European Energy Companies Eyeing Alternative Fuel

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--United Kingdom-based power generation companies are increasingly looking to the opportunities provided by the alternative power sector, and the U.K. government is hoping to entice more activity in this area by launching a £7.2 million ($11.9 million) hydrogen fuel cell competition.

The news comes in the same week that major energy companies and partners announced plans to create an ambitious hydrogen infrastructure in Germany. Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG (ETR:EBK) (EnBW) (Karlsruhe, Germany), E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Dusseldorf) and Vattenfall AB (Stockholm, Sweden) have teamed up with Linde AG (ETR:LIN) (Munich, Germany), Daimler AG (NYSE:DAI) (Stuttgart, Germany), OMV Aktiengesellschaft (WBAG:OMV) (Vienna, Austria), Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (The Hague, Netherlands), and NOW GmbH (The National Organization Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology) (Berlin) to create a two-phase memorandum of understanding to make hydrogen-fuelled cars a reality in Germany.

The U.K.'s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is proposing a competition for up to £7.2 million of funding for companies to develop hydrogen and fuel-cell technology. According to DECC, hydrogen and fuel cells have the potential to drastically reduce carbon emissions because they only emit water and heat as by-products. The energy conversion in fuel cells is more efficient than those of other technologies, including traditional internal combustion engines.

Energy and Climate Change Minister David Kidney said: "The U.K. has the right combination of expertise, ingenuity and determination to bring hydrogen and fuel cell technology to the global market. We're providing real help now to help advance this technology in the UK, keeping us at the forefront of advanced green manufacturing."

In Germany, Phase I will include the evaluation of options for an area-wide rollout of hydrogen fuelling stations nationwide and the definition of a joint business plan agreement, including an analysis of possible public support measures. The goal is to install new hydrogen-fuelling stations by 2011. If successful, Phase II will see the continuation of the rollout of fuelling stations to support the introduction of hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2015.

"By means of hydrogen produced using power from renewable energy sources, we will supply a low-emission fuel and ensure 'green' mobility," said Udo Bekker, member of the board of Vattenfall AG. "In Hamburg we are already putting this into practice. By the end of this year we will start work there on the construction of Europe's biggest hydrogen filling station."

EnBW CEO Hans-Peter Villis said, "Regardless of whether vehicles are refuelled with hydrogen or electricity, it remains a fact that these innovative drive technologies will only be sustainable with a reliable infrastructure and only with CO2-free electricity for hydrogen production or for recharging batteries. EnBW will support both technologies, with its technological know-how in the power generation field and its large proportion of CO2-free electricity."

In Ireland, the semi-state-owned electricity utility, Electricity Supply Board (Dublin), has committed to rolling out a national infrastructure for charging electric cars as part of a 10 billion euro push into the renewable energy sector.

E.ON is already working with Ceramic Fuel Cells in the U.K. to develop micro combined heat and power (mCHP) fuel cells for the budding micro-generation market. They are working together to create a commercial mCHP product by 2012, based on the Gennex fuel cell. E.ON predicts it could ship 100,000 of these cells over a 6-year period.

Electricite de France (EPA:EDF) (Paris, France) has invested £700,000 ($1.15 million) in fuel cell specialists, Ceres Power, which is close to launching its 'electro chemical engine' for mCHP in the domestic marketplace. The company, based in Crawley, Surrey, England, is part owned by Centrica and says its product will use slightly more gas than a regular gas boiler but that it is twice as efficient with regards to carbon emissions and is capable of generating electricity as well.

IIR's Renewable Energy Database provides extensive coverage on the Wind Energy, Geothermal, Hydroelectric, Landfill Gas-to-Energy and Utility-Scale Solar power plants throughout North America, and is now expanding coverage across the world.

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