An interdisciplinary research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has designed size-optimized platinum nanoparticles for catalysis in fuel cells that exhibit specific and mass activities twice as high as the best commercially catalysis available today (Tanaka commercial Pt/C). A paper on their work is published in the journal... Read more →

Faurecia, one of the world’s leading automotive technology companies, is creating a global center of expertise for hydrogen storage systems at its R&D center in Bavans, France. Faurecia aims to invest in research and development in new-generation high-pressure tanks that are more efficient and lighter, as well as in a... Read more →

An international team led by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has developed an efficient sodium-doped ruthenium electrocatalyst with improved oxygen evolution activity and durability in acidic media. An open-access paper on their work is published in Nature Communications. Na doping increases the oxidation state of Ru, thereby displacing positively... Read more →

Hyundai Group joined its partner Rimac Automobili in an event hosted by Rimac CEO Mate Rimac and attended by Croatian Prime Minister, ministers, and senior government officials to discuss the potential of the new auto industry in Croatia. In May, the Hyundai Group announced an investment of €80 million in... Read more →

Bloom Energy, a developer of solid oxide fuel cell power generators, announced the ability of its Energy Servers to operate on renewable hydrogen. Current Bloom Energy Servers generate electricity using natural gas or biogas as fuel. At peak times, some US states and countries already have more renewable power than... Read more →

Cummins Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, all the issued and outstanding shares of fuel-cell systems provider Hydrogenics Corporation for US$15.00 per share in cash, other than shares already owned by The Hydrogen Company, representing an enterprise value of approximately $290 million. Following... Read more →

The Artois-Gohelle transport authority (SMT-AG) has inaugurated France’s first refueling station for hydrogen buses. The entire clean hydrogen production, storage and distribution chain is equipped with McPhy technologies. The SMT-AG has attributed to ENGIE, via its subsidiary GNVERT, the design, supply, installation and maintenance of the Houdain-Divion hydrogen gas distribution... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company signeda memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco). The MOU provides a framework to accelerate expansion of a hydrogen ecosystem in the Korean and Saudi Arabian markets, and to explore the use of advanced non-metallic materials in various fields including the automotive industry.... Read more →

Saudi Aramco and its affiliates signed 12 agreements with major South Korean companies to reinforce relationships with South Korea, expand international operations, and support the region’s energy security with the expansion of Arabian crude oil supply to Asian markets. Among these agreements is a partnership with Hyundai Motor on hydrogen.... Read more →

A recent study has suggested a new strategy for storing hydrogen, using natural gas as a stabilizer. The research proposed a practical gas phase modulator based synthesis of a hydrogen-natural gas blend (HNGB) without generating chemical waste after dissociation for the immediate service. A paper on the work is published... Read more →

Porterbrook and the University of Birmingham’s Center for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) announced that the UK’s first hydrogen train—HydroFLEX (earlier post)— will be tested on the mainline railway following a successful proof-of-concept. The mainline testing of HydroFLEX marks an important step in the development of a zero-carbon emission propulsion... Read more →

On the sidelines of the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth, US Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette; Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Hiroshige Seko; and European Union Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Cañete signed a joint statement of future... Read more →

Cal State LA has won a statewide award for its zero-emission vehicle sharing program. The university’s Parking and Transportation Services and Cal State LA Hydrogen Research and Fueling Facility received a best practice award for sustainable transportation in the 2019 Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Best Practice Awards competition. The contest,... Read more →

In a major new report on hydrogen, the International Energy Agency says that the time is right to tap into hydrogen’s potential to play a key role in a clean, secure and affordable energy future. The in-depth study, which analyzes hydrogen’s current state of play and offers guidance on its... Read more →

SW/TCH Maritime (SW/TCH), an impact investment platform building the first fleet of zero-emissions maritime vessels in the US, announced its investment to construct and own the ‘Water Go Round’ e-ferry in collaboration with Golden Gate Zero Emission Marine (GGZEM), a provider of turn-key hydrogen fuel cell power systems for ships.... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems unveiled its 8th generation high-performance fuel cell module, the FCmove-HD, at the UITP Global Public Transport Summit being held in Stockholm, Sweden. FCmove-HD The culmination of product development and field experience based on almost 14 million kilometers (9 million miles) of vehicle operation, Ballard’s FCmove-HD fuel cell... Read more →

Everfuel, Wrightbus, Ballard Power Systems, Hexagon Composites, Nel Hydrogen and Ryse Hydrogen—leading players in the hydrogen fuel cell electric value chain—are joining forces to form the H2Bus Consortium. The members are committed to deploying 1,000 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses, along with supporting infrastructure, in European cities at commercially competitive... Read more →

The Italian city of Bolzano is the first customer to order Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen buses. (Earlier post.) Twelve Solaris hydrogen buses will follow the last year’s delivery of battery vehicles. The contract includes an 8 year-long service and maintenance package. The vehicles will be equipped with a 60 kW... Read more →

At the 10th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM10) meeting, a new international hydrogen partnership was announced under the leadership of the United States, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands and the European Commission with participation of several other CEM member countries. The International Energy Agency (IEA) would be coordinating efforts under this initiative.... Read more →

Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group’s (GCV) subsidiary brand, Yuan Cheng, launched two new zero-emission buses at a ceremony in Beijing: the F12 hydrogen fuel cell bus and C11 battery-electric bus. The F12 is Geely’s first commercial vehicle which utilizes hydrogen fuel cell technology and after a 10-minute refueling can... Read more →

Nouryon and Gasunie are studying an expansion of a planned green hydrogen unit at Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The feasibility study follows a deal to convert sustainable electricity into green hydrogen for SkyNRG. The plant, which would convert renewable electricity into green hydrogen via water electrolysis, could be scaled up from... Read more →

China-based Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies announced that its latest high power and high power-density automotive fuel cell stacks made using the company’s patent-pending graphite bipolar plates with thickness of 1.1mm exhibit performance superior to that of conventional metal bipolar plates and typical graphite bipolar plates. By optimizing bipolar plate and... Read more →

DHL Express and electric vehicle maker StreetScooter are collaborating on a new electric delivery vehicle. The new H2 Panel Van will become the first 4.25-tonne electric vehicle with an added fuel cell, which will provide additional power and enable a range up to 500 kilometers. In a first step, DHL... Read more →

Researchers from the Technical University of Denmark and Haldor Topsoe, with colleagues from the Danish Technological Institute and Sintex have developed a “disruptive approach to a fundamental process” by integrating an electrically heated catalytic structure directly into a steam-methane–reforming (SMR) reactor for hydrogen production. A paper describing their approach is... Read more →

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 →

An international team of researchers, led by Professor David Antonelli of Lancaster University, has discovered a new material made from manganese hydride that could be used to make molecular sieves within hydrogen fuel tanks. The material—KMH-1 (Kubas Manganese Hydride-1)—demonstrates a reversible excess adsorption performance of 10.5 wt% and 197 kgH2... 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 →

NASA will provide $6 million over the course of three years to support a University Leadership Initiative (ULI) project focused on the development of a fully electric aircraft platform that uses cryogenic liquid hydrogen as an energy storage method. The Center for Cryogenic High-Efficiency Electrical Technologies for Aircraft (CHEETA) project... 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 →

A cheaper, cleaner and more sustainable way of making hydrogen fuel from water using sunlight is closer with new research from the University of Bath’s Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies. The team used a commercial thermal graphite sheet and a mesoporous carbon scaffold to encapsulate metal-halide perovskites (CsPbBr3) as an... 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 →

BP, Nouryon (formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals), and the Port of Rotterdam will collaborate to explore the opportunity of making green hydrogen via water electrolysis for BP’s refinery in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, which has the potential for significant reductions in CO2 emissions. BP’s Rotterdam refinery. The refinery currently uses hydrogen made... 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 →

Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS), the state-run natural gas supplier and a major global importer of LNG, plans to spend 4.7 trillion won (US$4.01 billion) to build hydrogen-producing facilities by 2030. Under the plan, KOGAS will construct 25 hydrogen-producing facilities and pipelines totaling 700 kilometers to transport the gas. By 2030,... 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 →

Air Liquide and Chengdu Huaqi Houpu Holding co., Ltd finalized the creation of a joint venture—Air Liquide Houpu Hydrogen Equipment co., Ltd—for the development, production and distribution of hydrogen refilling stations for fuel cell electric vehicles. This joint venture will enable the companies to develop projects together with a view... 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 →

Toyota Motor Corporation and Tsinghua University are establishing the Tsinghua - Toyota Joint Research Institute (Joint Research Institute). The two plan to conduct various research together over the next five years through the institute. By establishing the Joint Research Institute, Toyota sees an opportunity to further contribute to the development... 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 →

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, with colleagues from Delft Technical University, the Technical University of Denmark and the University of Warsaw, have developed ultra-fast hydrogen sensors that could the future performance targets for use in hydrogen-powered vehicles. In a paper in the journal Nature Materials, the team presents... 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 →

France-based global energy generator EDF has launched Hynamics, a new subsidiary for the Group that will be responsible for offering effective low-carbon hydrogen for industry and mobility. EDF’s ambition is to become a key player in the hydrogen sector in France and around the world. According to a report released... Read more →