Hundreds of European aficionados of fuel cell- and natural gas-powered vehicles (FCVs and NGVs)— representing invited leaders of industry, academia, government, NGOs, and the media —are converging on Brussels this week for some wheeling and dealing.
From Nov. 22 - 23, they will participate in the annual Stakeholders General Assembly of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking 2011—a unique public-private partnership that supports research, technological development, and demonstration activities; all dedicated to accelerating the market introduction of FCVs and NGVs.
Guests also will get the opportunity to test drive the latest generation of zero-emission vehicles developed by Daimler, Honda (News - Alert), Intelligent Energy, Opel and Toyota—one of the most popular parts of the annual program. The 2011 edition of Drive N’ Ride will mark the event’s third year in Brussels. Each road test will take participants to the mobile hydrogen refueling station provided by Daimler and Linde and placed for the occasion in Parc du Cinquantenaire,
The lack of infrastructure currently remains a roadblock to the market success of green technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells. So far, there are approximately 200 stations worldwide (with some 70 accessible to the public) at which fuel cell vehicles can fill up with hydrogen.
Several public-private partnerships, both on a national as well as on an international level, are aiming to increase the number of fuelling stations in order to offer a sufficient hydrogen supply to the growing number of fuel cell-powered cars, expected to hit the streets starting in 2014.
In the United States, on November 15, a bipartisan group of legislators — U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) — introduced a bill that would provide incentives to U.S. manufacturers for producing or retrofitting natural gas-powered vehicles (NGVs), as well as for building natural gas refueling infrastructure. The New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions (NAT GAS) Act of 2011, also would expand tax credits to consumers of dedicated natural gas vehicles and certain bi-fuel and dual-fuel alternative natural gas vehicles to help offset incremental cost; subject to caps, depending on vehicle size. It would be fully paid for by a temporary user fee at the natural gas pump.
“Economic and environmental uncertainties are high in Europe today. Clean and energy efficient technologies such as market-ready fuel cell and hydrogen pave the way towards the transformation of our fossil-fuel based economies to a more diverse and energy secure future whilst contributing to a sustainable economic recovery. Only a joint effort of Member States, the EU and the private sector today will put these cars on the road as of 2014”, said Henri Winand, CEO of U.K.-based Intelligent Energy, during session five of the meeting, “Appropriate Regulatory and Financial Frameworks Required to Bring Innovation—including FCH —to the Market.”
Cheryl Kaften is an accomplished communicator who has written for consumer and corporate audiences. She has worked extensively for MasterCard (News - Alert) Worldwide, Philip Morris USA (Altria), and KPMG, and has consulted for Estee Lauder and the Philadelphia Inquirer Newspapers. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Stefanie Mosca
