Considering we are confronted with new facts almost every day, it should come as no surprise that the controversy surrounding nitrogen oxides and fine dust, blue badges and diesel bans in German cities shows no sign of letting up. Likewise, automakers are a recurrent subject on the evening news, whether they want to or not. Despite, or probably because, every news cycle delivers more information about how the industry cheated during emission tests, it has become increasingly difficult to keep up with the latest developments.
Hydrogeit
Fuel cell power plants compared
Fuel cell power plants are the top class of stationary applications. They are the most difficult systems to design and the market for them is the toughest to survive. Companies engaging in this business have often come crashing down or were saved in spectacular fashion by mere chance. But there are some which have mastered the market’s ups and downs and new entrants who are willing to try.
Fuel cell power plant market overview
As part of an online survey, H2-international has asked 12 suppliers of fuel cell power plants to provide information about their product portfolio and the market. Unfortunately, only four of them filled out the questionnaire, describing four products in total. Datasheets available elsewhere were used to add more systems to the table below.
Extracting hydrogen from water
The work of Joi Scientific Inc. continues to be shrouded in secrecy. Who are these Americans who have been present on the scene for months, but haven’t really explained what they’re doing? What does the company, which seems to have already collected millions in investor money, want to offer? A finished product or services only? Moreover, why all this secrecy? H2-international had the opportunity to interview the CEO of Joi, Traver Kennedy, to learn more about the company’s plans for 2017 and beyond.
MobFuelH2 provides electricity, hydrogen and light
As part of a project funded by the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Anleg and ZBT are constructing a mobile energy station to ensure that even small-scale applications in difficult terrain have a reliable source of power, hydrogen and light. The system base is a box truck, designed for off-road duty, whose cargo area houses the components
Once Acta, now Enapter
So far, we’ve closely followed the developments unfolding at Berlin-based fuel cell supplier Heliocentris and the takeover of its locations in Germany (see H2-international, May 2017 and January 2018). We also reported about the comeback of FutureE and the spin-off of Home Power Solutions. And recently, we sat down with Sebastian-Justus Schmidt, owner of Enapter, to find out what happened to Heliocentris’ subsidiary in Tuscany.
Hydrogen to store wind power
Hydrogen is of central importance to a German market that is becoming increasingly interwoven. What makes the gas the ideal chemical energy carrier is that it can provide not only the heat and power sector with a long-term storage option, but also vehicles with electricity and the chemical industry with a raw material. The authors of studies focused on the overall system estimate the requirements in 2050 to total 110 gigawatts for electrolysis
Using renewable hydrogen in direct methanation
Until 2030, Switzerland’s heat generation from renewable gas is to increase from today’s roughly 1 percent to 30 percent. To achieve greater efficiency in the use of raw gas sources, Zurich-based energy supplier Energie 360° and the PSI – Paul Scherrer Institute have been working on developing a new power-to-gas technology.
Communities discover their love for electric carsharing
Sprakebüll is a small German village, west of Flensburg, where wet meadows extend as far as the eye can see. Most of the village’s population of 240 has worked in agriculture for decades. About 20 years ago, 24 of them pooled their resources to fund a community wind farm. The investment was seen as a risky venture, as the technology was still new, but wind is one thing the region has in abundance.
Hydrogen refueling vs. electric charging
Electric motors are the key to sustainable transportation. One of the features that all-electric and fuel cell vehicles have in common is the absence of local emissions. Their lack of harmful pollutants can improve people’s quality of life, especially in highly populated conurbations. What is needed now is a supply chain