The e-Journal on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells
Attendees from Europe, Asia and even North America had a long way to travel to this year’s World Hydrogen Energy Conference. In the end, however, more than 550 came to the event, which took place June 17 to 22 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They were rewarded with a lot of interesting material. What caught the imagination of many was the story of natural hydrogen
The difference between microbial fuel cells and devices converting energy by purely chemical means is that bacteria and not artificial materials, such as polymer electrolyte membranes and ceramic oxide parts, control the reaction. Instead of a catalyst, microbes will feed on organic matter, for example, wastewater and lactic acid, to generate a voltage through metabolic activity.
Here’s an intriguing idea: Don’t burn off most waste gases produced by steelmaking but turn them into basic chemicals and capture the carbon dioxide they contain instead of discharging it into the air. It is an idea with only one caveat, in that it will most likely take another 15 years before industrial-scale systems are available. Still, thyssenkrupp has taken the first step by starting its Carbon2Chem® project in Duisburg in mid-September.
IPHE, the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy, was set up in 2003 to expedite the transition to clean and efficient energy and transportation systems based on fuel cells and hydrogen, or FCH. As an intergovernmental organization, it offers a global platform for discussing policies, initiatives, technological advances
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.