The Australian Association for Hydrogen Energy (AAHE) was established in late 2009, following the recommendations of the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism Hydrogen Technology Roadmap, and the success of the 2008 World Hydrogen Energy Conference, to promote the use of hydrogen and co-ordinate representation of hydrogen-energy interests in Australia.

The launch was opened by the Lord Mayor of Sydney, the Hon. Clover Moore MP, announcing the successful bid to host in Sydney the 2015 World Hydrogen Technologies Convention (WHTC), the premier global expo for the hydrogen and fuel cell industry, held every two years. Business Events Sydney prepared the successful bid in collaboration with AAHE.

The Lord Mayor addressed over one hundred guests from industry, government and academia, drawing linkages between the recent developments in the worldwide hydrogen and fuel cells arena and the program of initiatives being rolled out within the Sustainable Sydney 2030 strategy, under the leadership of Allan Jones MBE, the City’s Chief Development Officer for Energy and Climate Change.

The launch event featured contributions from two prominent figures in the international hydrogen and fuel cells arena: Janice Larson, Director of Renewable Energy Development for the State Government of British Columbia, Canada, and Jeff Serfass, President of the National Hydrogen Association (NHA) in the US and of the international Partnership for Advancing the Transition to Hydrogen (PATH).

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Ms Larson provided an overview of the program of hydrogen infrastructure demonstrations deployed in Vancouver in preparation of the 2010 Winter Olympics, as well as the role of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in British Columbia’s clean tech strategy. She concluded by welcoming Sydney in the league of global cities such as Vancouver, London, San Francisco, Tokyo, Munich and Berlin that are leading the deployment of hydrogen and fuel cells technologies.

Jeff Serfass shared some insights on the early phases of the US national hydrogen association, and described some of the key steps that have brought the NHA to the prominent role it now plays in the US Y sustainable energy arena, after 22 successful years of operation. The international network of hydrogen associations, PATH, will support the AAHE to play a similar role in Australia in a much shorter timeframe, said Mr Serfass.

Dr Andrew Dicks, President of the AAHE, guided the guests through the steps that have brought about the establishment of the new Association, from the National Hydrogen Study in 2003 and the Perth Fuel Cell Bus Trial (2004–2007), to the Brisbane World Hydrogen Energy Conference in June 2008. He concluded his address noting that the timing of the Sydney event is critical, as 2015 is now widely regarded as the starting point for mass produced hydrogen fuel-cell hybrid electric vehicles.

“We can now look forward to the next few years, when an array of demonstration projects and field trials will be deployed to showcase the global state of the art in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in Sydney, and throughout Australia, in 2015,” said Dr Dicks.

The AAHE is currently running its inaugural membership campaign and is in the process of establish its working groups.