Companies and Federal Minister of Transport Emphasize the Potential of this Future Technology
Joint Commitment to Fuel Cells
Oldenburg, Germany, August 28, 2007. “Hydrogen and fuel cell technol-ogy is a critical building block when it comes to climate protection and our future energy supply.” Federal Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee empha-sized this point today during a visit to EWE AG in Oldenburg. The minis-ter of transport, construction and urban development obtained more in-formation about the current state of development of stationary fuel cells for single-family and multi-family houses at the EWE educational center.
The company’s cooperative partners – manufacturers Baxi Innotech, CFCL, Hexis, Vaillant and Viessmann – presented their fuel cell devices in Oldenburg. The presentation triggered a detailed exchange of informa-tion among Tiefensee, the manufacturers and EWE.
The minister was visibly impressed by the potential of the stationary ap-plication. “I expect stationary fuel cells to play a highly significant role in the efficient and environmentally compatible provision of heat and elec-tricity to our buildings for a long time to come,” stated Tiefensee. EWE and the manufacturers made great strides toward a market launch of this technology through their field tests.
EWE is already one of the leaders in the testing of fuel cells and intends to further intensify this commitment. As Dr. Werner Brinker, CEO of EWE AG, underlined, “Intelligent solutions are the key to the energy supply of the future. We are delighted to have the federal government support us in this project.” It is now only a matter of time until fuel cells become established in the market.
Fuel cell technology is undisputedly regarded as the most efficient form of combined heat and power generation among experts. As part of the ten-year “National Innovation Program for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technol-ogy,” government and industry are promoting the further development of this technology for mobile and stationary applications. Government and industry are each providing about 500 million euros in funding. The goal of the program is to make fuel cells marketable through joint demonstra-tion projects known as “lighthouse” projects.
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