Roads2HyCom (R2H) was an integrated project supported by the European Commission’s Framework Program Six (FP6), Priority 6.1 “Sustainable Development, Global Change and Ecosystems”. Roads2HyCOM is a project to co-ordinate, assess and monitor research in the field of Hydrogen for stationary and transport power.   Its outputs will support planning of the HyCom initiative, which aims to develop hydrogen communities and stimulate growth in hydrogen technology markets.

The Roads2Hycom supports 29 stakeholders from a broad cross-section (surface and air) in planning future fuel cell and hydrogen activities through web-based tools, handbooks, training workshops and reports and should assist to find and support communities that can implement hydrogen fuel chains at an early stage. The project started in March 2006 and Icelandic New Energy has been actively engaged by providing consultancy and assisting in developing an analytical framework for assessing hydrogen communities in Europe.  The project ended in March 2009 having successfully developed tools to properly implement a Hydrogen community. To get an update on the project´s sctivities please read the January 2009 newsletter.

The project uses quantitative techniques to assess European and global technology, Hydrogen infrastructures, and the needs of generic community types which define thresholds required for successful use of Hydrogen in communiites; considering technical, commercial parametes, safety procedures and socio-economic aspects of technology.  In parallel, potential Hydrogen Community stakeholders will be engaged to support HyCom planning.  This project will cover all aspects - the production of hydrogen, distribution, storage and conversion to useable energy by the end-user, in stationary and transport applications; and associated safety, security, regulatory and socio-economic issues.

The project uses the expertise of independent research and technology organisations together with academia and key industrial stakeholders to conduct this assessment and provide strong links into many existing projects and initiatives.  It will use the existing Technology Platform (Deployment Strategy & Strategic Research Agenda) and similar strategic and technical material as foundation-stones.  Reference Groups will be used to engage a wide spectrum of stakeholders from industry and society.

The project will deliver web-based calendars of research milestones and maps of research activity for access by the public and research community; together with reports which will assist the Commission in planning future research to support HyCom; and training manuals and dissemination directed at the wider community of interested stakeholders and communities.

For further information please visit the project website: www.roads2hy.com.