The Energy Storage Europe show, which took place March 13 through 15 in Düsseldorf, Germany, had more than 200 leaders in science, business, government and civil society present the latest developments in five series of parallel sessions at two co-located conferences, the 7th ESE and Eurosolar’s 12th IRES. The show no longer featured a Power-to-Gas conference, since OTTI had filed for bankruptcy protection in late 2016.
worldwide
Hydrogen conference in Rio de Janeiro
This year, the hydrogen community will meet June 17 through 22 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the 22nd World Hydrogen Energy Conference. Three of the speakers who have confirmed their participation are Bart Biebuyck, Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, Brussels; Sunita Satyapal, Department of Energy, USA; and Yoshihiro Mizutani, Ministry of the Environment, Japan.
Gasteiger joins Pajarito Powder’s advisory board
Pajarito Powder, a catalyst manufacturer based in Albuquerque, USA, can now draw on Austrian expertise to further its business. Late last October, it announced that Hubert Gasteiger had joined the company’s technical advisory board. Webb Johnson, who also advises Pajarito, told H2-international that the manufacturer had made great progress in designing engineered catalyst support materials and entire catalysts not made from precious metals.
China shines in fuel cell industry review
At the beginning of December, market data and analyses for the fuel cell industry were published by E4tech in The Fuel Cell Industry Review 2017. E4tech is an international consultancy that has been providing insight into the hydrogen and fuel cell industry since 2014. To prepare the review, a team at E4tech contacts fuel cell companies worldwide and aggregates their delivery figures.
Fuel cell use in the logistics industry
The good news is that fuel cells for materials handling equipment are no longer confined to a niche market. Entire warehouses in North America are currently being served by hydrogen-powered forklift trucks. This type of fuel cell application is also becoming increasingly popular in Asia and Europe, but their logistics industries will have some catching up to do.
IAA: No more fireworks
There were no marketing fireworks this time at the 67th International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Sept. 14 through 24, 2017. In contrast to 6 years prior, the trade show wasn’t bent on zero-emission stickers and lush green isles but focused on simple product presentations instead.
No-cost land for hydrogen station
Late last November, the total number of hydrogen filling stations in Germany stood at 35, prompting a statement from NOW that the expansion of the refueling grid was making significant progress. Rhineland-Palatinate’s first public hydrogen station, which had received around EUR 900,000 from the federal transportation ministry, had just been inaugurated in Koblenz
ITM Power – share rally prompts profit taking
The dust has settled on a rally to the top and a share price that nearly tripled temporarily. Stock market experts like to call it chart consolidation and profit taking. ITM (London: ITM) was successful in raising EUR 120 million in fresh capital. Now, the British manufacturer’s market capitalization is above long-term expectations despite its bright outlook. I think investors should put this one on the watchlist, but look for other, more promising options in the meantime.
Hydrogen featured at climate conference COP23
Proponents of hydrogen and fuel cell solutions had something to look forward to at COP23, the 23rd UN climate conference, which took place in Bonn, Germany, Nov. 6 through 17 last year. Until the beginning of December, the Deutsches Museum featured a special exhibition on “Hydrogen – The unlimited energy source,” supported by the Hydrogeit Verlag publishing house. Additionally, some of the buses transporting attendees around the grounds during the summit were CleanShuttle battery, hydrogen and hybrid versions from all over Germany.
Fuel Cell Stack Market Overview
During a first market analysis several years ago, Professor Birgit Scheppat from RheinMain University conducted extensive tests and evaluations of fuel cell stacks available at the time (see October 2010 issue of German-language magazine HZwei). On behalf of Hessen Agentur and in collaboration with the H2BZ initiative, she examined which challenges customers face