By Nick Syn

SINGAPORE RECENTLY PLAYED host to the first World Hydrogen Technologies Convention (WHTC), an event that brought together over 250 participants, amongst them top scientists in their respective fields, from varied countries.

The WHTC was organised by wholly-owned Nanyang Technological University spin-off, the Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering (IESE), an organisation dedicated to environmental technologies research. The WHTC focuses on showcasing innovative hydrogen technologies, with special emphasis on their commercialisation and other business aspects.

According to David Liang, WHTC organising committee chairman and the IESE’s principal research scientist, “Singapore, as an island state with no natural resources, must engage the international community in our pursuit of a sustainable energy solution. This convention in Singapore serves as a timely platform to do so. For the business community, Singapore is also the perfect test-bed, as we are close to the big energy players in the market.”

Singapore’s hosting of the WHTC is particularly timely, given the current backdrop of global events. It takes a major environmental disaster to cotton everyone on to the fact of how utterly dependent the world is on fossil fuels. Hurricane Katrina brought US Gulf coast petroleum production to a virtual standstill and the cost of oil skyrocketed, with experts forecasting no abatement in the increase in prices. The pressure, therefore, on research and development into alternatives to fossil fuels has never been greater.

Hydrogen is universally acknowledged to be the ideal fuel for the future, virtually non-polluting and inexhaustible given the fact that it can be extracted from water. The WHTC was held over three days and delegates included representatives from DaimlerChrysler, BP, and the United States Department of Energy.

THEY’RE IN IT FOR THE LONG-HAUL

THE REALISATION OF the ‘hydrogen economy’, or a situation where the world is no longer dependent on fossil fuels, is about 45 to 50 years away, according to the experts.

That sort of time frame makes it a little difficult to appreciate the urgency of developing hydrogen technologies. Couple that with the high costs of these technologies and you have an even more difficult situation.

DaimlerChrysler has been conducting a fuel cell vehicle research programme for over a year now, involving six fuel cell-powered Mercedes-Benz A-Class cars.

The data collected will be invaluable in the development of commercial application of fuel cell vehicles but more immediately, it will inform the next generation of fuel cell development cars that are being readied.

According to Dr Klaus Bonhoff, DaimlerChrysler’s manager of strategy for energy projects and market development, the biggest immediate challenges are technical in nature. Reassuringly, he also states that these can be overcome. The real test will be to get governments and industry firmly behind the application of hydrogen technology.

“Yes, the time frame is long but we have to impress upon people that we must start now. While we’re not at the stage where we are marketing a product, awareness is important,” said Dr Bonhoff.