Road Tour
European Hydrogen Road Tour 2012
The European Hydrogen Road Tour 2012 was part of H2moves Scandinavia, one of several projects in the Joint Technology Initiative on Hydrogen & Fuel Cells (FCH JU) which is funded by the European Commission and the European Industry. The European Hydrogen Road Tour 2012, with seminars and Ride & Drive events, reached out to politicians, industry, press and public within six European regions.
The message was clear: Hydrogen vehicles are already here – ready for mass production from 2014-2015 onwards. But there is still a sigificant need for infrastructure build-up.
For the European Hydrogen Road Tour 2012, car manufacturers and infrastructure organizations, together with other related industry and local stakeholders were invited to join our journey in building a strong Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles partnership in Europe!
Why a road tour
Major car manufacturers have devoted a significant amount of resources towards developing hydrogen powered Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) that will be mass produced in a few years. That is why we took cars from four companies – Daimler, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota – along the European Hydrogen Road Tour 2012.
In many of the cities we visited it was the first time the general public had an opportunity to test drive these cars with only water coming out of the exhaust pipe. The FCEVs they experienced are on a par with today’s cars but with much less noise and emissions. Provided the energy in the hydrogen production is renewable, the environmental impact is low.
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Car fuel from water, is it possible?
Yes it is! A major pathway to produce hydrogen in the future is electrolysis, which is achieved by decomposing water into hydrogen and oxygen. This is done with the help of renewable electricity. At the moment this is a relatively expensive method to produce hydrogen, and approximately 30–40 percent of the energy is lost through the electrolytic process. However, the efficiency is expected to improve and in the long run electrolysis is considered to be the most sustainable method for producing hydrogen from renewable resources.
A fuel cell is a device which can be used to efficiently transform the hydrogen’s chemical energy into electricity and heat. Even better, the only emission is pure water. The efficiency of a fuel cell car is twice as high as the conventional combustion engine.
Read more about hydrogen and fuel cell technology at H2 Tech.
Tour facts
The Route
We are part of a bigger picture
The European Hydrogen Road Tour 2012 is part of a project called H2moves Scandinavia. The project is the first European Lighthouse Project for hydrogen, funded by the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking programme, launched by the European Commission and European industry.
Main focus of the joint undertaking is to increase the impact of industrial level activities in Europe in this field and to address three major European policy targets:
- Energy diversity
- Mitigation of greenhouse gases
- Increase the share of renewable energies
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