With Pan-H (2005-2008) and HPAC (2009 – 2010) program, France mobilized about 99,3 M€ for hydrogen for a total of 89 projects funded. PROGELEC 2011-2013 is the new program related to energy issues.
With Pan-H (2005-2008) and HPAC (2009 – 2010) program, France mobilized about 99,3 M€ for hydrogen for a total of 89 projects funded. PROGELEC 2011-2013 is the new program related to energy issues.
The South Korean government is firmly committed to the idea of low carbon economic growth and economic stimulus through the promotion of new technology. The budget for fuel cells is around US$100 million per year.
Ersel Investment Club, a Private Equity Fund managed by the Ersel Group, has announced its entry into the share capital of Electro Power Systems (now one of the most important Italian companies “clean tech “) in order to fund the production growth and commercial development of the company.
Electro Power Systems is a Turin-based company specialised in the design and production of the most advanced hydrogen fuel cell systems for backup applications currently available on the market. These systems are primarily used to guarantee energy for communication towers within mobile phone networks in the event of an electricity blackout.
Ersel Investment Club will invest 5.0 million euros via a capital increase, thereby joining the founders, venture capital fund 360 Capital Partners, and 77 Holding, all of whom are already present in the partnership and will together invest an additional 1.0 million euros.
Under pacts signed on July 29 by India’s junior science minister Prithviraj Chavan and UK minister for science and universities David Willets in New Delhi, the two countries will invest £ 3 million (US$ 4.7 million or Indian rupees 218.06 million) each to promote partnerships between groups already working on fuel cells. The proposed initiative will address systems research programmes in fuel cell technologies including energy support through joint India-UK academic programmes. Sh. T. Ramasami, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology informed that Indo-UK joint workshop on fuel cell technology would be organized during September 15-17, 2010 at Centre for Fuel Cell Technology Chennai. More information on the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology website.
The German National Innovation Program (NIP) on Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology is a strategic alliance between German politics, industry and academia. The program has a budget of 1,400 million euro and lasts 10 years (2007-2016): – 200 Million euro funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics, with a focus on R&D; – 500 Million funded by the Federal Min of Transport, Building, Urban Affairs, with a focus demonstration projects; – 700 M euro funded through industry contribution. The target of the program is to foster the market entry of hydrogen and fuel cell applications, to increase global competitiveness and High-Tech competencies, to create sustainable jobs and protect the climate. Source: NOW
In Fiscal Year 2009, Congress appropriated $269 million for the DOE Hydrogen Program. The Program is organized into distinct sub-programs focusing on specific areas of research and development (R&D), as well as other activities to address non-technical challenges. The Program has made substantial progress toward its goals and objectives, for example, reducing the cost of fuel cell by 75% since 2002 ($276/kW to $61/kW).
In FY 2009, the DOE Hydrogen Program competitively selected projects to address key barriers in the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. These included:
-Twenty-eight projects (approximately $113M; $129M with cost share over five years) in fuel cell technologies to develop novel catalysts, explore innovative concepts in materials and components, identify degradation mechanisms and mitigation strategies, understand the effects of water transport, and improve materials and packaging for portable-power fuel cells.
-Thirteen projects ($41.9M over two years; $114.3M with cost share) to support the deployment of nearly 1,000 fuel cell systems for emergency backup power and material handling applications (e.g., forklifts), as well as the demonstration of fuel cells for residential combined heat and power, auxiliary power units, and portable applications. These projects were funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The deployments will have significant near-term impact, creating jobs in fuel cell manufacturing, installation, maintenance and support service sectors. Industry participants have reinforced their commitment by proposing approximately $72.4 million in cost-share—bringing total project funding to nearly $114.3 million.
In 2002, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) launched a comprehensive program that envisions a full commercialization of fuel cells and hydrogen-infrastructure by 2020. To obtain this, the Japanese government has allocated 3 billion euro with 185 million euro set aside for research and development in the next five years.
The total budget for Hydrogen and FC in FY 2009 amounts 320 million euro, 254 million euro were instead allocated in 2008. The main investment areas are:
* Promotion of residential Fuel Cells with the introduction of subsidies for Residential FC co-generation system (84.5 million euro);
* Demonstration project toward commercialization (33.7 million euro);
* Strategic R&D
U.S. Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, has taken a more concilatory tone toward fuel cell vehicle funding now that the United States Congress has reinstated funding for fuel cells in transport applications. The Secretary was initially opposed to funding transport technologies using fuel cells because of the significant infrastructure challenges faced by the sector, but lawmakers have voted to continue the funding. Secretary Chu has stated he will now work with Congress to ensure the best possible use of the funds for fuel cell technology within the transport sector. Source: Fuel Cell Today
The Asian fuel cell sector received a major boost on tuesday when the South Korean government announced that it will offer households a subsidy to cover 80 per cent of the cost of domestic hydrogen fuel cells. Starting in 2010, the government will provide an 80 per cent subsidy to cover the cost of purchasing and installing fuel cells in homes. The size of the subsidy will fall to 50 per cent between 2013 and 2016, and then drop to 30 per cent from 2017 to 2020. The expense of buying and installing a hydrogen fuel cell for domestic use is currently about US$40,000. The government hopes that the subsidy – intended to lead to greater sales and increased economies of scale for manufacturers – will help reduce the price of systems to $8,000 by 2015, and just $4,000 by 2018. The subsidy will most likely benefit South Korean companies, such as FuelCellPower and GS Fuel Cell, which have emerged as specialists in domestic fuel cells capable of replacing traditional boilers and producing zero carbon heat and electricity for a building. The move is the latest initiative in the government’s long-term roadmap to create a “Hydrogen Economy”, which was announced [...]