Commission promotes hydrogen vehicles

Just Imagine what life would be like with cars that do not run on carbon fuel. Better still, just imagine what life on our overcrowded island would be like if nothing more than water vapour came out of cars' exhaust pipes.

There are a number of difficulties that have to be overcome before this reality comes true. First, there is the riddle of how to produce hydrogen in sufficient quantities without increasing carbon dioxide emissions.

The second is how to ensure that motor vehicles carrying tanks full of hydrogen are safe enough for passengers and pedestrians.

Hydrogen vehicles offer environmental benefits through lower pollution and zero exhaust greenhouse gas emissions. The Commission wants to enable the EU-wide introduction of such cars and ensure they are safe to use. These are the objectives of a European Commission proposal unveiled last week.

Having more hydrogen cars will benefit citizens, while common standards for hydrogen storage will guarantee public safety. The proposal has been developed after extensive stakeholder discussion and has also been subject of an Internet consultation. It will now be considered by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers.

Hydrogen can be used in mobile applications like cars. delivery vans and buses - and is a clean source of energy. When used either in combustion motors or in fuel-cell systems, it does not produce any carbon emissions (carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, unburned hydrocarbons or particulates). Thus, using hydrogen will improve air quality in cities, although care will have to be taken to ensure the production of hydrogen itself does not lead to an increase in CO2 emissions. This can be achieved by using non-fossil energy sources or by CO2 sequestration.

The European Community Whole Vehicle Type-Approval (WVTA) system applies to vehicles powered by conventional fuels (petrol and diesel). Once a type of vehicle has obtained an EC WVTA certificate from the authorities of a member state, it can be marketed throughout the EU.

Currently, hydrogen powered vehicles are not included in the EC WVTA framework. Some member states issue national or single approval for these vehicles, while others are not doing so because of a lack of national or EU legislation.

The lack of a clear legislative framework poses problems for hydrogen vehicle manufacturers when they try to place these vehicles on the EU market. Currently, even if a vehicle obtains national or single type-approval in one member state, it is not guaranteed that the registration will be authorised in all the others. Furthermore, member states are able to establish different requirements and different standards. This situation results in a fragmented internal market when it comes to hydrogen powered vehicles, as well as complicated and costly approval procedures - which discourages the introduction of this environmentally friendly technology.

The Commission has adopted a proposal that will introduce these vehicles within the type-approval framework. This means that hydrogen vehicles will be treated in the same way as conventional vehicles and a single approval will be sufficient for the entire EU.

At the same time there are perceived safety issues with using hydrogen for vehicle propulsion, since it has different characteristics than conventional fuels. Therefore, it should be ensured that hydrogen vehicles put on the market in the EU are at least as safe as conventional vehicles.

Thus, the Commission proposal specifies technical requirements to be applied for the type-approval of hydrogen components (hydrogen containers and hydrogen components other than containers) included in the hydrogen system in order to ensure that hydrogen related components are working in a proper and safe way.

The impact assessment that accompanies the proposal has concluded that adopting an EU regulatory package could result in a saving of up to 124 million euros in approval costs to vehicle manufacturers in the period 2017-2025. With the establishment of the approval framework, the automotive industry could become more competitive in markets outside the EU by taking the lead in hydrogen technology.

In Malta, we have to begin to think ahead and paint future scenarios. Can we transform some of the free energy donated daily to us by the sun into hydrogen?