassadors Competition, the “unofficial” 10-year anniversary of the DWV, recognized names like Honda and Siemens, as well as an exotic first-time exhibitor from Samoa. And kicking off the great event is Chancellor Angela Merkel herself.

They have set the bar high: 117 exhibitors and forum participants from 21 countries in 2005, exhibiting on 3000sqm of floor space (1286sqm booked space). With such statistics, the Group Exhibit secured its ranking as the greatest commercial presentation of hydrogen and fuel cell technique worldwide. But would Arno A. Evers be able to do it again? Yes! Currently they have 125 registered exhibitors and forum participants— representing 32 countries, on 1312sqm of booked floor space—all of whom are eager to showcase their newest developments on this international platform.

Competition of the Ambassadors
As the founder, owner and operator of the Group Exhibit since 1995, Evers has the mind and motivation of an entrepreneur. For this reason he is especially proud of his 2006 Hydrogen Ambassadors initiative: “I am fully convinced that great, new ideas are sleeping minds around the world.” Out of this confidence, he brought the Hydrogen Ambassadors project to life. The goal of this action is to bring currently unknown discoveries of innovative H2/FC applications into the spotlight of the HANNOVER FAIR.
A total of 12 teams from 6 countries, ranging in age from 16 to 62, have qualified as Hydrogen Ambassadors and will present their concepts at their own booth at the Group Exhibit. Both on location and online, two winning teams will be distinguished. With their imaginative and forward-thinking developments, the 12 research groups convinced the jury of Arno A. Evers FAIR-PR. Tobias Renz, General Manager of Arno A. Evers FAIR-PR, describes the ideas from Argentina, Germany, India, Italy, Canada and the USA as exceptionally multifaceted. These future-oriented concepts are indeed highly varied, ranging from the optimal manufacturing of clean hydrogen to the application of fuel cells in model cars and diving gear.

Samoa seeks Alternatives
The evidence of the far-reaching importance of both this Industry Fair in middle-Germany and the theme of H2/FC is the participation of the small island nation of Samoa, located in the South Pacific. Electric Power Corporation will be sending a delegation from their 4-island country to seek out alternative energy production. “We have devoted ourselves to the application of renewable energies, whether from biological resources, from wind and hydraulic power, from hydrogen and fuel cells—every reasonable concept is interesting for us,” states Muaasua Joseph S. Walter, EPC General Manager.
EPC is the only energy supply company in Samoa and is responsible for the entire generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. Due to its remote location, electricity is relatively expensive in Samoa, thus making energy conservation an understood. For this reason Walter is coming to Hannover with an openness for all ideas of how to take abundantly available yet untapped biomass energy and convert it into usable electric energy.

Largest Industry Fair in the World
Besides such exotic exhibitors, many recognized companies both from Germany and abroad will be taking part at the Group Exhibit. One highlight is the first-time participation of Honda Motor Europe Ltd., who may be presenting their FCX automobile concept. Other booths worth seeing, in addition to the many first-timers, are those of Airbus, Germanischer Lloyd, Hamburg Hochbahn, Hydrogenics, MTU CFC Solutions, Siemens Power Generation, Vattenfall and Voller Energy. All exhibitors have the chance to publicly present themselves and their products at the center-stage Forum. The highly valued Forum opens doors for discussions between company representatives and commercial trade show visitors. The comprehensive program of over 100 interviews can be found at www.hydrogenambassadors.com, where one also finds the history of the 300+ exhibitors since Arno A. Evers’ launch in 1995.

Evers, an experienced electrical engineer and former spokesperson of MBB GmbH (now Airbus Deutschland), is incredible confident of his ever-climbing statistics over the last 11 years and again in 2006, despite even the last-minute cancellation of the International Conference planned for April 25, 2006. Other hydrogen and fuel cell events in Europe have a gloomy future, says Mr. Evers. In his interview with the Fuel Cell Newsletter, the former press officer said: “I dare to speculate something that many of your readers won’t agree with – in Europe the Hannover Fair will hold its ground, then I predict two other conferences, one in the USA and one in Asia, will stay on top. But that’s it. In Hannover you find the biggest Industry Fair in the world with an incomparable flow of professional commercial visitors from all continents. Where else can you find such a high concentration of the energy branch?”

And what about Ms. Merkel?
Angela Merkel’s predecessor Gerhard Schroeder visited the Group Exhibit Hydrogen + Fuel Cells three times. Whether the new Chancellor will find her way to Hall 13 is still unknown. She will most certainly be there on April 23 for the Opening Ceremonies of the 5-day fair, but the question remains if the Physicist Merkel can be tempted down the path to Hall 13.