NEWS

January 2013 Fuel Cells Bulletin7

expand the existing network from 15 to at least 50 publicly accessible hydrogen fuelling stations in Germany by 2015 [FCB, June 2012, p1].

Total Deutschland: www.total.de (in German)

Enertrag: www.enertrag.com or www.enertrag.de (in German)

Linde, Hydrogen as Energy Source: http://tinyurl.com/afmyyfj

McPhy Energy: www.mcphy.com

2G Energietechnik: www.2-g.de

Berlin Brandenburg Airport: www.berlin-airport.de/EN

Clean Energy Partnership: www.cleanenergypartnership.de/en

National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology: http://tinyurl.com/aat3z49

Grant for first public hydrogen station in Texas at Houston port

A consortium including hybrid fuel cell truck manufacturer Vision

Industries, trucking company Total Transportation Services Inc (TTSI), non-profit organisation Environmental Defense Fund, and Air Products has been awarded $500 000 to partially fund the building of the first public hydrogen fuelling station in Texas.

The alliance of diverse project partners was awarded funding for the new facility for hydrogen fuelling infrastructure through the Alternative Fueling Facilities Program (AFFP) of the Texas Emission Reduction Program (TERP). The station, which is proposed to be fed from an existing hydrogen pipeline, will fuel port trucks and also be publicly available for private vehicles [FCB, November 2012, p2].

The facility will support new Tyrano™ hydrogen fuel cell electric hybrid trucks being developed for use at the Port of Houston. In addition, the station offers the opportunity to provide fuel for future hydrogen equipment and vehicles used at other facilities, including warehouses and distribution facilities. The station, along with the hydrogen fuel cell electric hybrid trucks manufactured by California-based Vision Industries, will be a role model for ports worldwide for a zero-emission, sustainable fuel initiative.

‘[This station] will support a fleet of 20 hydrogen Class 8 trucks initially,’ says Martin Schuermann, CEO of Vision Industries. ‘However, since hydrogen is supplied through a pipeline, this station could ultimately supply hydrogen for up to 1000 trucks.’

‘Air Products has tremendous experience in developing the hydrogen infrastructure for fuelling and in the production of hydrogen,’ adds Brian Bonner, global product manager for Hydrogen Energy Systems at Air Products. ‘This could be a model location for alternative energy for the Port and Texas.’

The new hydrogen facility supports the efforts of several of the project partners to reduce emissions, noise, and other environmental impacts of port truck activities. The hydrogen station will be built near the Port of Houston Authority’s Bayport Container Terminal in Harris County, which is part of the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria nonattainment area for ozone, which is a harmful air pollutant. Additional benefits of this location include the presence of an existing hydrogen pipeline that is owned by Air Products, making the fuel locally sourced.

Vision Industries is developing zero-emission electric/hydrogen hybrid powered vehicles and turnkey hydrogen fuelling systems. The company’s electric/hydrogen hybrid drive system combines the superior acceleration of a battery-powered electric vehicle with the extended range provided by a hydrogen fuel cell. Last summer Vision finalised a $27 million purchase order agreement with TTSI for 100 Tyrano Class 8 trucks [FCB, June 2012, p3]. The heavy-duty fuel cell hybrid electric truck is powered by a battery that is recharged by a 65 kW hydrogen fuel cell.

Vision Industries Corporation, Torrance, California, USA. Tel: +1 310 454 5658, www.visionindustriescorp.com

Environmental Defense Fund: www.edf.org

Air Products, Hydrogen Energy: www.airproducts.com/h2energy

Total Transportation Services Inc: www.tts-i.com

Air Liquide plans first public hydrogen station in Netherlands

Air Liquide is investing in, installing, and commissioning a

new public hydrogen fuelling station in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The project, in collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Transport and the Environment, will serve the increasing number of fuel cell electric vehicles.

This project has the financial backing of the European Union as part of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) programme. This is the first time that European TEN-T funding – an important source of European Union funding for transport infrastructures – has been allocated to the development of hydrogen electric mobility.

This station will be the first Air Liquide hydrogen fuelling station in the Netherlands. With the capacity to provide fifty fills per day, this dual-pressure station, which will operate at 350 and 700 bar (5000 and 10 000 psi), will supply hydrogen for FCEVs that could have an operational range 500–600 km (310–375 miles).

This station will open to the public in late 2013 as part of the European Hydrogen Infrastructure for Transport (HIT) project [FCB, December 2012, p8]. This deployment project – involving Air Liquide and six other European partners – is looking at opening hydrogen stations to form a ‘hydrogen highway’ across Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and France.

Air Liquide, Hydrogen Energy: www.planete-hydrogene.com/en/hydrogen-energy-1.html

Hydrogenics energy storage system for E.ON in Germany

Canadian-based Hydrogenics has delivered on schedule a 2 MW

‘Power-to-Gas’ energy storage system to the German utility E.ON. The groundbreaking installation in Falkenhagen will be fully commissioned early in 2013, and use surplus renewable energy to produce hydrogen for storage in the country’s existing natural gas pipeline network.

Power-to-Gas is a novel way to store energy at utility scale, whereby surplus electrical grid power is converted into hydrogen gas. The hydrogen produced at the Falkenhagen plant will be injected into the regional natural gas pipeline, utilising the pipeline network as a storage system for surplus electrical power generated from renewable resources. Under this contract, announced last summer [FCB, July 2012, p7], Hydrogenics is providing the entire hydrogen production facility, and will service and maintain the site for a period of five years.

‘The hydrogen produced by our E.ON equipment in Falkenhagen will be injected into the natural gas pipeline, making it an effective storage system for the surplus electrical power currently generated from renewable resources in the region,’ explains Daryl Wilson, president and CEO of Hydrogenics. ‘Over a 24 hour period the facility will be able to store over 30 MWh of energy, providing critical electrical grid support.’

‘With delivery taking place in under six months, we have demonstrated our ability to

ENERGY STORAGE