2nd Biannual Newsletterolder posts »

Introducing CHIC

CHIC, the Clean Hydrogen In European Cities Project, is the essential next step leading to the full market commercialization of Fuel Cell Hydrogen powered (FCH) buses.

The project will provide results from demonstrations of 60 hydrogen buses. Of these, 26 FCH buses are directly funded by European Union Joint Undertaking for Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (FCH JU) and will operate in daily public transport operations in five locations across Europe – Aargau (Switzerland), Bolzano/Bozen (Italy), London (UK), Milan (Italy), and Oslo (Norway). The CHIC project is supported by the FCH JU with funding of 26 million Euros, and has 25 partners from across Europe, which include industrial partners for vehicle supply and refuelling infrastructure. The project is based on a staged introduction and build-up of FCH bus fleets, the supporting hydrogen refuelling stations, and infrastructure in order to facilitate the smooth integration of the FCH buses in Europe’s public transport system.

London looks its best when touring on a Hydrogen Bus!

5 Fuel Cell Hydrogen Buses under the CHIC project are currently in London. By the end of 2011 there will be a total of 8 CHIC Fuel Cell Hydrogen (FCH) buses running on the RV1 route in Central London – which takes passengers in Covent Garden, the Tower of London and the South Bank.

European Leaders are also enjoying hydrogen transport. In a one day visit to London the EU Transport Commissioner, Siim Kallas, did not miss his opportunity to hop on a CHIC bus and tour the city of London. On his visit he explored the local pioneering practices in sustainable and smart city planning. The Vice-President of the European Commission met Peter Hendy, Commissioner of Transport for London (TfL), and later Mayor Boris Johnson. Discussion topics included congestion charging, smart ticketing and contingency planning for the Olympic Games in 2012, cycling schemes and road space management.

Hydrogen Buses in Cologne

On May 06 Harry K. Voigtsberger, Minister of Economy and Traffic in North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) region of Germany,and Werner Stump, head of the Rhein-Erft district authority, jointly with Cologne Regional Traffic (RVK) manager Eugen Puderbach and Günter Rosenke from the RVK supervisory board presented the first fuel cell-driven hybrid-electric buses in Hürth near Cologne. The buses are the first of their kind in the regular public transport network of North Rhine-Westphalia and will serve the Rhein-Erft district and the inner-city traffic of Hürth and Brühl.

In May 2010, the first hydrogen filling station was inaugurated in Hürth and is now available to supply the bus fleet by means of a 350 bar pressure system. The new station is an important link in the chain of hydrogen supply facilities forming the “hydrogen pipeline” in NRW und the Benelux states.

Cologne is Phase 0 city within the CHIC project.

London Hydrogen Station supplied by Air Products

The construction of the hydrogen refueling station commenced in spring 2010 and was completed by November 2010.

The station comprises high pressure storage and 350 bar dispensing through 2 dispensers on site. 2 dispensers are used in servicing the buses. The Hydrogen delivered to the station is Liquid hydrogen. The station is serviced by Air Products’ fleet of dual phase hydrogen tankers, which transport the hydrogen as liquid and vaporize into high pressure storage on site.

The dual phase hydrogen tanker, developed and owned by Air Products, converts the hydrogen between different states and pressures and can supply medium or high pressure gas in addition to liquid hydrogen. This means that large quantities of hydrogen can be transported, there by reducing distribution costs and minimising the equipment needed at the point of use.

The process of producing centralized hydrogen from natural gas and steam is currently a reliable and currently the most cost effective method. This transition process will allow the industry to commercialise hydrogen use and more sustainable ways of producing economical hydrogen will emerge once mass deployment of vehicles is underway.

Oslo’s stylish addition to hydrogen transport

Air Liquide Norway will build and operate the new hydrogen station in Oslo under the CHIC project located in the Oppegård municipality.

The intriguing feature of the fuelling station is the futuristic design. Atle Stubberud from Soon Design has planned a steel and glass wall to be built around the station. The wall, although built for safety and practical uses, around the eletrolysers, compressors, and storage tanks, is a stylish addition to Oslo’s bus depot. This futuristic station has been designed to become a interesting attraction for local tourists.

The fuel cell buses will be supplied by Belgian manufacturer, Van Hool. They will have a length of 13 meters, have a low entry and 3-axels. The bus will have 37 seats an be used for commuter transport.

“Hop on a Session in a CHIC Bus!” Event – April 12, 13 & 14

During this year’s European Sustainable Energy Week in Brussels, the CHIC dissemination team held the “Hop on a CHIC Bus!” Event.
Right outside the doors of the European Commission’s Berlaymont building, a Fuel Cell Hydrogen (FCH) Bus was showcased in which over 150 participants hopped on board and took part in presentations that gave an overview of European funded projects which deal with Hydrogen and Fuel Cell development and deployment. A member of the Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Industry and Enterprise, Cabinet also found the time to come on board. Valentina Superti, responsible for the automotive industry within the the cabinet met CHIC hosts and was presented the various hydrogen projects in progress in Europe, while being informed on hydrogen applications in Europe’s energy and transport system.

EU Transport White Paper

The European Commission on March 28, 2011 presented its new White Paper “Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system” (COM2011/144) adopted a roadmap of 40 concrete initiatives for the next decade to build a competitive transport system that will increase mobility, remove major barriers in key areas and fuel growth and employment.

The EU also announced its ambition to half the number of conventional fuelled vehicles in cities by 2030 and to reduce Europe’s dependence on imported oil and cut carbon emissions in transport by 60% by 2050. The EU included a reference to its aim  to organise the  interface between long distance and  last-mile freight transport  more efficiently, indicating that “this could be performed with low emission urban trucks. The use of electric, hydrogen and hybrid technologies would  not only reduce air emissions, but also noise, allowing a greater portion of freight  transport within the urban areas to take  place at night time.”

CIVITAS Annual Forum – Funchal, Portugal

CIVITAS – cleaner and better transport in cities – stands for CIty-VITAlity-Sustainability. With the CIVITAS Initiative, the European Commission aims to generate a decisive breakthrough by supporting and evaluating the implementation of ambitious integrated sustainable urban transport strategies that should make a real difference for the welfare of the European citizen.
Funchal is the capital of the Maderan archipelago, whose 104,000 inhabitants occupy an area of 75km2. Now within the CIVITAS Forum 2011 it will balance an exchange of dialogue and views between city and European politicians on the one hand, and experts in the field of urban mobility on the other.
The conference will be the 9th such annual event, following fora previously hosted in various quarters of Europe including Malmö, Krakow, Bologna, Kaunas, Burgos, Nantes, Rotterdam and Graz since the series started in 2003. The CIVITAS Forum Network currently includes 195 cities from 31 European countries, that have formally committed to clean and sustainable urban transport.