Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-03-13-Speech-2-273"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20070313.22.2-273"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Madam President, the Commission is fully aware of the important role that hydrogen and fuel cells can play in the successful transition to a more sustainable energy system. It recognises that a key issue is the development and deployment of processes that can supply the required quantities of hydrogen in a way that leads to a net reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and which is also environmentally sustainable.
Initially, the bulk of hydrogen is expected to come from fossil fuels, firstly without, and then, in the medium term, with carbon capture and sequestration. The long-term goal is to produce hydrogen from carbon-free and carbon-lean energy sources. Under the fifth and sixth framework programmes, projects have investigated the potential of hydrogen as an energy carrier at the global level, as well as looking at many different options for producing and using hydrogen, while analysing the economic, social and environmental opinions for different pathways. Under FP 6, EC funding for hydrogen and fuel cell research and demonstration exceeds EUR 300 million. Around 20% of the activity concerns hydrogen production covering short-term pathways, such as advanced electrolysers, as well as long-term technologies, such as biological and photo-electrochemical processes. Technical research is complemented by socio-economic studies and demonstration.
Allow me to give you some practical examples. Under the fifth framework programme, the Commission supported the CUTE and ECTOS programme, which demonstrated 30 hydrogen fuel cell buses and hydrogen infrastructure in ten European cities and contributed to establishing its credibility as an alternative to petrol and diesel. Under FP6, these activities have further expanded into a demonstration of a fleet of 200 hydrogen-fuelled vehicles, including buses, cars and small specialist vehicles, as part of the Hydrogen for Transport initiative.
A further example of a project financed under the sixth framework programme, and whose results were just recently published, is the hydrogen internal combustion engine project. This is a new type of hydrogen technology that will lead to new and more efficient engines. The project has tested ways to make hydrogen-fuelled engines that are as efficient as current diesel engines, yet not polluting and with little or no trade-off in terms of engine size and power. These hydrogen-fuelled engines offer clear advantages over current generation engines and promise to compete with other proposed systems in terms of performance as well as cost. Under this project, innovative fuel injection concepts for engines for passenger cars, as well as for trucks and buses, were developed.
Finally, let me give you another example, worth mentioning because it was awarded the Descartes prize for collaborative scientific research just last week. It is the Hydrosol project, an innovative solar thermo-chemical reactor for the production of hydrogen from water-splitting, resembling the familiar catalytic converter of automobiles. The integration of solar energy with systems capable of splitting water will have an immense impact on energy economics worldwide, as it is a promising route for providing affordable renewable solar hydrogen with virtually zero CO2 emissions.
There are of course many more such examples and if the honourable Member wishes, I can provide her with a list of projects. Under the current seventh framework programme, which was launched just recently, research and technological development and demonstration in the field of hydrogen and fuel cells will benefit from very extensive stakeholder consultation undertaken through the European Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Platform. Established in the year 2004, this industry-led technology platform has provided the strategic direction which the sector needs in order to bring these technologies to the point of commercial readiness.
Annex 4 to the Council decision on specific programme cooperation lists a hydrogen and fuel cells initiative as one of the possible joint technology initiatives that may be established either on the basis of Article 171 of the Treaty — this may include the creation of joint undertakings — or on the basis of a modification of the specific programme in accordance with Article 166 of the Treaty. The JTI, envisaged as a long term public-private partnership, will define and execute a target-oriented European programme of industrial research, technological development and demonstration designed to deliver robust hydrogen and fuel cell technologies developed to the point of commercial take-off. It is expected that one of the JTI targets will be to supply 10 to 20% of the hydrogen demand for energy applications with carbon-lean or carbon-free production technologies by 2015. The precise scope and targets will be defined once this joint technology initiative is adopted.
In the meantime, the first calls for proposals for FP7 were launched on 22 December and the expiry date is the end of April. The energy theme includes a number of topics related to innovative materials for specific hydrogen production pathways.
I have taken longer than I intended, but I wanted to give you a broad outline of the programmes or initiatives which are in place."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples