A major new European consortium, IMMORTAL, is developing higher performance fuel cell components for heavy duty trucks with a predicted lifetime of at least 30,000 hours. IMMORTAL (IMproved lifetiMe stacks fOR heavy duty Trucks through ultrA-durabLe components) is a €3.8-million (US$4.6-million), three-year project supported by the European Fuel Cells and... Read more →

RWE Supply & Trading and Australian hydrogen project developer The Hydrogen Utility Pty Ltd (H2U) have joined forces to develop hydrogen trading between Australia and Germany. Together, they aim to bring green hydrogen produced in Australia to Europe. This is in line with the objective of HySupply, a 24-month German-Australian... Read more →

Origin Energy’s export-scale liquid hydrogen project has reached an important milestone, with the signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Port of Townsville to collaborate on the potential expansion of the port, as well as the development of a liquefaction facility, new berth and associated infrastructure. Origin is collaborating... Read more →

Under the name “Green Wilhelmshaven,” Germany-based international energy company Uniper plans to establish a German national hub for hydrogen in Wilhelmshaven and is working on a corresponding feasibility study. Plans include an import terminal for green ammonia. The terminal will be equipped with an ammonia cracker for producing green hydrogen... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced two funding opportunities totaling more than $162 million to improve efficiency and reduce carbon emissions among cars, trucks, and off-road vehicles. The funding will support the next stage of the SuperTruck initiatives—aimed at electrifying freight trucking—along with efforts to expand electric vehicle (EV)... Read more →

The Washington State legislature has passed legislation that sets a target for all MY2030 or later passenger and light-duty vehicles sold in Washington State to be electric vehicles. The new law establishes the most aggressive such state goal in the US—five years ahead of California’s 2035 target. Clean Cars 2030... Read more →

Nikola Corporation, IVECO and OGE have entered into a letter of intent for a collaboration to establish a business structure for transporting hydrogen via pipeline network from production sources to hydrogen fueling stations in support of fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The collaboration is expected to enable cost-effective distribution of hydrogen... Read more →

UK-based Aeristech, a developer of high-speed electric motor and controller technology (earlier post), closed a £5.15-million (US$7-million) private funding round led by investors Sabien Technology, Vela Technologies and SAIC Venture Capital, the venture capital arm of China-based automaker SAIC Motor. The funding round will supercharge the company’s investment in its... Read more →

Truck makers and environmentalists have joined forces to push for the deployment of 11,000 charging points for electric trucks across the EU by 2025, rising to 42,000 by 2030. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) and Transport & Environment (T&E) made this call to the European Commission in a joint... Read more →

Bosch and China-based premium commercial vehicle manufacturer Qingling Motors have established a joint venture in China: Bosch Hydrogen Powertrain Systems (Chongqing) Co. Ltd. The new company will develop, assemble and market fuel cell systems for the Chinese market. The goal is to pool the technology and market expertise of both... Read more →

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved a first-of-its-kind project to accelerate the deployment of infrastructure needed to fuel zero-emission trucks, buses and equipment. Administered by CALSTART, the EnergIIZE Commercial Vehicles (Energy Infrastructure Incentives for Zero-Emission Commercial Vehicles) project will use a concierge-like model working directly with eligible applicants to help plan and... Read more →

A new partnership comprising Los Alamos National Laboratory, Advent Technology Holdings Inc., Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will work over the next few years to bring to market high-temperature proton exchange membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cells. Traditional PEM fuel cells have a relatively low operating temperature,... Read more →

The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand Est and Occitanie regions in France have signed the first order for dual-mode electric-hydrogen trains in France. Acting on behalf of the four regions, SNCF Voyageurs has placed an order with Alstom for the first 12 dual mode electric-hydrogen trains (plus two optional trainsets) in the... Read more →

Plug Power Inc. has been invited to submit a Part II Application for a loan guarantee under the US Department of Energy (DOE) Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program. The invitation for the Part II application is for a proposed $520-million loan guarantee from the DOE to support the use of... Read more →

In 2020, the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) launched the Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck Consortium (M2FCT) to leverage the potential opportunity fuel cells in the heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) market and to align with the H2@Scale vision for clean and affordable hydrogen across multiple... Read more →

The Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL (GCxN) has selected three additional startups to participate in the program. The new companies are focused on creating electrochemical systems that can help reduce carbon emissions in hard-to-decarbonize sectors and represent the program’s fourth cohort. GCxN provides promising cleantech startups with technical resources... Read more →

Syzygy Plasmonics, a technology company developing a high-performance photocatalyst for the industrial gas, chemical and energy industries, announced a $23-million Series B financing led by Horizons Ventures with participation from new global investors including Equinor Ventures. (Earlier post.) Licensed from Rice University, Syzygy’s “antenna-reactor” plasmonic photocatalyst has been published in... Read more →

Australia-based Fortescue Metals Group, one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore, recently revised its emissions reduction goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030—10 years earlier than its previous target. Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortescue, will be a key enabler of this target through the... Read more →

Starfire Energy, a Colorado-based developer of modular chemical plants for the carbon-free production of ammonia and hydrogen, has closed a major funding round. The investment round was led by AP Ventures, a significant investor in breakthrough hydrogen technologies, and included New Energy Technologies, Chevron Technology Ventures, Osaka Gas USA, and... Read more →

Denmark-based shipping company MHO-Co is heading a consortium that will spend €4.5 million during the next three years on developing green solutions for the future of the maritime industry. Together with Aalborg University, among others, and with grants from the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP), MHO-Co will test... Read more →

Seamus O’Regan Jr., Canadaa’s Minister of Natural Resources, announced the Hydrogen Strategy Implementation Strategic Steering Committee, which will advance and measure the progress outlined in the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada launched in December 2020. (Earlier post.) The committee, co-chaired by Natural Resources Canada and the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell... Read more →

Denmark-based Everfuel A/S has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with an undisclosed German-Norwegian shipping company for collaboration on hydrogen supply to a new zero-emission shipping solution. The two parties are exploring a cooperation whereby Everfuel will be responsible for delivery of hydrogen, including planning, installation and operation of an... Read more →

The European innovation project Flagships will deploy the world’s first commercial cargo transport vessel operating on hydrogen, plying the river Seine in Paris. Commercial operations are set to commence in 2021. The hydrogen cargo transport vessel will be owned by French inland shipowner Compagnie Fluvial de Transport (CFT), a subsidiary... Read more →

Volvo Group and steel-maker SSAB have signed a collaboration agreement on research, development, serial production and commercialization of the world’s first vehicles to be made of fossil-free steel. Volvo plans already this year to start the production of concept vehicles and components from steel made by SSAB using hydrogen. Plans... Read more →

Toyota Motor Europe (TME) Fuel Cell Business will supply and integrate fuel cell modules into a zero-emission train prototype as part of the FCH2RAIL project in Europe. The main objective of the FCH2RAIL project is to develop, build, test, demonstrate and homologate a scalable, modular and multi-purpose Fuel Cell Hybrid... Read more →

Hydro is exploring the potential for developing and operating hydrogen facilities to meet large internal demand as well as serving an external market, leveraging the company’s industrial and renewable power expertise. We see a substantial potential for industrial hydrogen consumption. Taking a developer and operator role in the hydrogen sector... Read more →

Korea-based Doosan Fuel Cell, a developer of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), will take part in the Korea-China Smart Farm Village project in Pocheon. This complex—comprising smart farms, hydrogen fuel cell generators, logistics systems and housing with leisure facilities—will sit on a 250,000 m2 (62 acre) parcel of land. Sookyung... Read more →

In a new piece of research, BloombergNEF (BNEF) finds that the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH2) made from renewable electricity is set to fall faster than it previously estimated. BNEF now forecasts that green hydrogen from renewables should be cheaper than natural gas (on an energy-equivalent basis) by 2050 in... Read more →

Ammonia has recently emerged as a liquid storage and transport medium that has shown promising stability for long-distance hydrogen transport. At 108 kg H2/m3, liquefied ammonia (NH3) can store 50% more hydrogen than liquid hydrogen. When ammonia is decomposed at high temperatures, only hydrogen and nitrogen gases are produced, with... Read more →

Toyota Motor Europe (TME) has become a direct shareholder in EODev (Energy Observer Developments). EODev—along with its partners—is positioning itself as a leading European designer, assembler and distributor zero-emission energy systems on an industrial scale. In early 2020, EODev and TME Fuel Cell Business integrated Toyota’s leading fuel cell technology... Read more →

With the shared goal of accelerating the transition to cost-effective, zero-emissions commercial vehicle and power generator technologies, Loop Energy and BayoTech announced a joint market development agreement for the deployment of hydrogen vehicles and hydrogen fueling infrastructure. The collaboration aims at reducing the complexity of adopting hydrogen electric solutions by... Read more →

Toyota has commissioned Victoria’s first commercial-grade permanent hydrogen production, storage and refuelling facility at its former manufacturing site at Altona in Melbourne’s west. Hydrogen is produced on site by a 200kW electrolyzer that uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen components and has the capacity to produce up... Read more →

Plug Power, Chart Industries, Inc. and Baker Hughes intend to become cornerstone investors in the formation of the FiveT Hydrogen Fund, a new clean-hydrogen-only private infrastructure fund dedicated to delivering clean hydrogen infrastructure projects at scale. Plug Power intends to commit €160 million ($200 million), and Chart Industries and Baker... Read more →

China-based Great Wall Motors (GWM) released its hydrogen energy strategy. GWM says it will build an international supply chain ecology integrating hydrogen “production-storage-transportation-refueling-application”; break barriers on core technologies ;and connect the downstream industry chain, accelerating the commercial popularization of hydrogen energy. The hydrogen energy strategy of GWM covers both the... Read more →

Stellantis is developing a hydrogen fuel cell powered light commercial vehicle (LCV) in addition to its battery-electric offerings. The company says that fuel cells show great promise—especially for LCVs—as the next level of zero-emission propulsion technology. Fuel cell technology can fulfill customer range expectations combined with towing and payload capacity,... Read more →

Renewable hydrogen systems manufacturer Ways2H Inc. and its shareholder and technical partner Japan Blue Energy Co. announced the completion of a facility in Tokyo that will convert sewage sludge into renewable hydrogen fuel for fuel cell mobility and power generation. The facility was developed and built in partnership with the... Read more →

China-based SANY, one of the largest construction equipment manufacturers in the world, is developing hydrogen fuel cell construction vehicles; two recent examples include a dump truck and a mixer truck, freshly rolled out of SANY’s intelligent flagship factory. The latter is the first hydrogen-powered mixer truck in the world. According... Read more →

Researchers at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft have developed a membrane technology for the energy-efficient and economic separation of hydrogen from natural gas. This technology makes it possible for the two substances to be routed through the national natural gas grid together and then isolated from one another at their final destination. This... Read more →

Chart Industries Inc., a leading global manufacturer of liquefaction and cryogenic equipment serving multiple applications in the clean energy and industrial gas end markets, including hydrogen, has invested $25 million in Transform Materials for 5% of its equity. Transform Materials is a sustainable chemical technology company that uses microwave plasma... Read more →

Ørsted, the world’s leading offshore wind developer, together with the major industrial companies in the North Sea Port cluster, have launched the SeaH2Land vision for a gigawatt scale project to reduce carbon emissions in the Dutch-Flemish industrial cluster with renewable hydrogen. The electrolyzer is proposed to link to 2 GW... Read more →

A team from Fraunhofer IPT is developing a continuous production line that will be able to process fuel cell components in cycles lasting just seconds. The pilot line is set to be presented at the Hannover Messe Digital Edition from 12-16 April 2021. In a live stream, Fraunhofer IPT, together... Read more →

Toyota Motor Company and Beijing SinoHytec have established a joint venture company to promote the commercial vehicle fuel cell system industry in China. The planned joint venture will be based in Beijing and named Toyota SinoHytec Fuel Cell (FCTS). Last year, Toyota Motor and five Chinese OEMs—China FAW Corporation Limited... Read more →

ZeroAvia is launching the development program for a 2MW hydrogen-electric powertrain for full-size regional aircraft. The program kick-off is supported by a new raise of $24.3 million, led by Horizons Ventures, joined by a new investor: British Airways. Existing investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Summa Equity, Shell Ventures,... Read more →

Linamar Corporation has entered the evaluation phase for the first Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Delivery Vans in their technology contract with the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE). CTE is managing the Next Generation Fuel Cell Delivery Van Deployment Project for the California Air Resources Board (CARB), awarded to... Read more →

Airbus has launched the “Advanced Superconducting and Cryogenic Experimental powertraiN Demonstrator” (ASCEND) to explore the impact of superconducting materials and cryogenic temperatures on the performance of an aircraft’s electrical propulsion systems. The introduction of superconducting materials can lower electrical resistance; thus, electrical current can supply power without energy loss. When... Read more →

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps launched a £120-million scheme to enable local transport authorities to roll out zero-emission buses. The funding is being made available through the Zero Emission Buses Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme. The funding will deliver up to 500 zero-emission buses, supporting the government’s wider commitment to introduce... Read more →

Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS)—the UK SME leading the Project Fresson consortium—will exploit recent advances in hydrogen fuel cell technology to develop a commercially viable, retrofit powertrain solution for the nine-passenger Britten-Norman Islander aircraft. Following a rigorous assessment of hydrogen technology innovators, CAeS welcomes Ricardo UK Ltd and Innovatus Technologies Ltd... Read more →

Norway-based Green inverstment company Saga Pure ASA has committed to subscribe for NOK 30 million (US$3.5 million) in a private placement of new shares in IC Technologies AS (ICT), which is developing a novel storage solution for liquid hydrogen and LNG. Following the private placement, Saga will have an ownership... Read more →

As water-splitting technologies improve, often using porous electrode materials to provide greater surface areas for electrochemical reactions, their efficiency is often limited by the formation of bubbles that can block or clog the reactive surfaces. Now, a study at MIT has for the first time analyzed and quantified how bubbles... Read more →

The California Energy Commission has awarded GTI and Sierra Northern Railway nearly $4,000,000 to fund the design, integration, and demonstration of a hydrogen fuel cell switching locomotive to support the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Demonstrations in Rail and Marine Applications at Ports (H2RAM) initiative. The locomotive will show the potential of... Read more →