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FYI
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 80: June 26, 2003

National and International Efforts to Promote Hydrogen Energy

"Like many of the nations represented here, the United States has
made hydrogen research and development a top priority."  - Energy
Secretary Spencer Abraham

The idea of using hydrogen as an energy source is quickly gaining
traction with many in the federal government.  President Bush
highlighted a hydrogen energy initiative in his State of the Union
address, and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham called for
international cooperation in hydrogen research and development at a
recent European Union Conference on Hydrogen.  In addition, Senators
approved several amendments to the energy bill (S. 14) which would
promote hydrogen.

On June 9 the Senate approved an amendment by Sen. Jeff Bingaman
(D-NM) that would require DOE to report to Congress every three
years on possibilities for increasing the use of hydrogen and its
impacts on natural gas production.  The following day, an amendment
by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) was approved that would establish a
target of 100,000 hydrogen-powered cars on the road by 2010 and 2.5
million by 2020.  Dorgan's amendment would also call for development
of a national hydrogen fuel infrastructure.  However, it is worth
keeping in mind the remarks of MIT professor (and AIP Governing
Board chair) Mildred Dresselhaus, who commented, at a recent meeting
of a DOE advisory panel, that the challenges of hydrogen production,
storage, and distribution "won't be solved by legislating a
timetable."  (See FYI #71).

The hydrogen energy option is receiving substantial interest
overseas.  On June 16, Abraham described a proposed international
hydrogen partnership to formalize cooperative R&D efforts.  Selected
portions of Abraham's speech to the European Union Conference on
Hydrogen follow.  Some paragraphs have been combined in the
interests of space:

"I commend President Prodi [of the European Commission] and the
European Commission [EC] for convening this important conference.
Your commitment to overcoming the challenges to a hydrogen energy
future is an encouraging sign that we can, and will, transform this
world from one overly dependent on fossil fuels, to one powered in
large part by clean and abundant hydrogen....  Our ultimate success
will depend, for the most part, on our ability to devise 21st
century technologies to overcome these challenges. In America, we
have embarked on a multi-faceted, aggressive set of initiatives to
accomplish these goals....  While these initiatives are all very
important, what is the most exciting and perhaps the most promising
initiative is the one we are here to discuss today - hydrogen.  Like
many of the nations represented here, the United States has made
hydrogen research and development a top priority.  We do this for a
variety of reasons: to reduce the health impacts of pollution, to
increase energy security, as well as to address the long-term
potential challenge of climate change.

"Because of hydrogen's promise for addressing climate change, the US
and EU [European Union]identified it last February as an area for
cooperation under our climate change bilateral dialogue. The US and
EU also worked together closely to place cooperation on the hydrogen
economy at the center of the G-8 Action Plan on Science and
Technology, which our Leaders adopted earlier this month in Evian.

"Early last year we introduced our FreedomCAR program, which is
intended to develop automotive systems that would use hydrogen as
fuel. This past January, President Bush announced his Hydrogen Fuel
Initiative to concurrently develop the fuel production and
distribution infrastructure necessary for the mass deployment of
hydrogen-powered vehicles.  With these two project lines on track,
we believe that the first car of a child born this year could be
hydrogen powered and pollution free.

"We are optimistic about the prospects for hydrogen, not just as the
transportation fuel of the future, but also for its potential to
generate electricity to heat and power our homes and businesses. We
are so confident and committed that over the next five years the
Department of Energy will invest $1.7 billion in research and
development of hydrogen vehicles and hydrogen infrastructure
technologies.  As you know, hydrogen can be produced using
renewable, fossil, and nuclear energy. We are looking at all of
these options. But we intend that all our hydrogen will eventually
be produced using emissions-free technologies. In our most recent
budget, we propose spending roughly 50 percent on hydrogen
production from renewable resources."

"Later this morning, Commissioner Busquin [of the European Research
Commission] and I will sign a Fuel Cell Annex to the US-EU
Non-Nuclear Energy Cooperation Agreement. This Annex will help unify
our approaches to hydrogen research and highlight the importance of
international cooperation in the development of hydrogen energy
technologies. We believe our work on hydrogen and the work being
done elsewhere around the world is perhaps the most significant
game-changing endeavor the energy sector will see in our lifetimes.
And working together with international partners, we can leverage
scarce resources and advance the schedule for research, development,
and deployment of hydrogen production, storage, transport, and
end-use technologies. Moreover...I believe that international
collaboration can help us develop the uniform codes and standards
necessary for the development of hydrogen vehicles and the
infrastructure to support them."

"Clearly, the US-EU fuel cell joint effort is an important element
in advancing the hydrogen revolution. However, I see it as just the
beginning of an international approach to achieving our collective
hydrogen vision.  That's why, a few weeks ago at the International
Energy Agency conference in Paris, I proposed the concept of an
international hydrogen partnership to formalize cooperative efforts
to advance the research, development, and deployment of hydrogen
fuel cell and infrastructure technologies....  Today, I'd like to
ask the EC as an organization and the countries represented here
individually, to join with me in a ministerial-level conference this
fall to formally define and establish the International Partnership
for the Hydrogen Economy.  Such a Partnership would, in my view,
provide the best mechanism to efficiently organize, evaluate, and
coordinate multinational research and development programs that
advance the transition to a global hydrogen economy. Our Department
is prepared to host this session. And we are prepared to move
quickly to make such a conference a reality.

"We have great challenges ahead of us. We know that this task will
be difficult and that it will require a substantial devotion of
financial resources. But the promise of hydrogen is too great to
forego investing in its potential....  The question before us is
this: will we move forward, each of us, alone, in a manner that
likely leads to duplication and the inefficient use of resources? Or
will we band together to significantly increase our chance of
realizing the full potential of hydrogen?...  We look forward to
working with you to achieve that goal."

###############
Audrey T. Leath
Media and Government Relations Division
The American Institute of Physics
fyi{at}aip.org  www.aip.org/gov
(301) 209-3094
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