Federal Environment Minister visits fuel-cell specialist CFC Solutions

• Sigmar Gabriel emphasizes rising importance of fuel cells for climate protection
• Tognum has already invested more than €100 million in future-oriented technology
• Federal government supports market launch of fuel cells

Friedrichshafen/Ottobrunn, 21 April 2008. “Fuel cells are the future of decentralized power generation, and must be consistently utilized,” stated Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel today during his visit to the Tognum subsidiary CFC Solutions GmbH Ottobrunn, Bavaria. CFC Solutions develops, manufactures and customizes high-temperature fuel cells for the cogeneration of electrical power and heat (or cooling).
Fuel cells have a high electrical efficiency, extremely low emissions and high fuel flexibility. Gabriel stated that these features were becoming increasingly important in view of the current debate about climate protection and about the possibility of electricity shortages, and that it was therefore important to continue working intensively on the market launch of fuel cells. CFC Solutions specializes in carbonate fuel cells, which operate with particularly low emissions and noise and require little maintenance.
“Politicians and the business community must jointly bring the new fuel-cell technology to the market and firmly establish it in the future energy mix,” said Christof von Branconi, Tognum’s Executive Board member for the segment of Onsite Energy Systems & Components.
The Tognum Group has already made a significant contribution. In the past ten years and with support from the federal government, the Tognum subsidiary CFC Solutions has invested approximately €100 million in the development of fuel-cell technology. This was reported by CFC’s Chief Executive Michael Bode, who is also active as Chairman of the Working Committee for Fuel Cells in the German Association of Machinery and Industrial Equipment Manufacturers (VDMA). In addition, the company is currently expanding its production plants at an expense of approximately €10 million for the planned series production as of the year 2009/2010.
Politics and industry are agreed that as well as the approved national innovation program for hydrogen and fuel cells (€500 million in ten years), support for market launch is required in order to defend and strengthen German producers’ leading competitive position in this field.