US promotes stronger international partnerships to support hydrogen economy

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 28 KB
• Volume: 2003
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1464-2859
• DOI: 10.1016/s1464-2859(03)00619-9

✦ Synopsis

CARB revises emissions regulation

The California Air Resources Board is to revise the state's zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) regulation, effectively requiring automotive manufacturers to include a fixed number of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in their product mix within five years.

Under the new ZEV compliance strategy, automakers would meet part of their ZEV requirement by producing a sales-weighted market share of 250 FCVs for sale in California by 2008. The required number of FCVs will increase to 2500 for 2009-11 and to 25 000 for 2012-14. The new regulation would allow manufacturers to substitute battery EVs for up to 50% of their FCV requirements. For more information, go to: www.arb.ca.gov Starck secures majority holding in InDEC German-based H.C. Starck GmbH has acquired a majority holding in Dutch SOFC manufacturer InDEC BV from existing shareholders ECN (the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands) and Planet Capital. Starck will also collaborate with ECN, which founded InDEC in 1999, on an SOFC research project.

The acquisition will provide further synergies in materials development and component production, and opens the way to commercialization of InDEC's fuel cell technology through Starck's expertise in bringing high-tech products to market.

InDEC's pilot production and staff will remain in the Netherlands. Series production of the ceramic components would eventually take place at Starck's site in Selb, Germany, with further investments and additional staff.