Under the EU FLAGSHIPS initiative, ABB will provide a fuel-cell-based power and propulsion solution for a newbuild push boat for the France-based Sogestran Group subsidiary Compagnie Fluviale de Transport (CFT), due for delivery in 2021. FLAGSHIPS is the EU-funded initiative to deploy commercially operated zero-emission vessels for inland and short... Read more →

Business Korea reports that sales of Hyundai Motor’s Nexo hydrogen fuel cell vehicle this year reached 1,075 units on May 17, exceeding the 949 units sold for the whole of last year. This marks the first time Hyundai has sold more than 1,000 hydrogen cars annually since 2013. Of the... Read more →

Iwatani Corporation of America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Iwatani Corporation recently acquired four hydrogen-refueling stations in California from Messer (formerly Linde, LLC). The stations are Open Retail Stations providing hydrogen fuel to consumers in support of rapidly growing demand for zero-emission fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). On 1 March... Read more →

Daimler AG aims to have a carbon-neutral new passenger car fleet by 2039, said Ola Källenius, the future Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, and currently still responsible for Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development as a member of the Board of Management. Let’s be clear what... Read more →

Transport for London (TfL) has ordered 20 hydrogen double-decker buses as part of its drive to make London’s transport zero-emission. It follows the introduction of the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone last month. The environment-friendly vehicles will be introduced on routes 245, 7 and N7, with people traveling to... Read more →

Researchers at the University of Waterloo (Canada), with a colleague in Sweden, have used a power management strategy greatly to extend the durability of onboard fuel cells in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle: an increase of 1.8, 4.8 and 6.9 times, respectively, for an urban, highway and a combined urban-highway... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems will provide six FCmove-HD fuel cell modules to power two B-train tractor-trailer trucks as part of a C$15 million (US$11.2 million) Alberta Zero-Emissions Truck Electrification Collaboration (AZETEC) project. (A B-train consists of two trailers linked together by a fifth wheel.) Each module generates 70 kW of power;... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems reached agreement with Weichai Ballard Hy-Energy Technologies Co., Ltd. (Weichai-Ballard JV) for the supply of a mix of certain fuel cell products and components that will be used in the assembly of modules to power zero-emission fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in China. The order will have... Read more →

Bosch has formed an alliance with Powercell Sweden AB, the Swedish manufacturer of fuel-cell stacks. Under the agreement, the two partners will work jointly to make the polymer-electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell ready for production. Bosch will then manufacture this technology under license for the global automotive market. The stack... Read more →

Plug Power Inc. and Charlatte America, a member of the Fayat Group, the leading manufacturer of battery powered electric airport ground support equipment (GSE) throughout Europe and the United States, have delivered fuel cell-powered electric cargo tuggers for use by FedEx at the Albany International Airport. The ground support vehicles... Read more →

A team of researchers in Italy has transformed chars—the least valuable by-product of waste-tire pyrolysis—into highly efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) catalysts for use in alkaline fuel cells and metal air batteries. A paper on their work is published in the Journal of Power Sources. The dramatic growth in the... Read more →

New Flyer of America announced that a test demonstration with a New Flyer 40', heavy-duty fuel-cell-electric Xcelsior CHARGE H2 bus for the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) achieved 350-miles (563 km) of zero-emission range. These results exceeded the 300-mile range performance target by 17% without refueling. The forty-foot Xcelsior CHARGE... Read more →

Grove Hydrogen Automotive Co. Ltd. signed a cooperation agreement with the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil to proceed with the production and distribution of Grove hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for Brazil. Much like China, Brazil is a country rich in geographic resources. Grove is focused on establishing sustainable mobility worldwide,... Read more →

Toyota, Kenworth, the Port of Los Angeles and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) unveiled the first of Toyota and Kenworth’s jointly developed fuel cell electric heavy-duty trucks during a special event held at the Port of Los Angeles. The new generation zero-emission truck expands on the capabilities of Toyota’s... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company and H2 Energy AG have signed a contract for a joint venture—Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility—aimed at taking a lead across Europe’s burgeoning hydrogen mobility ecosystem. To begin the joint venture’s operations, Hyundai Motor will deliver 1,600 fuel cell electric heavy-duty trucks to Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility from 2019 through... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with local energy firms Korea East-West Power (EWP) and Deokyang to generate electricity from hydrogen. The pilot project conducted under the MOU will deliver a 1 megawatt (MW) hydrogen fuel cell power facility, with Hyundai Motor building the fuel cell system,... Read more →

US Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Susan Collins (R-ME) along with Congressman Dan Kildee (MI-05) introduced the Driving America Forward Act, bipartisan legislation to expand the electric vehicle and hydrogen fuel cell tax credits. Under current law, consumers may receive a tax credit of... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S—a subsidiary of Ballard Power Systems, Inc.—has signed an Equipment Supply Agreement (ESA) with Norled A/S, one of Norway’s largest ferry and express boat operators, to provide two next-generation 200 kW fuel cell modules that will be used to power a hybrid ferry planned to begin... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S—a subsidiary of Ballard Power Systems, Inc.—is establishing a Marine Center of Excellence (Marine CoE) dedicated to fuel cell marine applications at the company’s engineering, manufacturing and service facility in Hobro, Denmark. The Marine CoE will design and manufacture heavy duty fuel cell modules to address... Read more →

The fuel cell plug-in hybrid Mercedes-Benz GLC F-CELL (combined hydrogen consumption: 0.34 kg/100 km, combined CO₂ emissions: 0 g/km, combined power consumption: 13.7 kWh/100 km) has successfully passed its 360° environmental check. The results have been verified by the TÜV Süd technical service. The environmental check is based on an... Read more →

Toyota announced that it will grant royalty-free licenses on nearly 24,000 patents it holds (including some pending applications) for vehicle electrification-related technologies. Also, Toyota will provide fee-based technical support to other manufacturers developing and selling electrified vehicles when they use Toyota’s motors, batteries, PCUs, control ECUs, and other vehicle electrification... Read more →

FirstElement Fuel has secured $24 million to help fund the growth of its True Zero Hydrogen Network of retail stations in California, and thereby quadruple the company’s capacity to dispense retail hydrogen to customers of fuel cell electric vehicles. FirstElement Fuel’s retail hydrogen network is the largest in the world... Read more →

Dana Incorporated is applying its fuel cell expertise to designing and manufacturing composite and metallic bipolar plates for public transportation systems, such as eBus and hydrail applications. Developing and validating fuel-cell component solutions for emerging, environmentally friendly public transportation vehicles is another milestone in Dana’s efforts to enable the commercialization... Read more →

Plug Power Inc. launched its 30 kW hydrogen fuel cell system, the newest commercial product from the ProGen suite of products. The ProGen 30kW engine provides a cost-effective solution to meet the needs of today’s electric vehicle (EV) use-case, including high utilization, extended runtimes, reliable performance in harsh environments, rapid... Read more →

The number of fuel cell vehicles available to consumers and on the road continues to grow as exhibited by sales and lease volumes. As of February 2019, there were 6,558 fuel cell vehicles on the road, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE). Fuel cell vehicle sales (including leases)... Read more →

Hyster Europe is developing a zero-emission reachstacker featuring a hydrogen fuel cell for the Port of Valencia, as part of the European Horizon 2020 program and H2Ports project. The port will be the first in Europe to incorporate hydrogen energy in its operations. A conventional Hyster Reachstacker in operation. An... Read more →

For use in fuel cell vehicles, hydrogen has to be free of any contaminants that could damage the fuel cell. Professor Andreas Schütze and his research team at Saarland University are collaborating with research partners—the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and Hydac Electronic GmbH—to develop a sensor system... Read more →

New Flyer of America Inc. and New Flyer Industries Canada ULC, subsidiaries of NFI Group Inc. (“NFI”), the largest bus manufacturer in North America, unveiled the Xcelsior CHARGE H2—ts fuel cell-electric heavy-duty transit bus—and announced that both the forty-foot and sixty-foot model have successfully completed the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)... Read more →

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) are considering the possibility of further collaborating on international space exploration. As a first step, JAXA and Toyota have reached agreement to further cooperate on and to accelerate their ongoing joint study of a manned, pressurized rover that employs... Read more →

Michelin and Faurecia signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a joint venture bringing together all of Michelin’s fuel-cell-related activities—including its subsidiary Symbio—with those of Faurecia. Symbio, a Faurecia Michelin Hydrogen Company will be owned equally by Faurecia and Michelin. This French joint venture will develop, produce and market hydrogen... Read more →

In close cooperation with Joma-Polytec and Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell GmbH, a subsidiary of Daimler AG, BASF’s engineering plastic Ultramid has successfully been used to manufacture a number of fuel cell system components. This solution is being used as standard in the new Mercedes GLC F-CELL, which combines a fuel cell... Read more →

In Switzerland, Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser, a division of Nel ASA, has received a purchase order for a 2 megawatt (MW) containerized Proton PEM electrolyzer, as part of a 30 MW framework agreement with Hydrospider AG, an affiliated company of H2 Energy. The electrolyzer will be used to produce green hydrogen... Read more →

A team from Johns Hopkins University, Purdue University and the University of California at Irvine has developed a new strategy to tailor and to optimize the reactivity of metal catalysts in applications such as fuel cells. The application of their method could help cut down on expensive metals needed in... Read more →

Air Liquide, Idex, Société du Taxi Électrique Parisien (STEP), and Toyota are teaming up through a joint-venture called HysetCo, the first company devoted to the development of hydrogen mobility in the Paris region. This collaboration represents a milestone in the emergence of a hydrogen-based society in France and in the... Read more →

Hydrogen suppliers & fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) automakers, Air Liquide, Hyundai, NEL, Nikola Motor, Shell and Toyota have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for hydrogen fueling components for the purpose of testing state-of-the-art heavy duty (HD) hydrogen fueling hardware to assist in standardization and speed to market for... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems is participating in the H2PORTS project, which is aimed at facilitating a rapid transition at European ports from fossil fuels to low-carbon, zero-emission alternatives based on hydrogen and fuel cells. (Earlier post.) Earlier this month participants held the first technical meeting of the H2PORTS project, which is... Read more →

New Flyer 40' (XHE40) and 60' (XHE60) Xcelsior fuel cell-electric buses (FCEBs), powered by Ballard FCveloCity-HD 85 kilowatt (kW) modules, have completed testing at The Altoona Bus Research and Testing Center under a program established by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Testing at the Altoona, Pennsylvania facility included evaluations of... Read more →

In a series of tweets on Friday, Nikola Motor, developer of heavy-duty hydrogen-electric trucks, said that it will introduce all-battery versions of the Nikola Two and Nikola Tre models at Nikola World in April. (Earlier post.) Nikola Tre. The battery-electric trucks will be available in 500 kWh, 750 kWh and... Read more →

Celeroton is expanding its portfolio of fuel cell converters. With the launch of the improved power electronics converter, CC-550-7500, operating compressors up to 7.5 kW of drive power (at 300 VDC converter input) is now possible for fuel cell stacks of up to 75 kW. Besides the increased power rating,... Read more →

One fuel cell electric bus (FCEB) operating in the United States has surpassed 29,000 hours of drive time and nine buses have exceeded 20,000 hours without major repairs or replacement of the fuel cell stack, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE). This is comparable to the life expectancy... Read more →

Air Liquide has acquired an 18.6% stake in the capital of Canada-based Hydrogenics Corporation, a leader in electrolytic hydrogen production equipment and fuel cells. Air Liquide said the strategic transaction, which represents an investment of US$20.5 million, reaffirms its long-term commitment to the hydrogen energy markets and its ambition to... Read more →

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 →