Zoological transport

Fuelling your vehicles with fossil fuel is not a logical choice when you are running a zoological garden. That is why the Zoo in Aalborg chose the fuel cell powered EcoTruck instead.

Friendly looking and environmentally friendly. The Danish EcoTruck is powered by fuel cells and is in use at Aalborg Zoo (Photo: EcoMotion.dk)

Running a Zoo is not just about caging in animals, it is also about protecting them. Many of the most endangered species can find a safe haven in a Zoological garden.  Aalborg Zoo has a stated mission to protect biological diversity, and spread knowledge about animals to people like you and me. Among their animals are polar bears, whose habitat is threatened by climate change. However, running a large modern zoo requires its fair share of logistics. Large animals need large amounts of food, and a large outdoor, public complex like a zoo requires maintenance. In other words feed, utilities and employees need to get around for the Zoo to run efficiently. The paradox is that if they use fossil fuelled vehicles for this, they are contributing to the same processes that threaten biodiversity, climate change.

Friendly transportation

Luckily new technology is bringing cleaner air to the animals in Aalborg Zoo. A consortium called EcoMotion has delivered a fuel cell powered truck to the Zoo for testing. The vehicle is called EcoTruck. EcoTruck use methanol to produce electricity through a fuel cell system. The aim is that one day all of the zoo's diesel vehicles will be replaced by vehicles driven by this technology. EcoMotion is a collection of companies working to develop environmentally friendly electrical vehicles: 

• GMR Machines built the vehicle
  
• The oil and energy company OK delivers the methanol and infrastructure
  
• Serenergy developed the fuel cells
  
• The Danish Technological Institute conducts research and collects data about its performance

The first passenger. Lykke Friis, the Danish minister for Climate and Energy was the first passenger on the Eco Truck in Aalborg Zoo. The driver is Allan Korup from Aalborg Zoo. (Photo: Ecomotion.dk)

Fuel Cell advantages

According to Niels Kirkegaard from GMR Machines, there are many advantages to an electric vehicle driven by fuel cells. Electric vehicles are environmentally sound and less noisy, but there is one problem, they need to be routinely recharged.

- The fuel cell in the EcoMotion truck solves this problem, because it produces electricity as it goes, thus prolonging its range, he says.

Also, using methanol instead of hydrogen for the fuel cells has its advantages.

- Pressurized hydrogen is complicated to handle, and the users thought it was dangerous, says Kirkegaard.

Methanol

Methanol is an excellent energy carrier for fuel cells. In liquid form it is easier to store as it does not need to be pressurized, and it can be distributed through existing infrastructure. Director at Serenergy Anders Korsgaard, a Danish fuel cell developer, says that they in the developing process had been looking for hydrogen carriers for a while before methanol caught their eye.

- It is well known and sensibly priced. And it is easy to handle, because you just fill up your tank in the same way as you would with any other fossile fuelled vehicle, says Korsgaard.

Leading position

According to the Minister for Climate and Energy, Lykke Friis, fuel cell technology is a Danish specialty.

- Denmark has a leading position in the development of efficient new energy technology. Fuel cells are one of Denmark's key competences and a really good example of how in the long term we can produce environmentally friendly electricity and heat without using fossil fuels, says Friis.

Today it is the baboons and all the other animals in Aalborg zoo who can take pleasure in this innovative new technology. But  there is more to come:

- This is only a small taste of the transport technology of the future, says Friis.

The project is funded by The Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme EUDP.

Further reading

EcoMotion (in Danish)

Aalborg Zoo (in Danish)

Press release on www.denmark.dk