Alternative Fuel News & Analysis

News: Alternative Power

2023-09-15

Hydrogen Fuel Cell MH Commercial Vehicle Update

Chris Fisher
Chris Fisher

With regards to zero-emission medium and heavy vehicles, we have heard during the past few years that battery electric commercial trucks will ultimately replace the diesel-powered internal combustion engine for commercial trucks.  At some point in the future this might be true for short and regional haul freight carriers but what about the long-haul heavy truck segment? 

Currently, the lack of charging infrastructure, range anxiety and the extreme weights associated with the batteries will be a significant deterrent to mass adoption of long-haul battery electric trucks.  However, hydrogen fuel cell trucks for long-haul applications appear to be a viable option in this segment.  Even though fuel cell trucks currently have a greater range and lighter weight than battery electric trucks, they have the same problem as electric trucks due to a lack of a power infrastructure.

Read More»

2023-07-27

Offshore Hydrogen Could Be 10x Cost Of LNG

European energy policy makers apparently are taking a DNV report on offshore hydrogen manufacturing seriously. But this doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, in either its assumptions or its conclusions, according to this article.

DNV is an international classification organization that sets standards for ships and offshore structures, according to Wikipedia.

Read More»

Ammonia-Powered Fuel Cell Developed for Deep Sea Shipping

ShipFC is the project financed by the Union European program Horizon 2020 and Hydrogen Europe aiming to prove that fuel cells powered by green ammonia can meet the strict IMO standards of zero-emission Deep Sea shipping.

Currently, a 100% zero-emission solution is not available in this segment. Batteries do not last longue enough with a size that can fit a ship onboard, and Hydrogen technology has some other challenging issues to resolve. Alternative fuel solutions are promising but still need to be tested, confirmed, and approved by DNA.

Read More»

2023-06-19

Indonesia Plans To Become Major Player in Car Industry

SOUTHEAST ASIA: INDONESIA REPORT

Amid the global shift to EVs, Indonesia is vying to become the new leader in this segment.

Indonesia has already surpassed Thailand in passenger car production and has begun full-scale EV production ahead of Thailand. Thailand has begun to defend its position as the auto manufacturing hub of Southeast Asia by offering preferential policies for EVs, including subsidies for both domestic production and sales.

Indonesia’s greatest strength is its abundance of nickel, which is used in car batteries. It is said to have the largest nickel reserves in the world, and investment in this resource is growing rapidly. In April, the Indonesian government announced that it was considering investing in a nickel production venture involving Ford of the United States and that VW of Germany was also considering participation.

Read More»

EVs and The H2 Battle To Be Included in the Family

This article looks at the nomenclature of Electric Vehicle and Zero Emissions vehicles and discusses ways the electricity used is generated. It then discusses the basics of Fuel Cell Vehicles and then compares them to EVs

Source: Hydrogen Fuel News: Read The Article

PSR Analysis:  This is a fairly basic article but it’s a good reminder of the terms and basics.   PSR

Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption Lead at Power Systems Research

2023-05-24

Show Report: Hannover Messe 2023

Guy Youngs
Guy Youngs

General Observations. The core topics at HANNOVER MESSE included artificial intelligence, hydrogen, energy management, connected and intelligent production, and the new Manufacturing-X data ecosystem.

More than 4,000 exhibitors presented their solutions and welcomed 130,000 visitors from around the globe. There seemed to be a very large Chinese contingent at the show (both as visitors and exhibitors), as well as a large number of local governments, universities and startups. There seemed to be a predominance of exhibitors showing bearings, copper fittings, cables and components as well as systems / electronics companies.

There was also a large number of independent robots in evidence, ranging from robotic dogs and robotic servers to robotic messengers following pre planned routes.

Read More»

2023-05-21

Kia Plans Customer Specific EVs

FAR EAST: SOUTH KOREA REPORT

Kia is pursuing its own EV strategy centered on specific applications such as delivery vehicles and cabs. The company is jointly developing delivery vehicles with Korea’s largest online retailer, Coupang, and customer specific EVs will account for 1 million of the 1.6 million EV sales target for 2030. A dedicated plant will also be built in the suburbs of Seoul.

The company and Coupang will develop vehicles with increased cargo capacity and refrigerated and frozen interior equipment, with the assumption that only one driver will be on board. Coupang will have its own distribution center and delivery vehicles for high-speed delivery and will hire drivers directly. Coupang has indicated that it plans to operate 10,000 EV delivery vehicles in the future.

Read More»

Weichai, BYD To Jointly Produce Batteries

CHINA REPORT
Jack Hao
Jack Hao

Weichai Power and BYD have agreed to jointly produce power batteries in Shandong, and to cooperate in programs to develop EV commercial vehicles. On May 23, the companies signed an agreement to build a research and development and manufacturing base for power batteries, continuously strengthen the new energy industry chain, innovation chain, and value chain, and make positive contributions to promoting the industrialization development of China’s new energy commercial vehicles.

Weichai Power is the largest manufacturer of diesel engines in China. Since 2010, Weichai Power has set a strategic goal of leading the global industry development in the new energy business by 2030. Weichai Power has invested more than 4 billion yuan in this effort. It has strategically restructured the Canadian Ballard hydrogen fuel cell, the British Siris solid oxide fuel cell, and the Swiss rapid air compressor, developed the first hydrogen internal combustion engine heavy truck in China, comprehensively laid out the three technical routes of pure electric, hybrid power, and hydrogen fuel cell, and dispersed the risks brought by the uncertainty of industrial development with the investment strategy of coexistence of multiple technical routes.

Read More»

Cummins To Invest $1 Billion in US Hydrogen Fuel Network

Cummins has announced that in addition to the recent investments it has made in its Fridley, Minn., plant, it will also invest more than $1 billion across its US engine manufacturing network in an effort to support the transition into hydrogen fuel.

The investments are being made in Indiana, North Carolina and New York. The $1 billion is intended to provide an upgrade of facilities supporting the first “fuel-agnostic” engine platforms in the industry. The fuel-agnostic concept refers specifically engines that can use different types of fuel, especially a variety of low-carbon and zero-carbon fuels.

Read More»