Page 58 - European Energy Innovation - winter 2018 publication
P. 58
58 Winter 2018 European Energy Innovation
FUEL CELL & HYDROGEN TECHNOLOGY
Fuel cell and hydrogen
technology promises a greener
world for all
Bart Biebuyck, Executive Director, Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU),
explains why Europe must continue to support development and deployment of this key
low-carbon technology.
has worked to develop and deploy production of electricity with
The latest report from the fuel cell and hydrogen technologies. improved efficiency. They emit
UN Intergovernmental Panel Our projects demonstrate that only water, and produce no CO2
on Climate Change (IPCC) fuel cell and hydrogen (FCH) emissions, nor any other atmospheric
is unequivocal: there is a
limited time window during which we technologies represent one of the pollutants.
must act to radically reduce carbon pillars of future European energy and
emissions and limit the worst effects transport systems, making a valuable As more renewable energy comes
of global warming. A major part of contribution to the transformation to onto the grid, we need more energy
the solution is shifting to clean energy a low-carbon economy by 2050. storage. Here, hydrogen’s role has
and transport systems, and hydrogen become increasingly important for
is set to play a pivotal role in this In transport, a challenging sector the FCH JU, with significant research
transition. to decarbonise, FCH JU projects progress since 2011. An excess of
continue to demonstrate the hydrogen produced by electrolysis –
During the past ten years, the hydrogen fuel cell technology’s the splitting of water into hydrogen
Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint reliability and financial viability, and oxygen – led to the realisation
Undertaking (FCH JU), a public- bringing down costs and building of hydrogen’s potential as backup
private partnership between the investor confidence. Compared power: enabling higher penetration of
European Commission, European to internal combustion engines, renewable energy.
industry, and research organisations hydrogen fuel cells enable the
Now Europe is a world leader in
the key technology, the polymer
electrolyte membrane (PEM), and
green hydrogen production sites
are setting up all over Europe, from
Scotland’s remote Orkney Islands to
the industrial heartlands of Austria.
Photo: ©DEMCOPEM Decarbonising industry
The expertise we have developed
in Europe is opening up new
global markets. One example is
the DEMCOPEM-2MW project
which is demonstrating PEM fuel
cells in China, at the Ynnovate
Sanzheng Fine Chemicals chlor-
alkali plant. Hydrogen produced
onsite can be directly fed into
the 2 MWe cogeneration unit,
generating electricity, heat and water
- and lowering overall electricity
consumption by 20%. And with the
PEM technology coming from Europe,
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