Air Liquide launches the Horizon Hydrogen Energy (H2E) program
The French company Air Liquide has recently launched the Horizon Hydrogen Energy (H2E) innovation program. The €67.6 million funding, granted at the end of 2007 by OSEO (French agency for innovation support), was authorised on 8 October 2008 by the European Commission under Community rules on State aid.
The H2E program represents an overall investment in research and technology of almost €200 million over 7 years. The program will bring together a consortium of twenty partners led by Air Liquide in the field of hydrogen energy. This will include industrial groups, small and medium-sized companies and French public research laboratories.
H2E aims at building sustainable and competitive hydrogen-energy solutions. The research and development will cover the full hydrogen energy value chain. In particular, it will investigate the development of innovative technologies for hydrogen production using renewable energy, hydrogen storage and industrialization of fuel cells. H2E will also contribute to the setting up of a suitable regulatory framework, and will include a program of demonstrations and educational measures to familiarize the wider public with this new, clean energy vector.
Proposed developments from the H2E program aim to make the first hydrogen cars accessible to the general public in 2015.
For further information on hydrogen from Air Liquide please see their special website: www.hydrogen-planet.com