The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) aiming to enhance collaboration on hydrogen and fuel cell research and development (R&D) with the state of Michigan to promote private investment and domestic job... Read more →

On Thursday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order outlining a suite of initiatives and strategies aimed at supporting a transition to zero-emission vehicles in the state. Colorado has already taken steps to encourage the transition to electrified transportation for passenger cars and heavy-duty vehicles such as buses. The... Read more →

British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis Ltd. (ADL) is expanding its product line, adding a double-decker model powered by a fuel cell drive. This new model is also equipped with ZF’s AxTrax AVE electric drive axle. ZF also provides additional hardware and software solutions for optimum performance. An initial prototype is... Read more →

Kenworth Truck Company and Toyota Motor North America are collaborating to develop 10 zero-emission Kenworth T680s powered by Toyota hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrains. This collaboration is part of a $41-million Zero and Near-Zero Emissions Freight Facilities (ZANZEFF) grant preliminarily awarded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), with the... Read more →

Alstom and Eversholt Rail have unveiled the design of a new hydrogen train for the UK market. The train, codenamed Breeze, will be a conversion of existing Class 321 trains, reengineering some of the UK’s most reliable rolling stock. These trains could run across the UK as early as 2022.... Read more →

The California Energy Commission and California Air Resources Board (ARB) have released a joint report on the planning, design, development, and deployment of hydrogen refueling stations critical to supporting the adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). This joint report satisfies an Assembly Bill 8 (AB 8) requirement for the... Read more →

As of January 2019, fully owned Daimler subsidiary NuCellSys GmbH will operate under the name of Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell GmbH. Fuel cell technology is an integral part of our drive system strategy. Zero local CO2 emissions, long ranges and short refuelling times, plus a wide range of applications from cars... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board will conduct a public hearing 21 February to consider approving for adoption a proposed Zero-Emission Airport Shuttle regulation. The regulation as currently written would require fixed route airport shuttles, that serve California’s 13 largest airports, to transition to 100% ZEVs by 2035. The Proposed Regulation... Read more →

Hyundai delivered its first NEXO fuel cell SUV (earlier post) to Todd Hochrad of Ventura, California—the first US customer to drive off in the new NEXO, the only mass-produced fuel cell SUV for the US market, featuring a range up to 380 miles. Hochrad purchased his first hybrid car more... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board on Friday approved the Innovative Clean Transit regulation (ICT) (earlier post)—a first-of-its-kind regulation in the US that sets a statewide goal for public transit agencies to gradually transition to 100% zero-emission bus (ZEB) fleets by 2040. The ICT is part of a statewide effort to... Read more →

HYON AS has, together with partners, been awarded grants under Norway’s PILOT-E scheme for the development and realization of two maritime projects; a high-speed ferry and a short-sea freighter. The ambitions of both projects are to realize zero-emission propulsion via fuel cells using cost-efficient hydrogen produced from electrolysis based on... Read more →

Argonne chemists have identified a new catalyst that maximizes the effectiveness of platinum. Platinum—which offers unrivaled activity and stability for electrochemical reactions, such as the conversion of hydrogen and oxygen into water and electricity in fuel cells—is both scarce and expensive. Scientists are searching for alternative practical fuel cell catalysts... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems has received a purchase order from Porterbrook Leasing Company Limited, a leading participant in the rail leasing market, for an FCveloCity-HD fuel cell module and related support to power a HydroFLEX train in the UK. Earlier this year, UK Rail Minister Jo Johnson MP challenged the rail... Read more →

Hyundai has taken two out of the ten spots in the 2019 WardsAuto 10 Best Engine competition with the all-new 2019 NEXO FCEV fuel cell vehicle and 2019 Kona Electric CUV. (Earlier post.) This marks the tenth time Hyundai has earned a WardsAuto 10 Best Engine recognition since the awards’... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group (HMG), which includes automotive brands Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation, announced its long-term roadmap for hydrogen fuel cell vehicle technology: FCEV Vision 2030. Aligned with the roadmap, Hyundai Motor Group (The Group) will boost its annual fuel-cell systems production capacity to 700,000 units by 2030... Read more →

Scania, a member of the Volkswagen Group, is developing a fuel cell refuse truck together with Renova, a waste handling company in western Sweden, fuel cell manufacturer Powercell Sweden AB, and JOAB, a manufacturer of truck bodies. The truck will feature a fully electrified powertrain as well as an electrified... Read more →

Ceres Power, a developer of low-cost solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC)company, and Weichai Power, one of the leading automobile and equipment manufacturing companies in China, finalized their long-term strategic collaboration first announced in May 2018. (Earlier post.) This includes a Joint Venture Agreement with the commitment to create a fuel... Read more →

The BMW Group Leipzig plant is commissioning 70 more hydrogen-powered tugger trains (indoor tugs). These are used in production to supply the assembly lines with supplier parts. The BMW Group is working in a consortium including Fronius (manufacturer of fuel cell systems for forklift trucks), Linde Material Handling (goods handling... Read more →

Ecolectro Inc., a developer of low-cost, high-performance polymers for electrochemical applications, announced its selection by the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for an award that will support the continued development of its alkaline exchange ionomers and membranes. These alkaline exchange materials are used to fabricate membrane... Read more →

Air Liquide expects to invest more than US$150 million to build a liquid hydrogen plant in the western United States, with construction to begin in early 2019. Further, Air Liquide has signed a long-term agreement with FirstElement Fuel Inc (FEF), a leader in retail hydrogen infrastructure in the US, to... Read more →

The US Department of Energy announced $98 million in funding for 40 new projects as part of OPEN 2018, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA-E) latest open funding opportunity. OPEN solicitations are an open call to scientists and engineers for transformational technologies across the entire scope of ARPA-E’s energy mission.... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems has successfully closed a strategic collaboration transaction with Weichai Power Co., Ltd., initially announced in August. (Earlier post.) This strategic collaboration with Weichai—a leading automotive equipment manufacturer specializing in the production of powertrains, automobiles, intelligent logistics, automotive parts and components—underscores our high conviction in the opportunity for... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz has handed over the first GLC F-CELL (earlier post) vehicles to selected customers in the German market. The Mercedes-Benz GLC F-CELL (combined hydrogen consumption: 0.34 kg/100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km, combined electrical consumption: 13.7 kWh/100 km) features both fuel cells and a battery drive which can be... Read more →

The California Energy Commission approved an $8-million grant to Equilon Enterprises—a fully owned subsidiary of Shell Oil—to develop a high-capacity hydrogen fueling station to service and promote the expansion of zero-emission fuel cell electric Class 8 drayage trucks at the Port of Long Beach. The station is to dispense enough... Read more →

In response what it said is widespread interest from European customers, Nikola Motor Company has designed a hydrogen-electric truck for European markets. Reservations for the Nikola Tre (means “Three” in Norwegian) are now open at www.nikolamotor.com/tre. Guests at Nikola World in Phoenix in April 2019 will be able to view... Read more →

In an Australian first, Toyota Australia is partnering with a Melbourne council for a real-world trial of hydrogen-electric vehicles. From today, three Toyota Mirai Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs), the first of their kind to be driven by members of the public in Australia, will be provided to Hobson’s Bay... Read more →

ABB and SINTEF Ocean are undertaking research to test the viability of fuel cells as an energy source for main ship propulsion. The new research project seeks to provide the answers required for fuel cell technology to be delivered at the scale needed to power commercial and passenger ships. The... Read more →

A team from the US Naval Research Laboratory has developed a non-proprietary method for preparing laboratory-scale proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) that have high power and high current densities despite their low platinum loadings. The membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) feature a commercial PtCo catalyst supported on high surface area... Read more →

A University at Buffalo-led research team has developed an efficient platinum group metal (PGM)-free catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in PEM fuel cells that consists of atomically dispersed nitrogen-coordinated single Mn sites on partially graphitic carbon (Mn-N-C). In a paper in Nature Catalysis, the researchers report that the... Read more →

A team from Georgia Tech, with colleagues at the university of Kansas, has designed a high-performance solid-oxide fuel cell that operates directly on nearly dry (only ~3.5 vol% H2O) methane at 500 °C, demonstrating a peak power density of 0.37 W cm−2 while maintaining excellent durability (no evidence of coking... Read more →

Hyundai Motor has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Beijing-Tsinghua Industrial R&D Institute (BTIRDI) to establish a Hydrogen Energy Fund. Under this agreement, the South Korean automaker and its Chinese counterpart expect to strengthen their influence in the hydrogen ecosystem while accelerating the advent of a Hydrogen Society.... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems will provide fuel cell modules to power four UPS delivery trucks as part of a project being managed by the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) and partially funded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). CARB has announced a preliminary funding award of $5.8 million... Read more →

Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung in Germany have discovered an 5-element alloy that is noble metal-free and as active as platinum. They published their paper in the journal Advanced Energy Materials. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), as a key reaction in electrocatalysis, attracts considerable attention due... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems will provide fuel cell modules to power two port terminal yard trucks as part of a project being managed by GTI and partially funded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). (Earlier post.) CARB has preliminarily awarded $5.7 million dollars to GTI for the Zero Emissions for... Read more →

One factor holding back the widespread use of eco-friendly hydrogen fuel cells in cars, trucks and other vehicles is the cost of the platinum catalysts that make the cells work. One approach to using less precious platinum is to combine it with other cheaper metals, but those alloy catalysts tend... Read more →

Hyundai presented its new 2019 Kona Electric crossover (introduced in March at the New York Auto Show, earlier post) and 2019 NEXO fuel cell SUV (showcased at CES in January, earlier post) to US media at a driving introduction in Los Angeles. Kona Electric models will be produced in Ulsan,... Read more →

By 2022, Mercedes-Benz’ entire product range will be electrified. There will be electric alternatives in every segment from smart to SUV, with well in excess of 130 variants in total, ranging from 48-volt on-board electrical system with EQ Boost to plug-in-hybrids to all-electric vehicles with batteries or fuel cells. As... Read more →

After 12 years developing hydrogen propulsion systems for small unmanned aircraft (earlier post), HES Energy Systems is unveiled its plans for Element One, the first regional hydrogen-electric passenger aircraft. Designed as a zero-emissions aircraft, Element One merges HES’ ultra-light hydrogen fuel cell technologies with a distributed electric aircraft propulsion design.... Read more →

H2-Industries and Lloyd’s Register (LR) are working together on developing safety standards for all-electric vessels powered by emission-free Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) technology. The project is seeking to obtain Approval in Principle for the use of LOHC technology on ships. This covers the refueling of ships with LOHC, the... Read more →

Volkswagen and Stanford University have developed in partnership a new catalyst production process to reduce the comparatively high cost of automotive fuel cell technology. One of the biggest cost drivers for fuel cells is the use of the precious metal platinum as a catalyst to operate the fuel cell. The... Read more →

Toyota announced that it will provide its hydrogen fuel cell technology to Caetanobus SA in Portugal. Toyota will supply its fuel cell systems, including fuel cell stacks, hydrogen tanks and other key components to Caetanobus SA—the Portuguese bus engineering and production company—to build hydrogen fuel cell city buses. The first... Read more →

The California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development has released its ZEV Action Plan Priorities Update. The plan updates the 2016 report, directing State of California departments to coordinate and implement specific actions that advance the uptake of electric vehicles. Governor Brown’s Executive Order B-48-18, signed in January, reaffirmed... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems unveiled its next-generation high-performance liquid-cooled fuel cell stack, the FCgen-LCS, at the IAA Commercial Vehicles Trade Fair and Convention. The FCgen-LCS features important design and performance enhancements, while also offering a reduction in total-cost-of-ownership. This stack will be a core technology component of Ballard’s 8th-generation power module... Read more →

At the IAA 2018 exhibition in Hannover, FPT Industrial launched its new e-Powertrain organization. On display at the event are its electric powertrain solutions, including a new hydrogen fuel cell concept powertrain developed by FPT for IVECO. The core of the new FPT Industrial electromobility offering is the E-Powertrain Concept... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Swiss hydrogen company H2 Energy (H2E). Beginning in 2019 and over a five-year period, Hyundai Motor and H2 Energy will provide 1,000 heavy-duty fuel cell electric trucks (earlier post) and an adequate supply chain for renewable hydrogen. The... Read more →

At the 69th IAA Commercial Vehicles show, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is unveiling five new zero-emission vehicles:the I.D. BUZZ CARGO, ABT e-Transporter, ABT e-Caddy, the Cargo e-Bike and the Crafter HyMotion which is equipped with a hydrogen fuel cell drive system. I.D. BUZZ CARGO. One month ago, Volkswagen introduced the first... Read more →

Alstom held a world premiere event on Sunday celebrating its Coradia iLint hydrogen fuel cell train (earlier post) rolling into service in Lower Saxony, Germany. From today onwards, two such trains will enter commercial service according to a fixed timetable. Travellers in the Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser (EVB) network can... Read more →

UK-based Revolve Technologies has revealed the successful completion of a project to develop novel fuel cell technology using printed circuit board (PCB) construction (PCBFC). This is the first time that a PCB-based fuel cell has been developed for use in an automotive environment. Compared with conventional systems, the PCB fuel... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has preliminarily awarded $41 million to the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) for the Zero-Emission and Near Zero-Emission Freight Facilities (ZANZEFF) project. The total project cost for this initial phase is $82,568,872, with partners providing 50.2%, or $41,446,612 in match funding. CARB issued its... Read more →

MAHLE is developing a modular fuel cell systems portfolio focused on commercial vehicles, based on its current range of components. This is helping to reduce technological barriers and improve the suitability of vehicles with fuel cell drives for the mass market. The number of vehicles equipped with fuel cell drives... Read more →