Page 58 - European Energy Innovation - winter 2018 publication
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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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