Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and Nissan Research Center report on their investigation of the internal reforming of ethanol fuel on high-performance metal-supported solid-oxide fuel cells (MS-SOFCs) with infiltrated catalysts in a paper in the Journal of Power Sources. Dogdibegovic et al. Nissan’s public interest in ethanol-fueled solid-oxide... Read more →

GTI, a research, development and training organization focused on natural gas and energy markets, is launching a hydrogen technology center. GTI focuses its R&D efforts on the generation of clean hydrogen using hydrocarbon fuels that incorporate carbon capture and/or carbon sequestration in a cost-effective manner. These technology efforts are directed... Read more →

E-Trucks Europe, a manufacturer of electric-hydrogen hybrid commercial vehicles, has ordered five HyRange fuel cell systems from Proton Motor. The five hydrogen fuel cell systems will be used to outfit electric refuse trucks as part of the EU project REVIVE (Refuse Vehicle Innovation and Validation in Europe). The tender, which... Read more →

The US Department of Energy announced up to $64 million in funding (DE-FOA-0002229) to advance innovations that will build new markets for the H2@Scale initiative (earlier post). This investment will support transformational research and development (R&D), innovative hydrogen concepts that will encourage market expansion and increase the scale of hydrogen... Read more →

Bosch has increased its stake in solid-oxide fuel-cell (SOFC) developer Ceres Power from 3.9% to around 18%. The stake increase is achieved through a subscription by Bosch for new Ceres Power shares, as well as the purchase of further shares from existing shareholders. Bosch’s total investment will be approximately €90... Read more →

A consortium comprising Nouryon (formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals), Gasunie and four other partners will receive an €11-million European grant towards their proposed green hydrogen project in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The project is a front-runner among several hydrogen initiatives aimed at cutting carbon emissions and will be a significant milestone in... Read more →

The Hydrogen Council has published a new report, Path to Hydrogen Competitiveness: A Cost Perspective, demonstrating that the cost of hydrogen solutions will fall sharply within the next decade, sooner than previously expected. As scale-up of production, distribution and equipment manufacturing continues, cost is projected to decrease by up to... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) and Hydrogen Council Co-chair Euisun Chung has identified three key steps to accelerate the transition to a hydrogen society during the Hydrogen Council’s third annual CEO Meeting in Paris, France. EVC Chung opened the meeting stressing that there is “no shortcut to creating... Read more →

A new study by University Maritime Advisory Services (UMAS) and Energy Transitions Commission (ETC) prepared for the Global Maritime Forum for the Getting to Zero Coalition, estimates that the cumulative investment needed between 2030 and 2050 to halve shipping’s CO2 emissions amounts to approximately $1-1.4 trillion—an average of $50 billion... Read more →

Isuzu Motors Limited and Honda R&D Co., Ltd., a R&D subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., agreed to undertake joint research on heavy-duty trucks, utilizing fuel cells (FC) as the powertrain. As a commercial vehicle manufacturer committed to support transportation, Isuzu has been striving to promote the utilization of low-carbon... Read more →

AKASOL will supply battery systems for more than 40 Coradia iLint hydrogen trains (earlier post), which have been ordered from Alstom by the Lower Saxony Transit Authority and the Rhine/Main Regional Transport Association. With this major order in the low double-digit million euro range, AKASOL is expanding its operations in... Read more →

A new report from specialist international sustainable energy consultancy E4tech finds that approximately 1.1 GW of fuel cell capacity shipped worldwide in 2019, up 40% on 2018. The driving force for the market continues to be fuel cell vehicles, led by Japan’s Toyota and South Korea’s Hyundai. Between them, these... Read more →

In a first, University of Sydney researchers have found evidence of how hydrogen causes embrittlement of steels. When hydrogen moves into steel, it makes the metal become brittle, leading to catastrophic failures. This has been one of the major challenges in moving towards a greener, hydrogen-fueled future, where steel tanks... Read more →

A new study by a team at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) concludes that a high-pressure, scalable, intra-city hydrogen pipeline system could improve the economics and logistics of hydrogen delivery, making it potentially cost-competitive with gasoline. An open-access paper on the work is published in the journal Transportation Research... Read more →

At CES, Toyota revealed plans to build a prototype “city” of the future on a 175-acre (0.71 km2) site at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan. Called the Woven City, it will be a fully connected ecosystem powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Envisioned as a “living laboratory,” the Woven... Read more →

In late November, Michelin and Faurecia formalized the creation of Symbio, A Faurecia Michelin Hydrogen Company, a joint venture combining all their hydrogen fuel cell dedicated activities, with the aim of becoming a world leader in hydrogen mobility. The two partners had signed a Memorandum of Understanding in March 2019.... Read more →

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has released a solicitation (GFO-19-305) to fund innovative, non-Li-ion energy storage research projects, including green electrolytic hydrogen systems. The Commission notes that the state’s statutory requirements (SB-350, SB-100) for low-GHG electricity cannot be met with currently fielded technologies alone, because those technologies do not have... Read more →

Researchers in Israel have designed a separate-cell photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting system with decoupled hydrogen and oxygen cells for centralized hydrogen production. A paper describing their system is publishedin the journal Joule. Photovoltaic-powered water splitting (PV-electrolysis) systems that couple commercially-available photovoltaic and water electrolysis technologies have already been demonstrated in several... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) will invest more than KRW100 trillion (US$87 billion) over next 5 years—KRW20 trillion (~US$17.4 billion) annually to enhance its leadership in vehicle electrification, autonomous driving and mobility services, said Euisun Chung, Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Group, at the company’s 2020 New Year ceremony at... Read more →

Scientists have long known that platinum is by far the best catalyst for splitting water molecules to produce hydrogen gas. A new study by Brown University researchers shows why the precious metal works so well—and it’s not the reason that’s been assumed. Platinum’s high activity has conventionally been explained by... Read more →

Researchers at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology are developing a new method to dissociate water vapor into hydrogen gas by microwave-generated plasma (plasmolysis). A paper on their work appears in the journal Fuel. (A) An experimental setup for full microwave hydrogen production and (b) Schematic of the plasma... Read more →

Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Toshiba ESS) has delivered a mobile 30kW hydrogen fuel cell system to a fuel cell ship. The fuel cell system’s volume per unit power output is reduced to 1/3 compared to a stationary fuel cell system due to its simplified design and improvements in... Read more →

Air Liquide Hydrogen Energy is seeking California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) certification of two pathways for gaseous hydrogen produced by steam methane reformation (SMR) produced onsite at the LAX hydrogen station, using average North American landfill gas and fossil natural gas (NA NG), respectively. The pathway for gaseous hydrogen... Read more →

Ørsted (formerly DONG Energy), Everfuel Europe A/S, NEL Hydrogen A/S, GreenHydrogen AS, DSV Panalpina A/S, Hydrogen Denmark and Energinet Elsystemansvar A/S have been awarded funding of DKK 34.6 million (US$5 million) for the H2RES project from EUDP’s second 2019 call for applications. The partners will build a 2MW electrolysis plant... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) will conduct a public meeting 23 January 2020 to consider policy recommendations to increase the use of Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEV) per Senate Bill (SB) 498. CARB staff will present the policy recommendations identified in the draft report “Assessment of CARB’s Zero-Emission Vehicle... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has recently posted six Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Tier 2 pathways applications for the production of liquefied hydrogen from renewable and fossil gas. Shell Energy North America seeks certification of a renewable hydrogen pathway produced by steam methane reformation at Air Products &... Read more →

The global maritime transport industry has submitted a proposal to the UN IMO to form the world’s first collaborative shipping R&D program to help eliminate CO2 emissions from international shipping. The proposal includes core funding from shipping companies across the world of about US$5 billion over a 10-year period. International... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems announcedthat 8 ExquiCity tram-buses built by Van Hool NV and powered by 8 Ballard FCveloCity-HD 100-kilowatt fuel cell modules have been inaugurated at a ceremony in Pau, France and are now in revenue service in Pau’s Bus Rapid Transit System. The ExquiCity 18 trams are driven by... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced a Notice of Intent (NOI) to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to advance innovations that will build new markets for H2@Scale. (Earlier post.) H2@Scale supports innovations to produce, store, transport, and utilize hydrogen across multiple sectors, covering collaborations between various industry stakeholders... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems announced receipt of a purchase order from Weichai Ballard Hy-Energy Technologies Co., Ltd. (Weichai-Ballard JV) for Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEAs) valued at $19.2 million, to be delivered in 2020 under a long-term MEA supply agreement. Ballard next-generation LCS fuel cell stack (CNW Group/Ballard Power Systems Inc.) Weichai... Read more →

A team of researchers in Australia has developed a Janus nanoparticle catalyst with a nickel–iron oxide interface and multi-site functionality for a highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction with a comparable performance to the benchmark platinum on carbon catalyst. (Janus particles feature surfaces with two or more distinct properties.) An open-access... Read more →

SAL Heavy Lift, a member of the Harren & Partner Group and one of the world’s leading carriers specialized in sea transport of heavy lift and project cargo, is the first shipping company in the world to adopt a new hydrogen/methanol technology to its fleet. With significant emission reductions in... Read more →

California is joining with seven other states and the District of Columbia in committing to develop an action plan to put hundreds of thousands more zero-emission trucks and buses on their roads and highways. The partners will present a proposed memorandum of understanding to the governors of the states and... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems has signed a product development agreement with Hydrogene de France (HDF Energy), an independent power producer dedicated to renewable power generation, for the development and integration of a multi-megawatt (MW) scale fuel cell system into HDF Energy’s Renewstable power plant designed for stationary power applications. HDF Energy’s... Read more →

ENGIE, a global energy and services company, has selected Plug Power Inc. to provide a custom refueling system for the world’s largest hydrogen-powered mine haul truck (300 metric ton load capacity), which is set to begin operation next year. (Earlier post.) The project has emerged from a global partnership agreement... Read more →

Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and colleagues earlier developed an efficient process for methane pyrolysis. Methane pyrolysis separates methane (CH4) into gaseous hydrogen and solid carbon that is a valuable material for various industry branches and can also be stored safely. Now, KIT is partnering with industry... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems announced a purchase order from Van Hool, a leading bus OEM and Ballard partner headquartered in Belgium, for 20 FCveloCity-HD 85kW fuel cell modules to power buses in Groningen, the Netherlands, under the JIVE2 funding program. Ballard plans to deliver the 20 FCveloCity-HD 85kW modules in 2020.... Read more →

Lab1886, the innovation unit for business models within Mercedes-Benz AG, is now supporting drive and energy system provider Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG in a pilot project in the field of stationary energy supply systems. Over the coming months, Rolls-Royce will develop a holistic concept for future sustainable and independent emergency... Read more →

A report from the Australian national science agency CSIRO has mapped the critical research steps Australia must take to realize a potential 7,600 jobs and $11 billion a year by 2050 from the burgeoning hydrogen industry. The report found investing in research could solve industry challenges to create five key... Read more →

What is currently the world’s largest pilot plant for the CO2-neutral production of hydrogen has successfully commenced operation at the voestalpine site in Linz, simultaneously setting an international milestone in the advancement of new energy supply options. As part of the EU-funded H2FUTURE project, partners voestalpine, VERBUND, Siemens, Austrian Power... Read more →

Stadler and San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) have signed the first contract to supply a hydrogen-powered train to run in the United States. SBCTA awarded the contract with an option to order four more vehicles in the future. The FLIRT H2 train is planned for passenger service in 2024.... Read more →

Plug Power Inc., a provider of hydrogen fuel cell systems and fueling solutions enabling e-mobility, announced a new agreement with Spanish hydrogen production and distributor Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos (CLH). Through the agreement, CLH will develop hydrogen production assets and downstream markets in Spain, in the industrial, mobility and power... Read more →

Heliogen, a company that is transforming sunlight to create and replace fuels, recently announced its launch and also said that it has—for the first time commercially—concentrated solar energy to exceed temperatures greater than 1,000 degrees Celsius. At that temperature, Heliogen can replace the use of fossil fuels in critical industrial... Read more →

Anheuser-Busch, in partnership with Nikola Motor Company and BYD Motors LLC, completed its first Zero-Emission Beer Delivery in its hometown of St. Louis. The company delivered beer from the local Anheuser-Busch brewery to the Enterprise Center using only zero-emission trucks. A Nikola hydrogen-electric truck picked up the load of beer,... Read more →

Hyundai Motor’s Hydrogen Mobility Solution has won the second International Truck of the Year (IToY) Truck Innovation Award. Hyundai Motor Company and H2 Energy set up its joint venture (JV), Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility, in April 2019. (Earlier post.) The goal of the cooperation is to expand Europe’s hydrogen mobility ecosystem... Read more →

According to the IEA says that, producing all of today’s hydrogen just using electricity would require 3600 TWh—more than the annual electricity generation of the European Union. A new approach developed by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) could alleviate that situation a bit by using... Read more →

Recently, DNV GL identified the five most promising alternative fuels for shipping, with hydrogen as the ultimate zero-emission solution. The first complete hydrogen-fueled prospect has now been assembled by Ulstein Design & Solutions BV and Nedstack Fuel Cell Technology BV. The ULSTEIN SX190 Zero Emission DP2 construction support vessel is... Read more →

Researchers from the University of Houston have reported a significant breakthrough with a new oxygen evolution reaction catalyst that, combined with a hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst, achieved current densities capable of supporting industrial demands while requiring relatively low voltage to start seawater electrolysis. Researchers say the device, composed of inexpensive... Read more →

PowerCell Sweden AB has developed a new and improved version of its MS-100 fuel cell system. The new MS-100 is 30% more compact and has improved operating life time as well as robustness for demanding applications on land and at sea. The MS-100 fuel cell system has been developed for... Read more →

PowerCell Sweden AB signed a contract with Norwegian Havyard Group ASA for the development of the design and the technical specifications for a zero-emissions fuel-cell system. The system may come to be installed on board a vessel that will service the shipping company Havila Kystruten’s new route from Bergen to... Read more →