The “Centro Nacional de Experimentación de Tecnologías de Hidrógeno y Pilas de Combustible” or Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Experimentation National Center (CNH2), is a nationwide research center based in Puertollano (Ciudad Real). It was created in December 2007 as a public consortium between the Ministry of Education and Science, now the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and the Regional Government of Castile-La Mancha, with a share of 50% each. The CNH2 objectives are the scientific and technological research of hydrogen technologies and fuel cells, supporting the scientific and technological community, at a national and international level. This objective includes: - The use in the CNH2 laboratories of scientific advances made by national and international research groups. - Transfer of the scientific knowledge achieved and scaled up, ready for its use as applications in the real life. - Research and demonstration of energy conversion processes using hydrogen as an energy carrier and its final implementation in all possible applications. It also includes the use of the CNH2 as a center for: testing processes, characterization, standardization, certification or validation of technological developments achieved by the productive sector to improve the competitiveness of enterprises and to promote the introduction in the domestic market of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. The CNH2 seeks the highest levels of scientific and technological expertise in order to achieve a knowledge leadership in the sector. As a result, the objective of the CNH2 can specified as: “Having a flexible pilot plant, focused on hydrogen energy technologies, especially the obtained with renewable energy and applied by fuel cells, with capacity to develop and complement the various scientific and technological experiments, progress of the scientific and productive community and the own strategic activities required to implement the R&D Director Plan”.
