Enfugen in Bratislava, a fruitful workshop!

On 13th of October, 2006 the first of three Enfugen workshops took place in Bratislava, Slovakia. The workshop was very fruitful and informed mainly about targets of Enfugen project and about 7th Framework programme. In the afternoon session Mr. Mosca gave the participants professional training on how to prepare and write a succesful project.
The programme of the workshop was eneded by brisk discussion. Languages of the workshop were Slovak and English.

The number of participants was much higher than we expected. In the workshop were 60 participants mainly from universities, research centres and privite companies. Feedback on the workshop was very possitive.

Dowload the presentations here:

bratislava-workshop-presentations.zip

Third ENFUGEN Workshop and Training in Czech Republic, Prague 23 January 2007

The Workshop is organized in close collaboration with the National Committee of Electroheat to maximize the interest of participants and combine efforts in preparation and delivery of the Workshop.

Agenda:
Opening – representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Czech Energy Agency
Key note – the importance of electricity and hydrogen in the future
Section on hydrogen and fuel cells
Section on electrical heat
Closing remarks and recommendations for future research activities
Visit of the Hydrgen Fuel cell laboratory at the Czech Technical University

Proposal of the new Energy Policy of the Slovak Republic

Energy Policy is part of the economic strategy of the Slovak Republic. The provision of the economic growth in the terms of a sustainable development is conditional by responsibility of the energy supply by optimal costs and suitable environmental protection.
The former Energy Policy was approved on 12th of January 2000.
Download the full article:

energy-policy-in-slovak-republic.pdf

EU enlargement - what impact on research in Bulgaria, Romania and the EU?

When the European Commission approved the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union on 26 September, reactions around Europe were mixed. Commentators honed in on immigration, the structural funds, judicial reform or the final farewell to the Iron Curtain.

But at a time when research is being talked up as the way to a knowledge economy, and consequently competitiveness and growth, what does Europe’s research community, and in particular that of Bulgaria and Romania, make of the enlargement? What will research from these countries bring to the EU? And as Bulgarian and Romanian researchers have been fully involved in EU research programmes for some time, will it actually make any difference? […]

full article at cordis.europa.eu

Towards more effective hydrogen storage

A Marie Curie Research Training Network which aims to find new, more effective ways of storing hydrogen has just been launched.

Hydrogen can be produced by renewable sources of energy and has great potential as an energy source for mobile devices such as cars, laptops and cameras. However, this potential is currently being held back as existing hydrogen storage systems tend to be heavy and bulky.

The COSY (Complex Solid State Reactions for Energy Efficient Hydrogen Storage) Network aims to develop systems which will allow hydrogen to be stored more effectively, making it an ideal energy source for a range of applications. The researchers will new develop nano-structured composites of various light-metal hydrides for use as storage materials. […]

full text at cordis.europa.eu

For more information on the COSY Training Network, please visit:
http://www.cosy-net.eu/

Hydrogen storage goes metal-free

Researchers in Canada have developed a new solid material that can store and release hydrogen near room temperature without involving a transition metal. The discovery could lead to the development of low-cost and lightweight materials for the onboard storage of hydrogen fuel in cars (Science 314 1124).

Hydrogen is often touted as an environmentally-friendly fuel for road vehicles of the future. When consumed in a fuel-cell powered electric car, it produces nothing more than pure water as a by-product. However, many technological challenges remain before it can be used commercially. In particular, hydrogen has a low energy density compared to conventional fuels and therefore it must be stored as a liquid or an extremely high-pressure gas to ensure that reasonable distances can be travelled before refuelling. […]

full article at physicsweb.org