Where's the Hydrogen Economy | Green Energy News

July 2, 2006 – Vol.11 No.15

WHERE’S THE HYDROGEN ECONOMY?

The US can’t seem to focus on its energy future. Just a few years ago the buzz from Washington was all about hydrogen and building a hydrogen and fuel cell economy. Now the buzz is all about ethanol, cellulosic ethanol and flexfuel vehicles that can run on gasoline or E85 ethanol/gasoline blend. There’s nothing new or exciting about flexfuel vehicles.

For now, Washington really wants ethanol and has given it considerable financial support in the tax code and mandating it as an MTBE replacement. And, of course, it’s an election year and renewable ethanol is popular in farm states as a money maker and jobs producer.

But what happened to dreams of a hydrogen economy? Why isn’t it being built?

Hydrogen work still goes on in technological and infrastructure development, however slowly, and for good reason: A full blown hydrogen economy would cost oodles of taxpayer cash at a time when the Federal budget is far into the red. And for consumers, the cost of fuel cell vehicles is still in the stratosphere.

However, the US isn’t as domineering in the world of technology as it may have been a decade or so ago. Others may be willing to give hydrogen a go.

Shell Hydrogen (a unit of Shell Group) has announced that, with partners, it will create the world’s largest hydrogen public transport project.

Working with Connexxion Holding and MAN Truck and Bus Company, Shell says it will build a hydrogen-fueled bus operation for Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

The partners will first perform an economic and technical study, and if all looks good they’ll build a fleet of 20 buses that use internal combustion engines fueled with hydrogen. The fleet, Shell says, would be operational by 2009.

The other side of the world is also interested in hydrogen. Flush with cash in its booming economy, China, through the Shanghai Municipal Government, has recently announced funding for a program that will demonstrate 100 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the road by the end of 2007. And that’s just the first phase. By 2009-2010, 1000 fuel cell vehicles are being planned, by 2011-2012, 10,000 fuel cell vehicles would be on the road.

Ballard Power Systems of Vancouver BC, at minimum, will be in phase one of that program and has reached an agreement with Shanghai Fuel Cell Vehicle Powertrain to deliver two Mark 902 automotive fuel cells. Upon successful integration into vehicles Ballard will then deliver another 18 fuel cell systems. Further orders are a gleam in Ballard’s eyes of course.

Visit Ballard at http://www.ballard.com/ Shell Hydrogen at http://www.shell.com/hydrogen