There has been quite an interest in energy storage recently. And as ever more power-to-gas systems have been popping up all over Germany, project planners are increasingly turning their attention to the key elements found on-site: electrolyzers. These electrochemical units to create hydrogen have been around for a long time.
Construction of MEKS, Sperenberg’s multi-energy power plant, now entirely hinges on state government approval. In mid-July, the mayors of the four German towns involved signed a contract for the establishment of a community working group. But whereas local authorities would certainly welcome MEKS, the ones at state level have put a hold on the project, saying the selected area was not suitable for the construction of wind power facilities.
Roland Käppner‘s journey continues: After he had worked for Siemens for many years, he became CEO of McPhy Energy Germany. In August 2015, he then left for GKN Sinter Metals (see Roland Käppner Leaves for GKN). On July 1, 2016, he changed jobs and took on the position of head of business development and sales at the industrial division of thyssenkrupp.
In the 1960s and 1970s, France’s industry and research departments used to be very proactive in fuel cell development. Then, 1974 came to pass and with it the slogan of “all-electric, all-nuclear” (tout-éléctrique, tout-nucléaire). The number of fuel cell projects fell drastically and remained at its low level until about the end of the 1990s. In the meantime, a great many subsidies have gone into nuclear industry developments: Billions were and are being spent through CEA (Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique) in this field.