Will Investments in Hydrogen Infrastructure make Fuel Cell Vehicles Viable
Recently an international study was announced showing that fuel cell vehicles provide the lowest-carbon solution for long distance driving and medium and large family-size cars. Also the study revealed that a hydrogen infrastructure is affordable, achievable and of comparable cost to other fuels and technologies. However it emphasizes that investment in hydrogen infrastructure must start without delay so that commercial scale up can take place.
Public incentives such as tax exemptions on vehicles could make fuel cell vehicles commercial as early as 2020 but will this be enough to make the technology viable and entice consumers to buy them?
Recently Hynor Lillestrøm AS signed a contract with H2 Logic A/S on delivery of a hydrogen station in summer 2011, after a competitive tender exercise. The station will be installed at a new hydrogen research facility at Akershus Energy Park in Lillestrøm just outside of Oslo in Norway. The station will feature sustainable onsite hydrogen production and 700 bar refueling according to international standards, ensuring fast refueling in few minutes and long vehicle range. Together with another planned Oslo hydrogen station in 2011, this will ensure Norway one among the world’s most dense hydrogen refueling networks.
Norway started the establishment of a hydrogen refueling network back in 2003 with the opening of the first hydrogen station in Stavanger as part of a network initiative called HyNor. Since then additional three stations has opened and 20 hydrogen vehicles been put in operation. The new hydrogen station to open in Lillestrøm summer 2011 will add yet another station to the HyNor network. Also attractive tax exemptions are already in place in Norway, with zero tax on hydrogen car compared to a significant tax on conventional vehicles. Similar efforts are happening in Sweden and Denmark through a joint collaboration effort called Scandinavian Hydrogen Highway Partnership.
The station will include an alkaline electrolyser enabling production of hydrogen by use of electricity from solar panels. Space is available for future test of other hydrogen production technologies such as PEM electrolysis. Hydrogen will be compressed to 700bar and refueled according to the latest international SAE standard on fast and safe refueling of hydrogen in few minutes, comparable to refueling of gasoline.
The hydrogen station will be supplied by H2 Logic A/S from Denmark, who also is to provide another hydrogen station for Oslo during 2011 where seventeen fuel cell vehicles will be deployed in Oslo. Five of the vehicles will be placed in Lillestrøm and use the new and innovative hydrogen station.
Jan Carsten Gjerløw, Managing director at Hynor Lillestrøm AS states: “The hydrogen station in Lillestrøm will supplement the many and extensive research activities planned at the new facility in Akershus Energy Park. With the station we can provide sustainable produced hydrogen for vehicles, covering even more of the Oslo region and expanding the HyNor network.”
Director in H2 Logic A/S, Jacob Krogsgaard states: ”We are proud to have been selected as supplier of the hydrogen station for Lillestrøm. We experience an increasing interest for our refueling products due to the strong signals provided by major car manufacturers on market introduction of fuel cell vehicles onwards 2015. The Lillestrøm station also provides great synergy with another hydrogen station that H2 Logic also is to construct in Oslo in 2011.”
The Lillestrøm hydrogen station is supported with funds from Norwegian Research Council, TRANSNOVA, the county of Akershus, Innovation Norway and the municipality of Skedsmo
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Posted by admin on Nov 26 2010. Filed under Fuel cell, Fuel cell, Norway, Propulsion Type, Tech Sector. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
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