Originally published April 2 2005
Europe can rapidly expand into the hydrogen economy if it commits to building the infrastructure
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Leaders in the hydrogen production and hydrogen fuel industry in Europe say that the continent can rapidly build a hydrogen economy if it commits to building the infrastructure. With Japan and the US working on their own hydrogen economies, Europe must invest in hydrogen now if it wants to be a world leader and not a follower.
The main barriers to the hydrogen economy are no longer economic, technical or related to the development of infrastructure, but rather a lack of commitment and cooperation among the key stakeholders, say industry insiders.
Leading private sector stakeholders were invited to present their views on the future hydrogen economy to the annual general assembly of the European hydrogen and fuel cell technology platform in Brussels on 17 March.
'I have a simple message,' began Aldo Belloni, CEO of Linde Gas and Engineering.
'Infrastructure is no longer a barrier to the hydrogen economy.
According to the same high uptake scenario, by 2030 there could be around 40 million hydrogen cars in Europe.
'With advances in [satellite navigation] technology, we would need a smaller network of hydrogen filling stations to service these vehicles - around 18,000 in total,' said Mr. Belloni 'A city the size of Brussels, for example, could be serviced by around 50 filling stations.'
Linde's research suggests that the most economical filling station infrastructure would involve the centralized production of hydrogen, using road tankers to supply the stations.
'Distributing hydrogen is cheaper than distributing the production of it,' he said.
Linde is already planning to create the 'German hydrogen ring road' - a network of 40 public filling stations on motorways that encompass the sites of all the main car manufacturers in Germany -allowing the practical testing of new hydrogen vehicles and technologies.
Another business figure aiming to inspire stakeholders to redouble their efforts was Carl-Peter Forster, president of General Motors Europe.
Mr. Forster argued that more public sector support is needed to ensure that opportunities are not missed.
'The vision [of the hydrogen economy] will require political leadership and the commitment of all partners to achieve.
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