Energy company SG H2 Energy; the City of Lancaster, California; and Iwatani, Japan’s leading hydrogen industrial gas company and a developer of hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) in California, are launching California’s first closed-loop green hydrogen ecosystem for transportation. In May 2020, SG H2 announced it was bringing the world’s biggest... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Energy recently announced the Energy Earthshots Initiative aimed at accelerating breakthroughs of more abundant, affordable, and reliable clean energy solutions within the decade. The first Energy Earthshot, launched 7 June—Hydrogen Shot—seeks to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen by 80% to $1 per 1... Read more →

Octopus Hydrogen, Octopus Energy Group’s newly established hydrogen arm, will provide 100% green hydrogen to ZeroAvia’s R&D center at Cotswold Airport in the UK during the testing, certification and first commercial operations of its hydrogen-electric aircraft powertrain technology. (Earlier post.) ZeroAvia will supplement on-site electrolysis hydrogen production with supply from... Read more →

Addressing climate change requires not only a clean electrical grid, but also a clean fuel to reduce emissions from industrial heat, long-haul heavy transportation, and long-duration energy storage. Hydrogen and its derivatives could be that fuel, argues a commentary by four energy researchers in the journal Joule. However, they note,... Read more →

Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has appointed Sumitomo, Chiyoda, Toyota Motor, Japan Research Institute and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking to conduct a feasibility study on the receiving and distribution business of hydrogen in Chubu Region. NEDO selected these joint contractors in the public offeriing for “Development of... Read more →

McDermott International, a premier, fully-integrated provider of engineering and construction solutions (ECS) to the energy industry, has joined a consortium of public, private and academic partners collaborating on a US Department of Energy (DOE) project—Demonstration and Framework for H2@Scale in Texas and Beyond. The project is supported by DOE’s Hydrogen... Read more →

Hyzon Motors Inc., a global supplier of hydrogen fuel-cell-powered commercial vehicles, has developed new onboard hydrogen storage system technology that it says is capable of reducing the weight and manufacturing cost of commercial vehicles powered by Hyzon’s hydrogen fuel cells. The new patent-pending onboard hydrogen storage system technology integrates lightweight... Read more →

Universal Hydrogen (earlier post) has signed LOIs with Icelandair Group (Iceland), Air Nostrum (Spain), and Ravn Air (Alaska) for aftermarket conversion of aircraft to hydrogen propulsion and for the supply of green hydrogen fuel using Universal Hydrogen’s modular capsules. Rendering of regional airplane with conversion kit and fuel capsules. Icelandair.... Read more →

BC is the first province in Canada to release a comprehensive hydrogen strategy. Part of CleanBC, the BC Hydrogen Strategy includes 63 actions for government, industry and innovators to undertake during the short term (2020-25), medium term (2025-30) and long term (2030 and beyond). These include: Incentivizing the production of... Read more →

Deutsche Bahn has selected Wystrach—a specialist in the transport and storage of gases—to provide a plug-and-play hydrogen refueling station for the joint H2goesRail project—a green hydrail mobility solution. With a view to replacing diesel, hydrogen generated from green electricity is forging a path toward climate neutrality. Refueling that’s as fast,... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding $52.5 million to fund 31 projects to advance next-generation clean hydrogen technologies and support DOE’s recently announced Hydrogen Energy Earthshot initiative (earlier post) to reduce the cost and accelerate breakthroughs in the clean hydrogen sector. These 31 projects will focus on bridging... Read more →

A new $5-million program to be led by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, is intended to strengthen development of Australia’s hydrogen industry by supporting research, development and demonstration (RD&D) collaborations with international research organisations. The two-year Hydrogen RD&D International Collaboration Program is a key element in CSIRO’s recently-launched Hydrogen Industry... Read more →

A public-private partnership between Los Alamos National Laboratory and Southern California-based Oberon Fuels has secured funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to scale-up steam reforming technology to produce renewable hydrogen (rH2) from renewable dimethyl ether (rDME)—a novel pathway for reducing the carbon content of the global hydrogen supply.... Read more →

Airbus has established Zero-Emission Development Centers (ZEDCs) at its sites in Bremen (Germany) and in Nantes (France). The goal of the ZEDCs is to achieve cost-competitive cryogenic tank manufacturing to support the successful future market launch of ZEROe (earlier post) and to accelerate the development of hydrogen-propulsion technologies. In September... Read more →

The European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) published a policy brief showing that delivery of large amounts of renewable hydrogen over long distances could be cost-effective. This finding is important because access to sufficient amounts of renewable hydrogen at low cost is essential for achieving a climate neutral Europe by... Read more →

CMB.TECH has opened the first multimodal hydrogen refueling station in Antwerp, Belgium. It is the first refueling station to produce green hydrogen which will be used to power ships, tube trailers, cars, trucks and buses. In addition to the hydrogen refueling station, CMB.TECH launched a hydrogen truck with the symbolic... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced a request for proposals for research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities leveraging the Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) platform (earlier post) and supporting DOE’s H2@Scale vision for clean and affordable hydrogen. Through this request from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL),... Read more →

Fukushima Prefecture and Toyota Motor Corporation have commenced discussions with various partners over building a city for a new future that makes use of hydrogen and technologies produced in Fukushima Prefecture. In order to further promote reconstruction, Fukushima Prefecture is focusing on hydrogen, a new form of energy, and has... Read more →

ESB and dCarbonX have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the joint assessment and development of Irish offshore green hydrogen subsurface storage. This partnership represents another milestone in Ireland’s emerging hydrogen economy as part of its transition to a low-carbon future. Under this agreement, ESB and dCarbonX will work together... Read more →

Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economics (BMWi) and the Federal Ministry of Transport (BMVI) selected 62 large-scale hydrogen projects this week, which are to be state-funded as part of a joint European hydrogen project (Important Project of Common European Interest, IPCEI). We are making Germany a hydrogen country. In doing so,... Read more →

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, launched a new $68-million Hydrogen Industry Mission. The research mission is intended to help drive down the cost of hydrogen production to below $2 per kilogram, making the fuel more affordable and helping to position Australia to lead the world in exporting hydrogen by 2030.... Read more →

Mitsubishi Power Americas and Texas Brine Company are collaborating to develop large-scale long-duration hydrogen storage solutions to support decarbonization efforts across the eastern United States. Long-duration hydrogen storage is a key enabling technology for the transition to a net zero carbon energy future. This collaboration expands Mitsubishi Power’s capability to... Read more →

ENEOS Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation have agreed on a new partnership to explore the utilization and application of hydrogen energy at Woven City, the prototype city of the future that Toyota has started to develop in Susono City, Shizuoka Prefecture. ENEOS and Toyota, together with Woven Planet Holdings, a... Read more →

Classification society ClassNK has issued an Approval in Principle (AiP) to Kawasaki Heavy Industries for the design of a cargo containment system (CCS) of the world’s largest capacity (40,000 m3 class per tank) developed for use on a large liquefied hydrogen carrier. The CCS for which the AiP was obtained... Read more →

Cummins Inc. and KBR signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on offering a complete and integrated solution to produce ammonia from renewable sources: green ammonia. Cummins, with its proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis to generate hydrogen, and KBR, with its ammonia technologies, have committed to explore the benefits... Read more →

Umicore and Anglo American, through its PGMs business Anglo American Platinum, announced a research and development collaboration agreement to develop platinum group metal PGM-based catalysts for liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) applications on fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and other mobile applications. This catalyst technology has the potential to transform... Read more →

Universal Hydrogen announced $20.5-million Series A financing round led by prominent Silicon Valley venture fund, Playground Global, with the investor syndicate comprising Fortescue Future Industries, Coatue, Global Founders Capital, Plug Power, Airbus Ventures, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures, Sojitz Corporation, and Future Shape. Founded in 2020 by aviation industry... 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 →

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 →

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 →

Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala) and Snam, a leading energy infrastructure operator, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the aim to collaborate on joint investment and development initiatives on hydrogen. As part of the agreement, the two companies will carry out a number of assessment activities, including technical and economic... Read more →

Hydro-Québec’s Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage (CETEES) and the University of South Wales (USW) have signed commercial agreements to transfer patented hydrogen storage technology arising from USW research to Hydro-Québec to enable its commercialization. This technology— a manganese hydride molecular sieve (earlier post)—allows for the hydrogen... Read more →

The world’s largest plant for storing green hydrogen in liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC) on an industrial scale is being built at CHEMPARK Dormagen. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia is supporting the project with funding of €9 million from the progres.nrw program. The Krefeld-based subsidiary of Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies, LOHC... Read more →

Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. received the Technology & Development Award from Toyota Motor Corporation for the development of high-pressure hydrogen tanks used on the new MIRAI, launched by Toyota in December 2020. The new MIRAI is equipped with three hydrogen tanks, one more than the previous model, to extend its... Read more →

The European Commission proposed setting up 10 new European Partnerships between the European Union, Member States and/or the industry. The goal is to speed up the transition towards a green, climate neutral and digital Europe, and to make European industry more resilient and competitive. The EU will provide nearly €10... Read more →

Scotland-based clean energy solutions provider Logan Energy won a public tender contract with Welsh social enterprise, Menter Môn, to support the delivery of a hydrogen production plant, refueling and distribution hub in Holyhead, North Wales. The Holyhead Hydrogen Hub will be a first of its kind and is supported by... Read more →

Groupe Renault and Faurecia will collaborate on hydrogen storage systems for hydrogen-powered light commercial vehicles. Starting at the end of 2021, Faurecia will supply hydrogen storage systems for a first fleet of light commercial vehicles. These systems will be developed and produced at its global center of expertise in Bavans,... Read more →

Faurecia has acquired a majority of CLD, one of China’s largest high-pressure tank manufacturers. The transaction will be completed once regulatory approvals are obtained in China. Faurecia and CLD will develop and manufacture homologated type III and IV hydrogen storage tanks for the Chinese market. Headquartered in ShenYang, CLD has... Read more →

The government of the state of Victoria in Australia is providing more than $1 million in funding to CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, that will enable it to partner with Swinburne University of Technology to establish the Victorian Hydrogen Hub (VH2). The $10-million VH2 project is designed to bring researchers,... Read more →

Researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Dresden have developed an ultra-high-capacity hydrogen storage substance for PEM fuel cell applications based on solid magnesium hydride. Fraunhofer’s POWERPASTE releases hydrogen on contact with water. It has a hydrogen capacity of about 10 mass-% (i.e. 10... Read more →

Chiyoda Corporation, together with Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co. Ltd and NYK Line, the other members of the Advanced Hydrogen Energy chain Association for technology Development (AHEAD), reported the successful completion of the world’s first global hydrogen supply chain system. The demonstration project, launched in 2015, was conducted by AHEAD... Read more →

Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA), the largest subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, one of the world’s largest traders of goods and services, has invested in OneH2, a hydrogen fuel company headquartered in Longview, North Carolina. SCOA’s investment will help the company deploy full turnkey hydrogen solutions, creating a national fuel production... Read more →

Australia-based Global Energy Ventures (GEV) and Pacific Hydro Australia Developments Pty Ltd (Pacific Hydro) have executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore opportunities regarding the production, storage, loading, ground and marine transportation of green hydrogen produced by Pacific Hydro’s Ord Hydrogen Project. Both parties will work collaboratively on developing... Read more →

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. recently completed Kobe LH2 Terminal (Hy touch Kobe), the world’s first liquefied hydrogen receiving terminal. Kawasaki built this terminal for the CO2-free Hydrogen Energy Supply-chain Technology Research Association (HySTRA). Operation testing has started at the facility, which will be used for a demonstration test, in a... Read more →

Chemical engineers at UNSW Sydney and University of Sydney have developed a hybrid plasma electrocatalytic process for the production of sustainable (“green”) ammonia. The method makes green ammonia from air, water and renewable electricity and does not require the high temperatures, high pressure and huge infrastructure currently needed to produce... Read more →

A new, broad measure of “energy transition investment”, compiled by BloombergNEF (BNEF), shows that the world committed a record $501.3 billion to decarbonization in 2020, beating the previous year by 9% despite the economic disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. BNEF’s analysis shows that companies, governments and households invested $303.5... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) plans to make $160 million in federal funding (DE-FOA-0002400) available to help recalibrate the US’ vast fossil-fuel and power infrastructure for decarbonized energy and commodity production. The funding, for cost-shared cooperative agreements, is aimed to develop technologies for the... Read more →

Using light metal hydrides as hydrogen carriers offers potential for safe and compact storage of hydrogen. Magnesium hydride (MgH2) has attracted significant attention due to its 7.6 wt% hydrogen content and the natural abundance of Mg. However, bulk MgH2 is stable (ΔHf ∼ 76 kJ mol−1) and releases hydrogen only... Read more →

Noble Gas Systems, a startup founded to create safe, conformable, lightweight compressed gas storage and delivery systems, has demonstrated its latest generation of conformable gas tanks, which can be configured into existing vehicle architectures. The new tanks, with working pressures of 350 bar (5,000 psi), are lightweight and less than... Read more →

Researchers from London South Bank University (LSBU), School of the Built Environment and Architecture, are investigating the use of metal hydrides to absorb, release and store hydrogen for fuel cell buses. The LSBU project aims to deliver: Improved safety with hydrogen stored at lower pressures in smaller cylinders on buses... Read more →