“To enable the private sector to make the necessary investments for development and deployment of the technologies needed for the energy and transport system transition, a set of smart policies needs to be implemented.” Michael Holtermann the Project Leader of European School of Management and Technology‘s Market Model Electric Mobility Project reflected.

The study will be presented at lunch event on March 13 in European Parliament.

The goal of the GRID4EU project is to carry on demonstration pilots of Smart Grids solutions on a large scale basis. It proposes solutions that go beyond the existing limits for electricity networks through the large scale integration of distributed generation, the improvement of energy efficiency, the enabling and integration of active demand and  new electricity uses.

The GRID4EU programme brings together a consortium of 6 European distributors (ERDF, ENEL, Iberdrola, CEZ, Vattenfall and RWE). It will help to test the potential of smart grids in the field of integration with renewable energies, electric vehicle development, network automation, energy storage, energy efficiency and removal solutions.

This programme, started as part of a call for proposals from the European Commission, plans for the development of the electricity networks of the future. Financed by the European Commission to the amount of €25M, this project, the estimated cost of which is estimated at €54M, is the largest funded by the European Union in the field of smart grids.

In this framework Enel will perform a  project focused on the integration into distribution grid of energy production from renewable through advanced control systems; the budget for Enel project amounts to  8.2 million Euro. It will be carried out in the  Forlì-Cesena area, together with  other 4 partners (Energy System Research, Selta, Siemens, and Cisco). Activities in the region of Romagna will be performed in two high and medium voltage substations and the corresponding medium voltage network.

• Partners: 28, including 6 electricity distribution operators: Enel, Cez, Rwe, Erdf, Iberdrola, Vattenfall.

In the period 2005-2009 the area with greater demand for green products and technologies was Europe, followed by the United States with relatively low levels during the boom years 2006-2009.

In 2010 China (which realized projects worth more than three times lower than Europe and two times lower than U.S. in 2005) registered investment in green technologies 40 percent higher than Europe and 60 percent higher than United States. The growth in domestic demand led growth of green technology and products production of Chinese enterprises for domestic market, but also intended (significantly) to exports to Europe and the United States. Europe seems to be out of the big global games. European companies are seeing a reduction in market share in favor of Chinese enterprises, and at the same time they suffer from actions of climbing and acquisitions by Asian companies to a greater extent than the U.S. because of their smaller size.

It would be desirable to have a common industrial policy that promotes exports toEurope, avoiding fragmentation of initiatives and to take stronger action on the taxation of goods imported from Countries with environmental legislation, and cost less stringent than those in Europe.

Source: Lavoce.info

Here are some highlights of the report:

Over the last five years there has been a twenty-fold increase in shipments of fuel cells with year-on-year growth in both units and megawatts shipped. In 2010, total shipments of fuel cells grew by 40% compared with the previous year, approaching a new high of 230,000 units.

In terms of shipments, the portable sector is the largest accounting for at least 75% of total shipments in each year since 2007. There has been impressive growth in shipments of fuel cell toys and educational devices. In the consumer electronics segment, there have been notable developments in miniaturisation for use in external battery chargers, and thousands of units have been sold to consumers.

The market for stationary fuel cell systems is currently dominated by North America and Asia. Fuel cells have found significant commercial interest in smaller uninterruptible power supply (UPS) applications, where they are used to provide backup or standby power to telecoms sites and other critical infrastructure. The North American market has dominated shipments of these units. The global potential for emergency power, guaranteed backup and off-grid operation is only beginning to become apparent; backup power for the rapidly growing global mobile telecommunications industry is just one example with significant potential for fuel cell UPS. The adoption of stationary fuel cells in Japanese homes has been a particular success, with tens of thousands of micro-units for backup power and combined heat and power (CHP) sold cumulatively since 2007 providing residential heat and power.

Unit shipments of transport fuel cellshave been in the thousands per year since 2009, with hundreds of megawatts shipped cumulatively in the last five years. Government assistance in the USA has led to fuel cells achieving a true commercial position in the electric forklift market. Fuel cell buses have been commercially available for many years and their usefulness has been demonstrated globally in terms of low emissions and high efficiency compared with their diesel counterparts. Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) are currently available for lease in several countries by many of the world’s major manufacturers. Germany is seen as a key region for implementation of a hydrogen infrastructure.Tens of thousands of FCEV are expected to be on the road by 2015, in Germany and elsewhere. These will not be mass-market developments, but rather controlled roll-outs to selected customers with return-to-base fleets. Germany plans a nationwide supply of hydrogen to be developed in time for the planned roll-out to attract fuel cell vehicles to the region, and eventually to link its hydrogen highway with planned developments in neighbouring Scandinavia. Japan is committed to building its hydrogen infrastructure and a group of oil and gas companies have announced their intention to build 100 hydrogen refuelling stations. Several US states are working to grow their hydrogen fuelling networks. Projects are underway on both the east and west coasts of the USA with California planning to have 20 refuelling stations open to the public before the end of 2011.

Over 97% of fuel cells sold worldwide in 2010 used proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology, and most were hydrogen-fuelled. With PEMFC expected to be the electrolyte of choice for the automotive industry, its dominance in terms of shipments is likely to continue, but the contribution of other electrolytes to the megawatt total will undoubtedly grow as they are used in more prime power, micro-CHP, large CHP and UPS installations.

Europe emerge as a leading user of FC technology since 2009. North America follows in second place with Asia third, and Fuel Cell Today expects this trend to continue during 2011. In terms of megawatts, North America and Asia have traded places at the top during the past five years, due to the dominance of stationary systems in these regions, and together they have accounted for at least 85% of the total since 2007.

Source: FuelCellToday

The Mobility Conference is an opportunity to take stock of what has been achieved in the past decade and what remains to be done. The objectives of this edition are to promote the development of infrastructure and transport services, dissemination of knowledge on issues of crucial importance for the whole Country, the enhancement of products and solutions offered by italian companies.

Among the scheduled conferences should be noted:

Energy infrastructure and market competition

The set of European directives and regulations of the Third Energy Package accelerated the development of competitive energy markets in Europe. This development, to be effective, must have a more integrated infrastructure system than the current one in support of the movement of energy between the European Regions. The conference aims to address the issue of infrastructural facilities for energy flows within the Country, to identify problems and solutions to allow a prospective evaluation of the energy market in Europe.

Here the link to the full program.

By revising the legal regulations for hydrogen refuelling stations, the Japanese government aims to advance the establishment of a national network of 70-MPa (700 bar) hydrogen refuelling stations. For this purpose, the Japan Petroleum Energy Center (JPEC) was commissioned by the Japanese Research Association of Hydrogen Supply / Utilization Technology (HySUT) and the News Energy and Industrial Development Organisation (NEDO) to develop a proposal for the revision of the existing technical standards and regulations. The new standards and regulations are planned to pave the way for constructing and operating hydrogen refuelling stations in Japan and ensure a high level of safety.

On behalf of the JPEC, TÜV SÜD Industrie Service GmbH reviewed the technical requirements and the relevant German and European regulations and standards that must be fulfilled for licensing, constructing and operating hydrogen refuelling stations in Germany.

Source: TUV SUD

“We became importers of photovoltaic modules, rather than take the opportunity of incentives to stimulate domestic production,” said the minister explaining the importance of strengthening the capacity of Italian production.

Being able to bring the relationship new cars / e-car to 5 to 1 ratio over the next 9 years, would mean being able to achieve by 2020 a saving of over 5 billion gallons of gasoline and nearly 6 million tons less of CO2 and ensuring the integration of renewable energy in charging systems. The alliance of electric mobility with renewable energy sector is a marriage that would actually make emissions-free electric mobility, and would favor the creation of smart grids. A system that allows to optimize the energy from small plants and produced by unstable sources such as solar, wind and other green sources. Electric cars could be an important link in order to optimize the distribution of energy: absorb excess of low cost electric current in accumulators and release it when demand and prices are high.

If the benefits of mobility battery seem to be sure, the question now is how to foster their growth. To do this the Government is considering various hypotheses. The first is the rapid approval of the bill (stalled for years in parliament) which would introduce, among other things, incentives of up to 5,000 euros for the purchase of electric cars and other facilities for the development of infrastructure. Other assumptions are: the adoption of a rule based on tax credits (deduction of 55%) already used for the development of renewable energy sources or reducing VAT.

Source: Green Style

The project brings together thirteen industry participants with three UK Government departments and the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU).

The new programme – UKH2Mobility – will evaluate the potential for hydrogen as a fuel for Ultra Low Carbon Vehicles in the UK before developing an action plan for an anticipated roll-out to consumers in 2014/15. It aims to:

• Analyse in detail the specific UK case for the introduction of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles as one of a number of solutions to decarbonise road transport and quantify the potential emissions benefits;
• Review the investments required to commercialise the technology, including refuelling infrastructure; and
• Identify what is required to make the UK a leading global player in hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle manufacturing thereby paving the way for economic opportunities to the UK, through the creation of new jobs and boosting of local economies.

See document: UKH2Mobility

Source: FuelCellToday

The Report explains, Transitions in fuel supply infrastructure and vehicles will be needed for all new transport fuels. These transitions may need to be encouraged or mandated throughout all EU Member States and coordinated at the EU level in order to drive the market forward.

Assuming a reduction of at least 60% of GHGs by 2050 with respect to 1990 in the transport sector, improvements in the energy efficiency of transport operations and vehicles will provide a period of several years to evaluate and develop the technologies for alternative fuel systems that will require major transitions in infrastructure and vehicle design. A timely decision on these major transitions can therefore be taken to ensure a long-term cost-effective and sustainable solution that is commensurate with adequate industrial lead-time.

In view of the scope of change required for a low carbon transport system, it would be recommendable to analyse the current regulatory framework and to identify the gaps and level of policy support required to enable this change, particularly with regard to infrastructure for alternative fuels.

There is a current lack of an EU-wide harmonised alternative fuel infrastructure due to differing levels of development in the Member States. Such fragmented development leads to high costs, hampers consumer acceptance, and prevents the economies of scale which the Single Market could provide. A specific strategy on alternative fuel infrastructure at EU level will be necessary for the short and medium term.

Member States have promoted different alternative fuel infrastructures, because they have opted for different priorities in their fuel choices with regard to the implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive and to the allocation of state support. But there is a clear lack of harmonized EU standards within the various types of alternative fuel refuelling equipment and storage systems.

During the last decade, policy actions have mostly addressed fuel and vehicle developments, neglecting an appropriate alternative fuel infrastructure build-up. Funding to build up alternative fuel infrastructure has also been insufficient. The initial costs for market-deployment of alternative fuel infrastructure are generally higher than for petroleum-based fuels due to i.a. the lack of initial economies of scale. Fuel suppliers (i.e. private spending) are investing in alternative fuels even if the revenue from fuel sold is not sufficient to pay back infrastructure and logistics costs.

The recently adopted White Paper ”Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a Competitive and Resource Efficient Transport System” announces that the Commission will develop “a sustainable alternative fuels strategy including also the appropriate infrastructure”  and ensure “guidelines and standards for refuelling infrastructures”.

See link for Report: FTF Infrastructure

Source: DG MOVE