During European Hydrogen Week, beginning of December 2021 in Brussels, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, reaffirmed the role of Europe as leading in the expansion towards greater production of clean hydrogen. She explained to the nearly 2,000 registered participants, “This is without doubt a global undertaking, but I want Europe to lead the race.”
Gas compression is a key process for transporting, distributing, storing and dispensing hydrogen. It accounts for a relevant share of costs and energy consumption in most hydrogen supply chains from initial hydrogen sourcing to final hydrogen use. Today, various compression technologies are applied, depending on use cases, flow rates, and input and output pressure levels.
Opportunities from the inclusion of hydrogen in NECPs
Ambitious energy and climate policy requires a determined, holistic and coordinated approach and implementation. The National Energy and Climate Plans, NECPs, represent the key mechanism for reporting on future policy between European Union member states and the European Commission in a consistent way. They are used by the commission to monitor EU-wide progress in achieving the 2030 targets and to identify necessary actions. The latest reporting period considered a 10-year timespan between 2021 and 2030. The draft NECPs were submitted by EU countries at the end of 2018 whereas the final version was due by the end of 2019 after a detailed assessment by the commission. In the context of hydrogen all EU member states are encouraged to develop and implement their own strategies to enable hydrogen deployment taking the European framework and guidance into account.
H2ME is considered to be the largest hydrogen project in Europe: Since 2015, around 170 million euros have been invested in over 1,400 H2 vehicles and almost 50 filling stations throughout Europe – 67 million euros of which in the form of subsidies.
The EU has decided to continue subsidizing fuel cell heating systems. The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) announced that on June 1, 2016, the European Union launched the PACE project (Pathway to a Competitive European FC mCHP market) with incentives worth EUR 34 million. Its aim is to have more than 2,650 micro-CHP systems installed at non-field test customers by February 2021 to support market ramp-up. At the same time, a monitoring project should provide the feedback needed to enhance any further developments.
Not too long ago, France’s capital had been the venue for the UN Climate Change Conference COP21. Even if hydrogen and fuel cell technology was not a separate item on the agenda, it is a good bet that many of the around 40,000 participants – from government officials to business associations and unions to environmental and religious organizations – have developed a basic understanding of this technology
The Auto Stack Core (Automotive Fuel Cell Stack Cluster Initiative for Europe II) cooperation project is a merger between 14 European auto manufacturers, suppliers, system integrators and research institutes. Working together, their goal is to develop a fuel cell stack (FC stack) for vehicle applications which satisfies the most advanced international aspirations in terms of performance, performance density, lifespan and effectiveness. On the basis of cooperation between these differing participants, the most optimum possible combination of the existing know-how should be achieved and the critical development interfaces coordinated efficiently.
“Stationary fuel cells in Europe are on the threshold of a commercial market launch.” This finding in the study by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants implies that the market launch of FC heating devices is yet to take place. So that a commercialization can take place, according to the analysis on the status of stationary fuel cell technology in Europe, “support by the state is required in the initial phase”.
In the scope of the study commissioned by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU), the authors considered different types of stationary fuel cells in differing output ranges and areas of use, and ascertained that in Europe
At its annual meeting earlier this year, the New Energy World Industry Grouping (NEW-IG) elected its new executive board. The new members, who will initially serve for two years, are Thomas Melczer and Andreas Frömmel. Melczer, Director of Business Development at Proton Motor Fuel Cell, is now responsible for the