Belgium. The European Union will allocate 470 million euros from the EU coffers to launch a research project on the use of hydrogen as a fuel. The project will take the form of a public-private partnership and Brussels expects the industry to make a financial contribution equivalent to the public, within a period of six years. The meeting that the 27 countries of the European Union held in Brussels on February 26 and 27, led by the ministers responsible for Competitiveness (Internal Market, Industry and Innovation), gave the green light to their fifth "joint technological initiative," with which they intend to offer European companies a framework for cooperation in the technological field gico.
Hydrogen fuel cells are based on the accumulation of this raw material that, through contact with oxygen, produces energy and heat, which are then transformed into electricity and used to power the engines.
Hydrogen is undoubtedly an alternative to reduce global warming rates, since carbon dioxide is one of the main causes of the greenhouse effect and therefore of the concentration of heat on the planet. This gas is generated in greater proportion by the burning of fossil fuels for energy generation, for example for cars.
For this reason and consequently, the European Commission will also promote the commercialization of cars that use this type of clean energy. To this end, Brussels proposes to establish a single type-approval model that will make it easier for car manufacturers to move from the oil-based engine to one whose energy source is hydrogen.
So far, several automakers have produced prototypes with this type of propulsion, although its massive use awaits new technical advances in the large-scale production and distribution of hydrogen.
And it is that the zero emission of pollutants at the time of the combustion of hydrogen is undoubtedly a great possibility to promote technological development while taking care of the planet. The site tecnociencia.es. publishes that: "When the fuel is hydrogen, the products obtained in the catalyzed electrochemical reaction of the fuel cell between hydrogen and oxygen are water, heat and electricity, instead of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and other particles inherent in the combustion of fossil fuels."
The main source of hydrogen extraction is water, and for this reason it becomes an easily accessible alternative for all countries in the world; however, one of the biggest problems with migrating to hydrogen-powered technologies is the difficult handling of the substance, high storage and supply costs, and its inability to compete on price with oil-based technologies.
According to a report commissioned by the European Commission and released on the same day as the meeting, the introduction of hydrogen as an energy source could reduce oil consumption in the road transport sector by 40 percent by 2050.
