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Germany plans showcase hydrogen project
Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Network North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), one of Europe's most active hydrogen groups, has revealed plans for an ambitious demonstration project ahead of the 2010 World Hydrogen Energy Conference in Essen, Germany.
Dr Frank Koch, manager of NRW, says that the group intends to use an existing 230km hydrogen pipeline which runs from the Ruhr down to Leverkusen, to supply five new hydrogen filling stations. The five proposed sites are Cologne, Leverkusen, Dusseldorf, Essen and Bottrop.
Burned
The existing pipeline was built in the 1930s and connects various chemical and industrial plants which produce hydrogen as a by-product, including the giant Bayer facility in Leverkusen. Some of the hydrogen is currently used in other factories along the route, but around 1 million cubic feet is burned every year. The pipeline is operated by French industrial gas company, Air Liquide.
300,000 cars waiting to be powered by excess hydrogen
Access
“There was a study two or three years ago which calculated that around 300,000 cars could be operated by the excess hydrogen. That is plenty for the short term, we just need to gain access to it. The plan is to build five refuelling stations along the route which are connected to the main pipeline by smaller ones. We have asked Air Liquide to calculate the cost per kilometre of these smaller connecting pipelines so we can get a clearer view of the infrastructure costs,” explains Koch.
Another option, he says, is to build filling stations directly at some of the chemical sites along the pipeline. At a plant near Cologne, for example, there is a chlorine electrolyser which can produce hydrogen at very low cost: as low as €2 to €3 per kg, compared to around €12 - €25 per kg at a hydrogen filling station in Berlin.
Showcase
“We are looking into a fuel cell/battery hybrid bus project in one of the cities to showcase the project’s potential. We are also talking to car manufacturers about it, to see if we can get a passenger car fleet to demonstrate the feasibility of the hydrogen,” says Koch.
The schedule is to have the first stage of the project up and running for the 2010 hydrogen conference.
“We are optimistic,” says Koch. “Every fuel cell developer recognises the problem of hydrogen supply and infrastructure. But here in NRW we have very good conditions to start developing a solution.”
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