2024-03-17
Regulations on EVs and developments in hydrogen power cells and battery technology are highlighted in articles in the March issue of Alternative Power Report produced by Power Systems Research. Read about Germany dropping subsidies for some electric trucks and buses and about the EU considering tariffs on Chinese EVs. PSR
2024-02-27
Daimler’s GenH2 hydrogen trucks, powered by liquid hydrogen for an electric motor, are set to hit German roads in 2024. These trucks, boasting a hauling capacity of about 25 tons for over 1,000 kilometers on a full tank, integrate a propulsion system delivering 300 kilowatts, supplemented by a battery for an additional 400 kilowatts during high-demand situations like hill climbs. This initiative represents a collaborative effort with Air Liquide and Linde for H2 refueling services, leveraging advanced storage technology for higher energy density and operational efficiency. PSR
Source: Hydrogen Fuel News. Read The Article
As of Feb. 6, 2024, Shell permanently closed its seven light duty hydrogen fuel stations in California citing “hydrogen supply complications and other external market factors” for this decision. According to the below MOTORTREND article, this leaves 17 stations operational (although several are offline at the time of this writing) in the Bay Area, and just one in the Sacramento area.
Shell had already told industry outlet Hydrogen Insight that it would stop building any of the 48 new California stations it had planned—a significant number for the state—and that the company “made the decision to permanently close its light duty station network in California in early 2024.”
Toyota Motor Corporation and Chiyoda Corporation have announced the joint development of a hydrogen production system. The two companies plan to begin demonstration tests at Toyota’s main plant in fiscal 2025 and hope to begin marketing the system around fiscal 2027.
The system will produce hydrogen by electrolyzing water. It will have an output of about 5 megawatts and will be able to produce about 100 kilograms of hydrogen per hour. The new plant has a footprint of 6 meters wide by 2.5 meters deep, about half the size of a typical plant. By linking multiple plants, the production volume can be significantly increased.
The February issue of the Alternative Power Report produced by Power Systems Research contains articles on China battery production and Chinese EV market share gains in Thailand. There’s also news about CATL’s wind power project and several articles about EV heavy truck development.
2024-01-23
General Motors and mining and construction equipment giant Komatsu plan to jointly design and validate the hydrogen fuel cell technology for the 930E electric drive mining truck. GM has been conducting hydrogen fuel cell research and product development for more than 50 years and has developed platforms for both lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.
Mining trucks typically operate at a single mine throughout their life, a situation that simplifies the challenge of rolling out hydrogen refueling stations. GM and Komatsu plan to test the prototype HYDROTEC-powered mining vehicle in the mid-2020s at Komatsu’s Arizona Proving Grounds research and development facility. The prototype mining truck will be powered by more than 2 megawatts of HYDROTEC power cubes.
2024-01-19
Research by IDTech predicts that by 2044, hydrogen fuel cell cars will represent only about 4% of the total zero-emission passenger vehicles market. While the research predicts that hydrogen fuel cell cars would be a “very small portion” of the car market, IDTech also forecasted that about one fifth of zero-emission trucks would run on hydrogen.
Greater upfront costs for FCEVs over both combustion engine vehicles and BEVs, and increasing running costs makes an fuel-cell car a hard sell for consumers. IDTech cited lack of hydrogen refueling as a significant factor holding back FCEV
2024-01-18
General Motors and mining and construction equipment giant Komatsu plan to jointly design and validate the hydrogen fuel cell technology for the 930E electric drive mining truck. GM has been conducting hydrogen fuel cell research and product development for more than 50 years and has developed platforms for both lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.
2023-11-16
Early this summer, scientists in northern France discovered what has the potential to be a huge white hydrogen deposit, (white hydrogen is naturally occurring H2). Not all forms of the hydrogen are equally clean, and this depends on how hydrogen is produced. Brown, black and grey H2, for instance, are all produced using processes with fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas and are therefore not environmentally friendly.
Depending on how this H2 is extracted, it could prove to be one of the cheapest and cleanest forms of hydrogen. The natural H2 deposit was found in July 2023 by Philippe de Donato and Jacques Pironon, scientists at the Université de Lorraine.
2023-09-21
Eurac Research scientists have analyzed data from 21 fuel cell electric buses (FCEB) and battery electric buses (BEB) in Italy, comparing efficiency, consumption, temperature sensitivity, distances, and cost, and they discovered that Hydrogen buses’ tank-to-wheel (TTW) efficiency is lower than battery electric buses, indicating higher consumption variation for BEBs.
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