Hydrogen and its competitors, 2004

Risø Energy Report 3Hydrogen in European and global energy systems 113CoalBiomassFigure 1: Hydrogen could provide valuable links betweendifferent parts of the complete energy system.Wind, nuclearand solar powerGasificationNatural gasElectrolysisReformingHydrogen storageHydrogendistributionNatural gas systemPower andheat systemRest of theenergy systemTransportCurrent driving forces in hydrogendevelopmentEnvironmental issues and security of energy supplycurrently top the list of society's energy-related concerns.In both these areas, the transport sector presents thebiggest challenges. With the exception of hydrogen, it ishard to imagine any replacement transport fuel thatwould be successful. Electric vehicles are one possibility,but to date their technical performance and user-friendlinesshave not met to expectations.In terms of the environment and energy security, severalfactors work in favour of hydrogen. Among the mostimportant are:• Hydrogen will increase energy efficiency in transportand power generation, which might imply lowerprimary energy consumption and emissions of greenhousegases.• A hydrogen energy system will pave the way for the useof a variety of renewable energy sources in the transportsector. This in turn will increase the diversity ofenergy sources and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions.• Reducing local air pollution is a priority in many cities.The use of hydrogen as a transport fuel would help.• The introduction of emerging technologies, such asfuel cells with high electrical efficiencies, will be facilitatedby a hydrogen infrastructure.• The robustness and flexibility of the energy system willbe increased by introducing hydrogen as a versatilenew energy carrier that can interconnect different partsof the energy system.• Vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells are quieterthan conventional vehicles, so they would assistgovernments reach their targets for noise reduction.Although the transport sector is currently the mostimportant driving force behind the development ofhydrogen, the broad scope of interactions betweenhydrogen and the rest of the energy system makeshydrogen an interesting option for the future. Hydrogencould make the existing energy system more robust, andthus improve the security of energy supply and facilitatethe introduction of new and environmentally-benignenergy sources. The trend towards decentralised energysystems, such as micro-turbines and small-scale localpower plants, would also be facilitated by the developmentof hydrogen systems.Research and development in hydrogen:selected countries and organisationsMore than 20 countries are engaged in hydrogen R&D.An increasing number of existing or prospective EUmembers, including unlikely countries such as Romania,Greece and Finland, are developing hydrogen strategiesand policies. Fewer countries are successfully developinghydrogen fuel cells and storage technologies, and atpresent the field is dominated by the USA, Canada,Germany and Japan. The following sections give moredetails on hydrogen research in each of these countries[6].GermanyGermany is without doubt the European leader inhydrogen and fuel cell R&D. Intensive research datesback to the mid-1980s, though the level of research hasdeclined in recent years. Much of Germany's interest inhydrogen is rooted in the transport sector, where companiesincluding BMW, DaimlerChrysler, General Motorsand Volkswagen are developing fuel cells. The automotivemanufacturers have also launched a TransportEnergy Strategy, which with government support aims atdeveloping a national policy strategy on alternativetransport fuels in the medium term. A number ofGerman companies are working on developing ahydrogen infrastructure.Current projects include:The Clean Energy Partnership (CEP). Based in Berlin, theCEP was established by the German Energy Agency in2002 with the objective of demonstrating hydrogen as a