- Email: [email protected]
Nordic green signs bio-methanol agency deal with BioMCN
NEWS sustainable major retailer, then we must continue to innovate and push the boundaries in every part of our business.’ ITM Power is involved in a number of major hydrogen refueling projects in the UK [see the feature in this issue]. These include the new UKH2Mobility initiative [see page 1], the EcoIsland project in the Isle of Wight [FCB, November 2011, p1], and its own ongoing Hydrogen On Site Trial (HOST) program of week-long trials at 21 partners around the UK, launched last spring. ITM Power Plc, Sheffield, UK. Tel: +44 114 244 5111, www.itm-power.com Marks and Spencer Plan A: http://plana.marksandspencer.com
can demonstrate its sense of responsibility in achieving the international sustainable biomass objectives.’ BioMCN supplies the bio-methanol used in the new Bio-HydroPlus fuel from US-based IdaTech, which recently announced the first use of this renewable fuel for a backup power fuel cell system at a T-Mobile telecom site in California [FCB, November 2011, p4]. Nordic green, Aarhus, Denmark. Tel: +45 2 634 6364, www.nordicgreen.eu BioMCN, Almere, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 596 647700, www.biomcn.eu
COMMERCIALIZATION
Nordic green signs bio-methanol agency deal with BioMCN
AFC to lead European consortium on alkaline fuel cell manufacture
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he Danish company Nordic green has signed an agency agreement with BioMCN for the representation and sale of bio-methanol in the Nordic (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland) and Baltic (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) countries. Nordic green will also represent BioMCN worldwide for fuel cell applications. BioMCN is the world’s largest producer of second-generation biofuels, producing highquality bio-methanol from renewable resources on an industrial scale. The company uses an innovative, patented process to convert crude glycerine – a residue from processing vegetable oils – into bio-methanol. As a fuel, bio-methanol can either be blended with gasoline, or used as a feedstock for other environmentally friendly fuels. Nordic green is focused solely on the introduction and use of second-generation ‘green’ methanol. The company’s markets include gasoline blends, bio-diesel (where methanol is needed for the production process), and fuel cells, where methanol is an easier to handle energy carrier than hydrogen. ‘We are very pleased with this agreement, which makes us the sole distributor of the world’s biggest producer of green methanol, BioMCN, in the Nordic and Baltic countries,’ says Per Sune Koustrup, CEO of Nordic green. ‘This agreement with Nordic green is another important step in contributing to an ambitious biofuel policy in Europe,’ adds Rob Voncken, CEO of BioMCN. ‘Through partnerships, BioMCN and the industry it operates in
January 2012
K-based alkaline fuel cell developer AFC Energy will lead a consortium of European organizations that has been awarded a grant of E1.4 million towards a E2.9 million (US$3.8 million) research and development project. AFC Energy’s share of the grant is E405 600. The LASER-CELL project began on 1 December, and will run for three years. It has been awarded funding from the fuel cells and hydrogen sub-program of the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme (FP7), which is managed by the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU). LASER-CELL, which will run alongside AFC Energy’s current development program, will develop innovative technologies to enhance high-volume production of alkaline fuel cells, backed up by life-cycle and market analysis. The consortium also includes automation specialist Cencorp Oyj in Finland, the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, industrial gases giant Air Products, the specialist material supplier Nanocyl SA in Belgium, and the Energy and Environmental Engineering Institute at Duisburg-Essen University in Germany.
AFC Energy Plc, Cranleigh, Surrey, UK. Tel: +44 1483 276726, www.afcenergy.com European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking: www.fch-ju.eu
Ballard sets up new European base at Hürth in Germany
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anadian-based Ballard Power Systems has established a new operation in the German town of Hürth, in North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen, NRW). The fuel cell developer will coordinate all of its projects in NRW – and elsewhere in Europe – from the new facility, set up with assistance from the Technology Center St@rt Hürth, as it looks to grow in the expanding European market for fuel cell applications. ‘We already have many customers in Germany and Europe, and we especially see Germany as a growing key market for our technology and our product,’ says Larry Stapleton, the company’s VP for sales. ‘That includes fuel cell powered buses, uninterrupted power supplies, and systems for combined heat and power (CHP).’ Ballard is aware of the value of the new base in Hürth for the worldwide activities of the concern. ‘Right now the European Union has ambitious climate and environmental goals, which can be achieved especially well with our technology,’ continues Stapleton. ‘The office in Hürth will assume a key position in Europe, from which we can further build not only the sales and distribution, but also the service of our fuel cell systems.’ The company has participated in numerous joint projects with the HyCologne Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Network, which is based in Hürth. Ballard already sells its products in Germany to system integrators like Heliocentris and FutureE, which then sell their finished products in various versions and markets. Ballard also has a subsidiary in Europe, the Danish firm Dantherm Power, which sells backup power fuel cell systems. ‘The two Phileas fuel cell hybrid buses from APTS, which are now in use from the Rhein-Erft region to Cologne [FCB, October 2011, p3], are a good example of the clear commitment of the region and of North Rhine-Westphalia to fuel cell technology,’ says Stapleton. ‘We have been active in Europe for many years, and we are working hard to bring more such buses on the roads, here in NRW and also throughout Germany and Europe (for example, in Norway, the UK, and the Netherlands).’ In the Rhein-Erft-Kreis region, fuel cells from Ballard feature in the Phileas buses, which transit agency Regionalverkehr Köln GmbH, together with the public service departments of Hürth and Brühl as well as the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, have run in public transportation since September
Fuel Cells Bulletin
7
can demonstrate its sense of responsibility in achieving the international sustainable biomass objectives.’ BioMCN supplies the bio-methanol used in the new Bio-HydroPlus fuel from US-based IdaTech, which recently announced the first use of this renewable fuel for a backup power fuel cell system at a T-Mobile telecom site in California [FCB, November 2011, p4]. Nordic green, Aarhus, Denmark. Tel: +45 2 634 6364, www.nordicgreen.eu BioMCN, Almere, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 596 647700, www.biomcn.eu
COMMERCIALIZATION
Nordic green signs bio-methanol agency deal with BioMCN
AFC to lead European consortium on alkaline fuel cell manufacture
T
U
he Danish company Nordic green has signed an agency agreement with BioMCN for the representation and sale of bio-methanol in the Nordic (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland) and Baltic (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) countries. Nordic green will also represent BioMCN worldwide for fuel cell applications. BioMCN is the world’s largest producer of second-generation biofuels, producing highquality bio-methanol from renewable resources on an industrial scale. The company uses an innovative, patented process to convert crude glycerine – a residue from processing vegetable oils – into bio-methanol. As a fuel, bio-methanol can either be blended with gasoline, or used as a feedstock for other environmentally friendly fuels. Nordic green is focused solely on the introduction and use of second-generation ‘green’ methanol. The company’s markets include gasoline blends, bio-diesel (where methanol is needed for the production process), and fuel cells, where methanol is an easier to handle energy carrier than hydrogen. ‘We are very pleased with this agreement, which makes us the sole distributor of the world’s biggest producer of green methanol, BioMCN, in the Nordic and Baltic countries,’ says Per Sune Koustrup, CEO of Nordic green. ‘This agreement with Nordic green is another important step in contributing to an ambitious biofuel policy in Europe,’ adds Rob Voncken, CEO of BioMCN. ‘Through partnerships, BioMCN and the industry it operates in
January 2012
K-based alkaline fuel cell developer AFC Energy will lead a consortium of European organizations that has been awarded a grant of E1.4 million towards a E2.9 million (US$3.8 million) research and development project. AFC Energy’s share of the grant is E405 600. The LASER-CELL project began on 1 December, and will run for three years. It has been awarded funding from the fuel cells and hydrogen sub-program of the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme (FP7), which is managed by the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU). LASER-CELL, which will run alongside AFC Energy’s current development program, will develop innovative technologies to enhance high-volume production of alkaline fuel cells, backed up by life-cycle and market analysis. The consortium also includes automation specialist Cencorp Oyj in Finland, the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, industrial gases giant Air Products, the specialist material supplier Nanocyl SA in Belgium, and the Energy and Environmental Engineering Institute at Duisburg-Essen University in Germany.
AFC Energy Plc, Cranleigh, Surrey, UK. Tel: +44 1483 276726, www.afcenergy.com European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking: www.fch-ju.eu
Ballard sets up new European base at Hürth in Germany
C
anadian-based Ballard Power Systems has established a new operation in the German town of Hürth, in North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen, NRW). The fuel cell developer will coordinate all of its projects in NRW – and elsewhere in Europe – from the new facility, set up with assistance from the Technology Center St@rt Hürth, as it looks to grow in the expanding European market for fuel cell applications. ‘We already have many customers in Germany and Europe, and we especially see Germany as a growing key market for our technology and our product,’ says Larry Stapleton, the company’s VP for sales. ‘That includes fuel cell powered buses, uninterrupted power supplies, and systems for combined heat and power (CHP).’ Ballard is aware of the value of the new base in Hürth for the worldwide activities of the concern. ‘Right now the European Union has ambitious climate and environmental goals, which can be achieved especially well with our technology,’ continues Stapleton. ‘The office in Hürth will assume a key position in Europe, from which we can further build not only the sales and distribution, but also the service of our fuel cell systems.’ The company has participated in numerous joint projects with the HyCologne Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Network, which is based in Hürth. Ballard already sells its products in Germany to system integrators like Heliocentris and FutureE, which then sell their finished products in various versions and markets. Ballard also has a subsidiary in Europe, the Danish firm Dantherm Power, which sells backup power fuel cell systems. ‘The two Phileas fuel cell hybrid buses from APTS, which are now in use from the Rhein-Erft region to Cologne [FCB, October 2011, p3], are a good example of the clear commitment of the region and of North Rhine-Westphalia to fuel cell technology,’ says Stapleton. ‘We have been active in Europe for many years, and we are working hard to bring more such buses on the roads, here in NRW and also throughout Germany and Europe (for example, in Norway, the UK, and the Netherlands).’ In the Rhein-Erft-Kreis region, fuel cells from Ballard feature in the Phileas buses, which transit agency Regionalverkehr Köln GmbH, together with the public service departments of Hürth and Brühl as well as the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, have run in public transportation since September
Fuel Cells Bulletin
7