In January, a French startup announced it would become the country’s first company to start production of bicycles that run on hydrogen for use in corporate or municipal fleets. This came after the European country’s government announced last summer its plans to end the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040, and become carbon neutral a decade later in an effort to follow the Paris climate agreement.
Last week, France took another step toward its green goal and announced it wants to become the world leader in hydrogen energy production to support its green plans for transportation. The minister of the environment Nicolas Hulot said the government will invest more than $100 million in the sector by 2019 as part its plans to develop hydrogen energy.
“Hydrogen can play an extremely important role in the power transition,” Hulot said at a news conference at the launch of the plan.
According to the plan, the commercial possibilities for hydrogen are underutilized, in spite of the chemical element’s potential to generate power in the 21st century. Yet hydrogen still poses scientific challenges, and the process of obtaining it is still expensive.
Hulot said his country is not afraid to dream big to develop environmentally friendly industries, and strives to have 5,200 hydrogen-powered commercial and heavy-goods vehicles — such as buses, trucks, etc. — on the road by 2023, as well as 100 service stations for the vehicles.
“Thanks to the progress of electrolysis technology, (hydrogen) can be produced in a carbon-free, cost-efficient way and contribute to the goals that France set for itself in terms of development of renewable energies, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants, and reduction of fossil energy consumption,” the plan reads.
Unlike with batteries, hydrogen power can be stored long-term and together with solar and wind power, this molecule will have an important part to play in countries keeping their green promises, said Philippe Boucly, president of the French association for hydrogen and fuel cells, during the conference.
France is only one of the several European countries that take the green challenge seriously. Other states on the continent have announced that they intend to reduce fossil fuel usage and look toward environmental friendly options. In Norway, for example, electric and hybrid car sales accounted for more than half of all new vehicle registrations in 2017.
Last year, the German automotive industry organization announced it wants to reduce the nitrogen oxide output by up to 30 percent, while mayors of Madrid, Oslo and Athens have said they will ban diesel vehicles from their city centers by 2025. According to a recent report on global hydrogen demand, the United States is expected to remain the world’s largest hydrogen market by volume, but China could grow the most throughout the year thanks to its commitment toward more firm clean fuel regulations.
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France Aims to Become World Leader in Hydrogen Energy Production originally appeared on usnews.com
