Kongsberg has tested and verified a full-scale, full-size, zero-emissions drivetrain powered by hydrogen fuel cells designed for ships and ferries. The program is the third and final part of the EU-funded project HySeas (HySeas III) which has been running since 2013 to prepare and demonstrate a scalable hydrogen system for... Read more →

Element 1 Corporation has entered into a global agreement with NEXA Capital Partners LLC to accelerate the adoption of its methanol-to-hydrogen generators (earlier post) for fuel cell applications in aerospace and particularly electric vertical aircraft (EVA). Element 1 and NEXA are combining their expertise, along with NEXA’s capital market access,... Read more →

Researchers in the US and China have developed a catalyst that solves three key problems long associated with direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs): low efficiency, the cost of catalytic materials and the toxicity of chemical reactions inside the cells. The team from the University of Central Florida, Oregon State University,... Read more →

The UK Government earlier this month announced that it will support five local transport authorities with funding worth nearly £71 million (US$95 million) under the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme. The investment will support the introduction of up to 335 zero-emission buses. The winning authorities were: Cambridgeshire and... Read more →

The Port of Narvik in northern Norway needs a new workboat which should be both fast and emissions-free. Together with eight project partners, it is now seeking public funding to build one of the world’s first hydrogen-powered high-speed vessels. The boat will be equipped with hydrogen fuel cells from TECO... Read more →

DHL Express is the first within Deutsche Post DHL Group to test hydrogen-fueled trucks for the long haul. Together with its customer Apple, DHL is piloting the heavy-duty vehicle, equipped with a fuel cell range extender from VDL, between Breda, the Netherlands, and Brussels, Belgium, as part of the Interreg... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board approved a $1.5-billion investment plan that will increase access to clean vehicles and clean mobility options through a wide variety of projects that support the transformation of California’s vehicle and equipment fleet to zero-emission. The plan is by far the largest annual investment in clean... Read more →

Following on the reveal of Renault Master Van H2-TECH last month (earlier post), HYVIA has unveiled two new Hydrogen Light Commercial Vehicles prototypes with zero CO2 tailpipe emissions, increased range, and 5-minute refueling time. Both vehicles are equipped with a 30kW fuel cell that will be assembled in France. Vehicle,... Read more →

The California Energy Commission (CEC) approved a three-year, $1.4-billion plan to close the state’s funding gap to speed up the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure build-out in support of Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order phasing out the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger vehicles by 2035. The –2023 Investment Plan Update plan... Read more →

Hyzon Motors, a supplier of hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles,and TC Energy Corporation will collaborate on development, construction, operation, and ownership of hydrogen production facilities (hubs) across North America. The hydrogen production facilities will be used to meet hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle demand by focusing on low-to-negative carbon intensity... Read more →

Universal Hydrogen Co. (earlier post) has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with ACIA Aero Leasing (ACIA), a regional aircraft lessor with offices in Ireland, France, Canada, Mauritius, and South Africa. ACIA expects to place 10 firm orders for Universal Hydrogen’s ATR 72 conversion kits with additional purchase rights for... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems has acquired Arcola Energy, a UK-based systems engineering company specializing in hydrogen fuel cell powertrain and vehicle systems integration. (Earlier post.) Ballard acquired 100% of Arcola for total upfront and earn-out cash and share consideration of up to US$40 million, based on the achievement of certain performance... Read more →

A research team at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has identified a new way to convert ammonia to nitrogen gas through a process that could be a step toward ammonia replacing carbon-based fuels. The discovery of this technique, which uses a metal catalyst and releases—rather than requires—energy, was reported in Nature... Read more →

Daimler Truck AG and TotalEnergies signed an agreement on their joint commitment to the de-carbonization of the road freight in the European Union. The partners will collaborate in the development of ecosystems for heavy-duty trucks running on hydrogen, with the intent to demonstrate the attractiveness and effectiveness of trucking powered... Read more →

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) in Ohio are collaborating to test intelligent tire sensors and prototype tires on SARTA’s fleet of diesel and hydrogen fuel cell-powered (HFC) buses. The intelligent tires leverage Goodyear’s TPMS Plus on-vehicle sensors to send real-time data... Read more →

Technology supplier Freudenberg is starting the research project “HyFleet” together with ZF Friedrichshafen and FlixBus. The partners aim to develop a high-performance fuel cell system by 2024 to completely replace conventional diesel drives. They will also be examining the hybridization of electric powertrains with fuel cells and batteries. Anyone traveling... Read more →

Svitzer, A.P. Moller - Maersk’s towage operator, has signed an agreement with Robert Allan Ltd, leading naval architect company, to design the first fuel cell tug for harbor operations running on green methanol. The project builds on close cooperation between Svitzer and Maersk with the aim to explore the combination... Read more →

Fifteen countries have agreed to work together toward 100% zero-emission new truck and bus sales by 2040. Under the new Global Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles (ZE-MHDVs), Austria, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uruguay and Wales... Read more →

California’s Foothill Transit has ordered 13 New Flyer hydrogen fuel-cell-electric Xcelsior CHARGE H2 forty-foot heavy-duty transit buses. This order is supported by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds. This addition to Foothill Transit’s initial order of 20 fuel cell-electric buses, announced in October, now establishes North America’s largest fleet of hydrogen... Read more →

Hyzon Motors announced a joint demonstration project with Zhangjiagang Haili Terminal Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Fortune 500 company Sha Steel Group, the 4th largest steel company and the largest private steel enterprise in the world. Under the demonstration agreement, Hyzon Motors expects to supply 49-ton hydrogen fuel cell heavy-duty... Read more →

Germany-based MTU Aero Engines has entered into an innovation partnership with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to investigate the potential ways forward for future certification of what MTU calls a “flying fuel cell” (FFC)—i.e., hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion systems for aviation. The hydrogen-powered fuel cell is a promising propulsion... Read more →

The first China-developed hydrogen fuel cell hybrid locomotive—from core power to main components—has started trial runs on a 627 km railway line for coal transport in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Source: Xinhua The hydrogen energy locomotive project was jointly launched by the Inner Mongolia subsidiary of the State... Read more →

Canadian Pacific will significantly expand the scope of its hydrogen locomotive program (earlier post) with a $15-million grant announced by Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA). The grant enables CP to increase the number of hydrogen locomotive conversions in the project from one to three and add hydrogen production and fueling facilities.... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy initially launched the SuperTruck Initiative in 2009 to improve heavy-duty truck freight efficiency by 50%. A second iteration, SuperTruck 2, sought to double fuel efficiency for 18-wheeler trucks. Now, selectees for SuperTruck 3 (earlier post) will work to improve... Read more →

bp and Daimler Truck AG today will work together to help accelerate the introduction of a hydrogen network, supporting the roll-out of a key technology for the decarbonization of UK freight transport. They intend to pilot both the development of hydrogen infrastructure and the introduction of hydrogen-powered fuel-cell trucks in... Read more →

ZeroAvia announced a development collaboration with Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, for a hydrogen-electric powertrain capable of flying 76-seat regional aircraft in excess of 500 NM. Alaska is also joining the list of top investors for the company, alongside a fellow Seattle-based Amazon Climate Pledge Fund... Read more →

MHI RJ Aviation Group (MHIRJ), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and the world’s largest CRJ Series Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul company, and ZeroAvia, an innovator in hydrogen-electric propulsion for aviation (earlier post), signed an agreement to cooperate in developing hydrogen-electric propulsion for regional jet applications. The... Read more →

The further enhanced prototype of the hydrogen-based fuel-cell truck Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck has received approval from German authorities for use on public roads. In April, the truck manufacturer began to conduct tests of the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck, which was unveiled in 2020, on the company’s test tracks. There, the truck,... Read more →

Royal Caribbean Group’s new class of ships known as ‘Project Evolution’, set to debut in summer 2023, will operate using a trio of power sources including a fuel cell system, battery technology and dual fuel engines using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as the main fuel. This tribrid solution with the... Read more →

INOVYN, a subsidiary of INEOS, plans to upgrade existing production at its Runcorn Site so that it can supply compressed fuel-cell quality hydrogen to mobility and power generation sectors. This is part of more than €2 billion investment in green hydrogen announced by INEOS earlier. (Earlier post.) INOVYN, which has... Read more →

Reaction Engines has joined the Project Fresson consortium (earlier post) led by Cranfield Aerospace (CAeS). Project Fresson aims to accelerate the journey to zero-emissions passenger-carrying aircraft through using hydrogen fuel cell technology and Reaction Engines has been selected to provide its thermal management technology (earlier post) for fuel cell cooling.... Read more →

Snam, Toyota and CaetanoBus have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), with the aim of starting a wide-ranging collaboration to promote and accelerate the introduction of hydrogen-based mobility. United by the belief that hydrogen plays a fundamental role in the decarbonization of transportation, the companies signing the agreement—Snam and the... Read more →

China Yuchai International, a leading manufacturer and distributor of engines for on- and off-road applications in China through its main operating subsidiary, Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Company Limited (GYMCL), announced that its subsidiary Yuchai Xin-Lan New Energy Power Technology Co., Ltd. (Yuchai Xin-Lan) has entered into a cooperation agreement to further... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems, a world leader in PEM fuel cells, and Forsee Power, a developer of smart battery systems for sustainable electromobility, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a strategic partnership to develop fully integrated fuel cell and battery solutions, optimized for performance, cost and installation for the medium-... Read more →

Researchers in China have developed a class of IrRu-N-C catalysts, with Ir and Ru single atoms uniformly populated in nitrogen–carbon composites, that exhibits excellent CO electrooxidation reaction (COOR) behavior as well as high-efficiency single-atom catalysis toward H2 electro-oxidation. A paper on their work is published in Proceedings of the National... Read more →

A team from Argonne National Laboratory recently produced a program record for the DOE Offices of Vehicle Technologies, Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies, and Bioenergy Technologies in which the Argonne researchers documented cradle-to-grave (C2G) and well-to-wheels (WTW) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of light-duty vehicles, assuming key parameters for a variety... Read more →

Wolfspeed announced that ZINSIGHT Technology, an innovator of advanced electric drive systems, will utilize Wolfspeed 1200V Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFETs in its advanced motor controller for ultra-high-speed air compressors in fuel cell vehicle (FCV) systems. The use of SiC in battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and FCVs results in significant cost savings,... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board has released the final version of the light-duty hydrogen fueling station self-sufficiency report, pursuant to the requirements of Assembly Bill 8 (2013).A self-sufficient network demonstrates the ability to continue operations and growth without further State financial support. The self-sufficiency study evaluates the economics of potential... Read more →

HYVIA, the joint venture between Renault Group and Plug Power (earlier post), has unveiled the Renault Master Van H2-TECH prototype. A large van for transporting goods, with 12 m3 of cargo volume and a range of up to 500 km, the van will be available in 2022. Master Van H2-TECH... Read more →

Nikola Corporation announced a collaboration with PGT Trucking, Inc. (PGT), an international multi-service flatbed transportation company, to advance electric drive heavy-duty transport. This collaboration includes a Letter of Intent (LOI) to lease 100 Nikola Tre heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) following the satisfactory completion of a Nikola Tre FCEV... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems will supply eight of its 70 kW FCmove-HD fuel cell modules to Talgo S.A.—a leader in the design, manufacture, and maintenance of high-speed light-rail trains, headquartered in Madrid, Spain—for trials of its Talgo Vittal-One commuter and regional passenger train. Talgo plans to conduct its demonstration in early... Read more →

Air Liquide and Faurecia signed a joint development agreement to design and produce on-board liquid hydrogen storage systems for the automotive industry. Liquid hydrogen storage for fuel cell vehicles is well-suited for long-haul applications; with this technology, the amount of hydrogen stored is double that of gaseous hydrogen. As a... Read more →

A new study by the UK-based Zemo Partnership recommends that UK Government policy should increase its focus on the well-to-wheel (WTW) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and overall energy efficiency performance of new fuels for transport. While hydrogen, electric and renewable fuels (produced from waste-based feedstocks) can all radically cut emissions... Read more →

IDTechEx’s analysis in their new report, “Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles 2022-2042”, forecasts the market value of on-road fuel cell vehicles will grow to $160 billion in 2042 at a CAGR of 23.9% over the 20-year forecast period. The effort to decarbonize on-road vehicles is undoubtedly being led by BEVs; however... Read more →

HyPoint, a company developing turbo air-cooled hydrogen-fuel-cell systems for aviation and urban air mobility (earlier post), has entered into a strategic development agreement with BASF New Business GmbH (BNB), a subsidiary of chemical company BASF. The purpose of the partnership is to develop and test a new proton-conductive Celtec membrane... Read more →

The Hydrogen Heavy Duty Vehicle Industry Group—comprising Air Liquide, Hyundai, Nel Hydrogen, Nikola Corporation, Shell and Toyota—has signed agreements with Tatsuno Corporation and Transfer Oil S.p.A. to industrialize globally-standard 70 MPa hydrogen heavy-duty vehicle high-flow (H70HF) fueling hardware components. The Industry Group was formed in February 2019 with the goal... Read more →

Hyundai Motor North America (HMNA) has joined Equilon Enterprises LLC (d/b/a Shell Oil Products US), also referred to as Shell Hydrogen, in Project Neptune to grow the hydrogen refueling infrastructure in California. Project Neptune seeks the construction of 48 additional and two upgraded hydrogen refueling stations across the state beginning... Read more →

Hyundai Mobis will invest US$1.1 billion (KRW 1.3 trillion) in two new fuel cell plants in Korea to accelerate the hydrogen economy and to secure broader global market dominance. The new plants will start mass production in the second half of 2023. When fully operational, the facilities are expected to... Read more →

New Flyer of America has received a new contract from California’s Foothill Transit for 20 zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell- electric Xcelsior CHARGE H2 forty-foot heavy-duty transit buses. This order is supported by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds. Foothill Transit is based in West Covina, California, operating one of the largest... Read more →

Nikola Corporation and TC Energy Corporation, a leading North American energy infrastructure company, have agreed to collaborate on co-developing, constructing, operating and owning large-scale hydrogen production facilities (hubs) in the United States and Canada. Nikola’s Energy business unit and TC Energy are actively collaborating to identify and ro develop projects... Read more →