Hydrogeit / www.h2-international.com / Issue 1 / February 2020 / 10 $ Ú THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE INDUSTRY DISCOVERS HYDROGEN Ú POLITICS PUSHES HYDROGEN AS AN ENERGY STORAGE MEDIUM H y d r o g e i t V l a / w . h z n f 1 7 J 4 O k b 2 0 8 CONTENT CONTENT 2 Legal Notice 3 Editorial 4 News Kerstin Andreae heads BDEW CEP: Growth and strengthening Wrightbus continues driving Flexible, stretchable bio-fuel cell 6 Trade shows Hydrogen and WindEnergy f-cell attracts numerous suppliers 8 House energy Home owners are insecure Enapter promotes the installation of 10 Politics 22 self-sufficient microgrids Green hydrogen economy until 2035 German Federal Council votes for hydrogen economy Major stakeholder conference in Berlin 20 Energy storage Hyundai Source: HyStarter, HyExperts, HyPerformer are started Company portrait: Electrolyser manufacturer Enapter 24 Electromobility 2 Increasing interest in hydrogen from freight forwarders The maritime sector discovers the fuel cell Economies of scale achievable quickly 130 hydrogen filling stations by 2021 Hyundai’s FC trucks could soon Load wheel with H2 drive IAA – New start looks different 24 be on Germany roads 36 Research & Development Sustainable added value of PEM fuel cells 38 Education Stralsund has written H2 history Invisible Kids – Results of an on-line survey 42 Stock market 48 Global market Interview with Randy MacEwen, President & CEO of Ballard 54 Business directory Interview: Ballard builds leading-edge 48 FC stack for Audi 57 Events H2-international Editorial & Research Sven Geitmann, Sven Jösting, News articles that show an author’s name represent the opinions of said Michael Nallinger author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editorial board. 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VAT) with the utmost care by the authors, editors and the publisher. Yet, Phone / Fax +49 (0)33055 213 ext. 22 / 20 1-year sub (DE) USD 40 / EUR 35 (excl. VAT) despite our efforts, errors may occur. Hydrogeit Verlag expressly dis- Email [email protected] Shipping D: USD 2.50 / EUR 2.00, claims any liability for mistakes, misleading or absent information. Web www.hydrogeit-verlag.de, World: USD 5.00 / EUR 4.00 www.h2-international.com Students 50 % off standard prices Cover image Nikola Tre will come end of 2022. Termination At any time [Source: Nikola] H2-international 01 | FEBRUARY 2020 EDITORIAL MORE TOGETHERNESS The negative image of PtX Dear Readers! Despite the current wave of enthusiasm about the potential 2019) is in favour of e-fuels alone of hydrogen, there is much discussion and much uncertainty seems to be sufficient to oppose this about the role of synthetic fuels. If you follow the current de- technology. Of course, the mineral bate, you sometimes get the impression that e-fuels are either oil industry would continue to ben- another saviour or a spawn of evil. efit from this. “The proven German In short, it is a question of using green electricity and infrastructure with refineries, pipe- water by electrolysis to produce so-called “green” hydro- lines, fuel depots and filling stations gen in a sustainable way. If this is processed, for example can be fully maintained with cli- by turning it into methane with the carbon dioxide from mate-friendly power and fuel cells.” biogas plants, this is referred to as methanisation. It can This is how it is to be read in the fuel also be used to produce other gaseous or liquid hydrocar- mirror, the magazine of the UNITI bon-containing substances, such as methanol or synthetic Federal association of medium-size mineral oil enterprises, fuel (power-to-liquid, PtL), which can then be used in in- in November 2019. ternal combustion engines as before. But is it really advisable to vote against something just This is where the problem lies: Some stakeholders fear because others like it? that the Power-to-X process will be used to misuse the posi- It is likely that – as is so often the case – it will amount tive image of green hydrogen so that inefficient combustion to both good and bad. We will not be able to avoid e-fuels engines can continue to be used in the mobility sector for as on our way to a more sustainable energy future, at least not long as possible. The advantages would be that these fuels for commercial vehicles, ships, trains and aircraft. Whether would indeed be cleaner and more sustainable than petrol this also applies to blue hydrogen remains to be seen, as it is and diesel. This would also prevent additional CO2 from currently not foreseeable that this technology will meet with being released into the air, but would only use the carbon public acceptance in Germany. Here it could actually make 3 dioxide that was already in the atmosphere anyway. sense to jump directly from the current grey hydrogen to the The disadvantages, however, would be that a compara- green hydrogen. tively inefficient technology would continue to be used and Actually, it’s quite simple: Wherever possible, electricity the switch to electric drives would be delayed. In addition, from renewable sources should be used directly (e.g. short the large corporations from the automotive and mineral oil distances, delivery services). For more powerful and heavier industry would continue to remain “in power”. And private vehicles (larger than SUVs) hydrogen makes more sense. It transport could also continue to grow unabated. remains to be clarified whether the H2 molecules will then It is now clear that a complete electrification, the All- be used in their pure form or as synthetic fuels. First of all, it Electric-World, will not come because there are industries is important that we now rapidly expand renewable energies that will continue to depend on a material energy source. For and promptly ramp up electrolyser production. example, batteries can only be used to a limited extent in Here in Germany we will only be able to generate a lim- commercial vehicles because their weight limits their pay- ited part of the huge amount of energy needed in industry, load. Wherever large amounts of energy are required for long chemistry, mobility and heat supply. As in the past, we will distances or large vehicles, pure electricity storage systems have to import a large part, in whatever form and from are at a disadvantage. As a result, only hydrogen and syn- wherever. thetic fuels can be considered for the maritime and aviation How all this will be implemented in concrete terms, how- sectors, as well as for commercial vehicles and buses, in the ever, remains to be seen in the coming months. context of advancing decarbonisation. But even with hydrogen there is hot controversy as to Sincerely whether grey and blue or only green H2 should be used for a transitional period. Grey hydrogen is produced from natural gas – blue hydrogen, too, but with subsequent sequestration of CO2 (Carbon Capture and Storage, CCS) – green hydro- Sven Geitmann gen using renewable energies. H2-international editor It is not always easy to understand why individual stake- holders have in the meantime opted for one way or the other. The fact is, however, that the Union-led Federal Ministries are open to hydrogen and PtL, while the SPD-led Federal Ministry for the Environment tends to focus on electrifi- cation. The liberals are similarly open as the conservatives, while the Greens present themselves as the great sceptics who actually support hydrogen, but, but, but … For some, the mere fact that the German Mineral Oil In- dustry Association (MWV, see H2-international issue Oct. H2-international 01 | FEBRUARY 2020 NOTIFICATIONS is expected to be completed by mid-2020 (total output: 800 KERSTIN ANDREAE HEADS BDEW MW) and the H2 CHP plant will be commissioned shortly. In Haßfurt, Siemens and 2G have already shown what Since the beginning of November such a plant can look like in a smaller dimension (120 kWel). 2019, Kerstin Andreae has been The hydrogen combined heat and power plant at the local Source: BDEW Source: the new Managing Director of the municipal utilities went into operation at the end of June Bundesverband der Energie- und 2019. The next order for a further plant in Germany has now Wasserwirtschaft e. V. (Federal been placed. Christian Grotholt, CEO and founder of 2G Association of Energy and Wa- Energy, commented: “We are registering a lively and broad ter Management). (BDEW). The interest in our hydrogen know-how and are therefore opti- economist had previously been mistic that we will be able to further expand our technolog- economic policy spokeswoman for ical leadership. the Green parliamentary group for many years, but resigned According to Frank Grewe, the company’s development her seat in the Bundestag in October 2019. She takes over the manager from Heek (NRW), 1,150 g CO2 per kilowatt hour job from Liberal Stefan Kapferer, who was announced in June are emitted when electricity is generated in a coal-fired pow- last year that he will take over the chairmanship of the Man- er plant without combined heat and power.