Hydrogen energy: Air Liquide, Challenge Bibendum technological partner

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Air Liquide is the technological partner of the Challenge Bibendum, organised by Michelin, which will be held from 14th to 17th November 2007, in Shanghai (China). Dedicated to clean mobility, the Challenge offers the opportunity to develop innovations regarding trucks, buses, cars, urban vehicles, and in particular, 20 ecological vehicles fuelled by hydrogen.

Therefore, Air Liquide is setting up two service stations that will provide vehicles with hydrogen at the Shanghai Automobile Exhibition Centre (SAEC) in Anting (40 km west of the Shanghai centre) from 14th to 16th November, and in Pudong, on 17th November, with a parade of vehicles and an exhibition for the general public at the Shanghai international Convention Centre.

Based on Air Liquide technologies, hydrogen service stations have a fast-track system for delivering high pressure hydrogen (700 bar or 350 bar) to the tank, ensuring complete safety for the driver and the vehicle. These stations allow drivers to "fill up" in 3 minutes, under conditions of use as similar as possible to those encountered with a traditional fuel, giving a range of several hundred kilometres.

The Group has designed, constructed and started up a growing number of hydrogen service stations worldwide in the last 4 years: in Madrid, Kawasaki, Luxembourg, Singapore, a mobile station in Shanghai, in the United States, and in Canada… Air Liquide also has a permanent demonstration station in Sassenage (near Grenoble, in France) where its subsidiary Axane designs, develops and markets fuel cells.

In line with its sustainable development approach, Air Liquide has developed unique expertise in the management of the entire hydrogen chain, covering production, distribution and current and future uses.

The Group is the overall coordinator of the European Hychain program (which will test 158 hydrogen vehicles in 4 regions of Europe) and that of the Horizon Hydrogène Énergie (Hydrogen Energy Horizon) program in France, supported by the Agency for Industrial Innovation.

Conscious that the use of hydrogen in a vehicle is a breakthrough innovation which will oblige the public to "do things differently", the Air Liquide Group is contributing to a very significant number of projects and events aimed at progress in research and innovation, as well as public acceptance of this new energy vector.