Hydrogen Vehicles on the road
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| CEP HyFLEET:CUTE HyNor | CA Hydrogen Highway |
An efficient and pragmatic solution
for an European Hydrogen Infrastructure
Leading studies (between 2003 and 2005) about the efficient application of hydrogen in transportation have predicted that a central Hydrogen production and its distribution to the fuelling stations via trucks/pipelines would be more efficient than a local production of hydrogen at the point of sales (POS). But, besides Hydrogen Vehicles themselves, Hydrogen technologies, like High capacity Electrolysis and Liquefaction, have far advanced since then. In addition to that, technologies to provide sufficient sustainable energies anywhere have seen a quantum leap.
Wouldn’t that be an awfully waste of contributions from this “Champions League of Engineering”, if any more time gets lost, before starting to seek for its synergies through the establishment of the potential Hydrogen infrastructure for transportation?
Trucks (Diesel…) or similar transportation methods are not required anymore for distributing Hydrogen to fuelling stations!
Sustainable energy can be provided seamlessly, in form of Electrical Power, to any POS, for efficient local Hydrogen production and storage!
Pilot Region: Andalucia
Andalucia (Spain) is, corresponding to its high capacity of annual average sun radiation, the European Region with already the highest concentration of installed Concentrating Solar Thermal Power Plants (CSP),
amplified by other substantial sustainable resources.
Locally conducted large scale demonstration projects for new
technologies, i.e. Hydrogen vehicles and corresponding services,
assure highly visibility to very prosperous and frequently returning
groups of European tourists.
According to the European
MED-CSP study
(Download PDF: Study MED-CSP Flyer), the already proven and dynamically developing CSP technology can provide sufficient energy to meet the future entirely electrical power demands of the EU, once installed in a sufficient quantity in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.
MED-CSP, the DESERTEC Concept with its
Dii – Desertec Industrial Initiative
(Download PDF: Dii - Objectives) and the
The Club of Rome,
are clearly pointing out, on what future European and National Energy Strategies
primarily in Transportation should emphasis: A highly efficient
network (HVDC - high voltage direct current) of sustainable energy resources
(Download PDF: Study TRANS-CSP Flyer).
This will assure a reliable and
stable calculation base for the transportation sector, with its key
parameters for efficient circulations of people, goods and services
within and between European Sustainable Market Economies.
The region of Andalucia, with its local resources and conditions, based on a unique European concentration/capacity of operative and expanding CSPs, should be established inevitably as the DESERTEC nucleus on European turf, i.e. for proof of concept and further rapid roll-out into other European regions, as well as the DESERTEC turn key connection point to the African continent.
European Rollout
A number of sufficient CSPs, implemented in EU regions with similar conditions as Andalucia (i.e. Southern Italy, Greece, Portugal, France etc.), could just provide the required sustainable energy capacity for a separate Highway Smart Grid (similar to separate Smart Grids for fast trains: ICE, TGV, AVE, Metropolitans etc.).
The separate Highway Smart Grid of the “Via Azul Europe 10” would connect the Highway fuelling stations with their local Hydrogen production (High-capacity Electrolysis + High-capacity Liquefaction) and storage equipment and would as well provide the northern EU regions with sufficient sustainable energy from the southern EU regions (CSP). The most efficient solution for the energy transmission via Smart Grid seems to be a Highway cable (on public ground !) of HVDC, as required for the Electrolysis anyways.
Other locally available sustainable energy sources can be connected to the Smart Grid, to complement the required energy provisioning.
The Smart Grid would connected at transformer stations with the European High Voltage Super Grid to buy required (until sufficient CSPs available) amounts of sustainable power mix or sell existing over capacity of its sustainable energy. This way the Via Azul Smart Grid has control of the 100% sustainable energy target for the local hydrogen production at Highway Fuelling Stations.
Win-win strategy
from A: Automotive (incl. Supply Chain) Revitalization
via E: Energy Efficiency in EU Transportation
via S: Sustainable Energies
to Z: Zero Emissions
Other above mentioned separate Smart Grids in transportation could benefit from these experiences for potential future adoption or direct connections with the Via Azul Smart Grid, to enforce substantial and sustainable reductions of local CO2 emissions and to save valuable fossil resources for future applications as well as from combustion to needless and contaminating gases.
Andalucia, as a EU Pilot Region for the Via Azul Europe 10, could provide the proof for these breakthrough in the synergetic application of already existing technologies for Hydrogen and Sustainable Energies.
Last but not least the variety of already developed and locally proven Hydrogen vehicles (Cars, Buses etc.) would have its first European long distance application and testing area, with highly tangibility to local habitants and substantial numbers of wealthy and frequent European tourists.
Finally Hydrogen Vehicles, experienced in in real life, are not only supporting the social adoption of this new technology, the are driving as well the revitalization of European Automotive, through a sustainable Hydrogen Infrastructure among the major European Highways and tangential cities as well as metropolitan areas!
EUH1
EUH5
EUH7
EUH10