“The Hydrogen economy is a long-term vision”

Wind and solar power depend on weather and daytime. Since electricity cannot be stored on a large scale, the potential use of these renewable energy sources is limited. Fuel cells could play an important role in ensuring energy supply around-the-clock. They are technical systems, which chemically convert hydrogen into water and electricity without generating hazardous emissions. Environmentally, it would make sense to use renewable sources to produce hydrogen for later use in fuel cells. A German company developing this technology is RWE Fuel Cells, a subsidiary of the multinational utilities giant based in Essen.

[ Interview with RWE manager Michael Fübi ]

In the late 1990s, it was said at the Hanover Fair that fuel cell technology was almost ready for use. But it still has not got to that point. When will the technology be marketable?
Fuel cells for use in trade and industry could be on the Market in the next two or three years. For instance, the firm MTU CFC Solutions, in which our company holds a stake, plans to begin series production of its model HotModule in 2006. This is a small-scale power station with an output of 250 kilowatt for industrial applications. For household applications, this stage will not be reached for some years.

What role will the technology play for energy and electricity provision in the long term?
Decentralised energy supply will become more important in future. Once we achieve profitability and a widespread use of fuel cells, this technology will play an important role.

What are the various options for mobile and stationary application?
In the stationary segment, fuel cells can be used in trade and industry and in one-family-homes or blocks of flats. Mobile applications are to be found in motor vehicles. Portable fuel cells will be used, for example, to power notebook PCs. Basically, fuel cells can be used in all areas.

Does it really make sense to use the same technology for such different purposes?
There is no “fuel cell technology” as such. Rather, we are dealing with various types of fuel cells. Therefore, it depends on the application what model is suitable. For instance, for industrial applications, only high-temperature fuel cells are used because the process heat that is generated can be drawn off and used for industrial workflows.

Some environmentalists complain that companies – particularly in the automobile sector – like to talk about a possible fuel cells future a lot because that implies that they don’t have to do anything in terms of environmental innovation right now. Is this criticism justified?
RWE is pursuing fuel cells activities with great commitment because this technology is a meaningful addition to our product portfolio. We hope, of course, that it will enable us to improve environmental protection in the long run. But that will not happen until fuel cells are operating in correspondingly large numbers. Ecologically sound management, however, is a complex matter that does not only depend on one single technology.

Another frequently heard complaint is that fuel cells do not use energy directly and that too much energy is lost in the production of hydrogen. So why is the carrier technology relevant for renewable energy supply?
Fuel cells have the advantage that the fuel they use (which today includes natural gas) is converted directly into power and heat. Unlike conventional electricity generation, such as in gas-fired power stations, there is no conversion chain with intermediate steps from natural gas to thermal energy which then mechanically drives a turbine to generate electricity. Producing hydrogen, however, is very expensive and currently cannot be done economically. Given the present conditions, it does not make sense to generate electricity and use it to produce hydrogen and then, in turn, use the hydrogen in a fuel cell to generate power. From the present point of view, the idea of a hydrogen economy is a long-term vision. Nevertheless, the fuel cell technology now offered by MTU CFC Solutions converts natural gas and biogas into electricity with an efficiency ratio of 47 per cent, thus showing that this technology is most certainly relevant.

Hydrogen is a highly explosive gas. Is transporting it not more dangerous than shipping petrol?
Transporting hydrogen is just as safe as carrying petrol. In fact, if an explosion occurs hydrogen vents upward very quickly as a jet of flame, while a petrol tank burns heavily for minutes.

Does the type and method of primary energy used make any difference for fuel cell technology? What renewable sources would be appropriate?
Basically, all renewable energy sources are suitable for producing environment-friendly hydrogen. However, it must be a technology that’s competitive in terms of costs. In sunny regions, photovoltaic generators could be used to derive hydrogen. A counter-argument would be that the electricity generated by photovoltaic means could also be used directly instead of using it to produce hydrogen. One might reply, however, that such regions would always be without electricity when the sun was not shining. On the other hand, hydrogen can be stored and used in fuel cells to generate power at any time regardless of external factors.

Not all environmentalists view fuel cells with suspicion. Some are enthusiastic about the technology because it enables decentralised provision of electricity. What makes this attractive? After all, RWE used to bank on large-scale technologies in the past.
Fuel cells work in power-heat co-generation and can be used particularly efficiently where both the electricity and heat are needed. Fuel cells are also especially environment-friendly because they exploit the fuel used – which at present is mainly natural gas – in an optimal way. The merits of being able to generate power and heat decentrally also lie in the fact that in some cases it enables households to regulate their production in their own basements. However, even if fuel cells will account for a growing proportion of electricity generation, most of it will continue to be produced in large-scale power stations. So fuel cells are always to be seen as only an addition to RWE’s product portfolio.

On what raw materials could fuel cells-based energy provision rely in developing countries?
Basically, all fuels containing hydrogen can be used. Regenerative conversion technologies, such as electricity generation by photovoltaic means, also lend themselves to hydrogen production – provided that this can be done economically. The clear advantage would be that the fuel cells could be operated in a CO2-neutral way.

There are various types of fuel cells. Are all of them compatible with utility systems? Are technical standards already emerging?
Fundamentally, the answer to the question of compatibility is yes. With regard to standards, work is already going on to define national and international norms. However, that will still take some time.

Should poor country governments already consider fuel cells for their long-term infrastructure policy?
Fuel cells are still at the development stage. They will first have to gain acceptance in the advanced, industrial economies before they will develop their potential in developing countries.

Questions by Hans Dembowski