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 →

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 →