[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6416\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EWe have to let people know that hydrogen technology is ready \u2013 Bart Biebuyck\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHydrogen fuel cells have been promoted as a zero-emission energy source because they convert hydrogen into electricity and the only by-product is water. What role do you think they will play in our future?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Hydrogen will play several roles in our future. For transport, we now see several manufacturers launching cars powered by electricity produced in a hydrogen fuel cell, and this will happen even more in the near future. Fuel cell buses are also an attractive solution for public transport. It is quite interesting to see that, in Europe, there are nearly 100 hydrogen buses on the road, which in comparison with the US and Japan, remains quite a significant amount. Then there are other applications for transport such as forklifts and boats, and engineers are now even starting to consider using fuel cells and hydrogen to power trains.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Hydrogen fuel cells offer lots of other possibilities and present a great potential for energy applications as well. For example, so-called micro combined heat and power (CHP) systems, which are fuel cells that can be used for residential applications, have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions when compared to a gas condensing boiler.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Hydrogen will also play an increasing role in energy storage. For example, a windmill is likely to generate too much electricity in strong winds and would need to shut down. Instead of shutting it down, the excess energy could be used to produce hydrogen by passing it through water. This could then be used for transport or other purposes.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere are we now?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We see now the first products coming onto the market. Cars and buses have been ready for several years now and micro CHP units are starting to become more popular. Of course, this is still an expensive technology, and a technology that needs further development. Therefore, in the coming years, we will still need to invest to find ways to reduce costs in order for this technology to be able to compete with regular technologies.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are the major obstacles to overcome before hydrogen fuel cell technology is rolled out to the mass market?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I feel that fuel cells and hydrogen technology is not really known by most people and we need to make sure the message gets to many people. When I talk to people in the street, they still think of it as something which is about 10 or 20 years away and this is wrong. It\u2019s there today and they can buy it if they want it. I think the bus project is a very good example to demonstrate this. We have feedback from people who use hydrogen buses frequently and passengers get enthusiastic about the low noise level and the environmental aspect. These are the ambassadors and we need them to spread the word.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAre there any other issues to iron out?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The cost is very high and that\u2019s mainly for products like cars, buses and micro CHPs. There is a need to generate more volume, there must be more cars, more buses, in order to create economies of scale. In addition, there is also the need to standardise, as this is also key to enable cost reduction.\u2019\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018The advantages are very clear: zero-emissions and long range.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EBart Biebuyck, Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow would you sell a hydrogen car to someone?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The advantages are very clear: zero-emissions and long range. Hydrogen-powered cars are comparable to conventional vehicles in terms of range and refuelling times. However, the biggest advantage is that there are no emissions, the only by-product being water. People like their comfort, they like their way of living, so they don\u2019t want to change that. But, simultaneously, there is a growing consciousness of the need to address environmental issues. Well, this car can do both. I think that\u2019s the beautiful thing about fuel cell cars.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHydrogen is often produced from natural gas, are you also looking at renewable sources?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Of course hydrogen has to be green, we need to focus on hydrogen from renewables. It\u2019s true that hydrogen that is now produced from renewables is still very low, it is around 4 %. One of the reasons is that the cost has to go down and the efficiency still has to improve. Thanks to the work of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, new technologies can be developed to further reduce the cost, improve efficiency and optimise, therefore, the use of renewables.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We support a very interesting project here in Belgium, called Don Quichote, which features a hydrogen plant located at the distribution centre of the supermarket company Colruyt Group. The plant includes solar panels and windmills and generates electricity that way. This electricity is then converted into hydrogen and used for Colruyt\u2019s forklifts in its distribution centre. It also means people can refuel their cars at the centre. This is a perfect example of how an integrated hydrogen plant allows for a complete cycle of energy production and distribution using hydrogen. I believe we will see more and more of these kinds of cases, where establishments generate their own electricity and make use of hydrogen it produces.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ciframe src=\u0022https:\/\/europa.eu\/webtools\/crs\/iframe\/?oriurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2F1fl89JV0jMg\u0022 width=\u0022560\u0022 height=\u0022315\u0022 frameborder=\u00220\u0022\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Don Quichote project is helping organisation build their own hydrogen plants which run on renewable energy. Video courtesy Don Quichote.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-y9wgx36-lzcw1anfacu6e84nzm2-7ip5h6c4pglfsr8\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-Y9wGx36_lzcW1anfAcU6e84nzM2_7ip5H6C4PgLFSR8\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]