EU pumps €1bn into fuel cell research

The EU has set itself the ambitious target of delivering the mass-market roll-out of hydrogen fuel cell technologies before 2020, as part of a major €1bn (£780m) six year research programme designed to bring together public and private sector research teams from across Europe.

Launched this week, the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking brings together the European Commission, research bodies and private firms in a Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) designed to co-ordinate hydrogen and fuel cell research across the bloc.

Backed by €1bn in research funding, the new group brings together 60 firms and a similar number of universities and is aiming to shorten the time it takes to get fuel cell technologies to market by between two and five years.

EU Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potocnik, welcomed the new body as evidence of the EU's commitment to tackling climate change. "By investing in such a results-oriented scientific project, we are putting our money where our mouth is," he said. "The development of new energy technologies is crucial if we are to meet EU objectives to address climate change and energy challenges."

The first wave of project funding, worth up to €28.1m, is now available and the JTI is inviting proposals from research projects focused on transportation and refuelling infrastructures and the production, storage and distribution of hydrogen.

Jan van Dokkum, president of UTC Power, the fuel cell division of engineering conglomerate UTC and one of the firms involved in the JTI said that the move represented a major leap forward for fuel cell research in Europe.

"A lot of the research in Europe is not co-ordinated compared to the US where the Department of Energy has been very pro-active," he said. "This should help deliver that level of co-ordination in Europe."

He added that the target of delivering mass market roll out of fuel cell systems within the next 12 years was achievable.

"There is still significant research to be done on fuel cell vehicles to make them more affordable and robust, but in terms of stationary fuel cells for buildings we already have a commercially viable product," he said, adding that in areas of the US UTC Power's 400Kw fuel cell was more cost effective than grid power.

"Our latest fuel cells are going to be installed in the Freedom Tower [in New York] and that has prompted a lot of interest in the technology," Van Dokkum said. "When used as a combined heat and power system these fuel cells are between two and three times more energy efficient than grid power, deliver cuts in carbon emissions and can generate power cheaper than the grid."

He added that the with the US government now offering tax credits for stationary fuel cells the company was expecting to produce 50 more units in the next couple of months and had orders or commitments to buy for all of them.

"We have enough capacity to meet demand for a year to 18 months and then we'll have to expand," he said, adding that Europe or Asia where the most likely locations for a new manufacturing facility.