June 28, 2022
A new study on the cost of decarbonizing European shipping shows that running ships on green hydrogen-based fuels would hardly make consumer goods more expensive. On the contrary, green shipping would add just a few cents to most consumer goods. “Green shipping would add less than 10 cents to a pair of Nikes,” says Faig […]
June 22, 2022
Sibelga, the manager of the Brussels gas and electricity distribution network, plans to use hydrogen by 2050 to heat old, poorly insulated buildings. According to the newspapers De Tijd, L’Echo, and La Libre Belgique, the company has had a study carried out for this purpose. As the availability of biogas is limited, green hydrogen could […]
June 21, 2022
Swedish truck builder Volvo Trucks has unveiled its first heavy-weight fuel cell electric truck with a range of more than 1 000 km and two 300 kW generating fuel cells on board to handle up to 65 tons of weight. Refueling takes only 15 minutes as a regular diesel truck. Cellcentric will provide the fuel […]
June 17, 2022
Belgian gas grid operator Fluxys and the French company GRTgaz are joining forces to develop an open-access low-carbon hydrogen transmission system between the two countries. In this context, they have launched a call for building a pipeline network of some 70 km between the industrial zones of Valenciennes in France and Mons in Belgium. Fluxys […]
June 16, 2022
On Tuesday, Hyundai Belux officially delivered ten units of its hydrogen-driven Nexo to the European Parliament’s professional drivers. Within the framework of the EU Research and Technology Development Project, there is already a fleet of ten Nexos operational since May last year. That fleet is now doubled. MP’s can use the hydrogen cars when they […]
June 15, 2022
American fuel cell specialist Hyzon is buying itself an entry into the German zero-emission truck market by acquiring the Orten Group, one of the pioneers in Germany for the electrification of new and used commercial diesel vehicles. “The acquisition brings three fully-operational production facilities and a team of over 80 employees under the Hyzon umbrella. […]
June 14, 2022
Seventeen Dutch companies and organizations have set up a partnership to develop a complete zero-emission drivetrain replacement for traditional propeller airplanes for the short-haul, based on electric motors fueled by fuel cells and hydrogen. They want to become a tier-one supplier of their HAPSS system to retrofit existing turboprop airplanes up to 40 to 80 […]
June 13, 2022
Hungarian low-budget airline Wizz Air will explore with European airplane builder Airbus all facets of flying ultra-low-cost on hydrogen. That includes the hydrogen aircraft, operations, infrastructure, the network, scheduling issues, ground bases, and airports. For this, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus that is to launch its hydrogen planes by 2035. Wizz […]
June 09, 2022
The Albany, New York-based company Plug Power will build a factory in the port of Antwerp on the former Opel site, NextGen District, to produce green hydrogen, zero-carbon fuel created using renewable energy and electrolysis. The investment will amount to almost 300 million euros. The Port of Antwerp wants to convert the gigantic 11-hectare site […]
June 09, 2022
Belgian bus manufacturer Van Hool has just launched a new model range of zero-emission public transport buses and coaches for local transport at the Paris European Mobility Expo. Bus manufacturer VanHool is a family business from Belgian Koningshooikt (near the city of Lier), 75 years old in 2022, and primarily builds vehicles for Europe and […]
June 08, 2022
Flanders is beefing up the subsidies for investments in sustainable trucks for heavy transport and buses. For hydrogen trucks, the subsidies even double. “The government wants to support the sustainable transition,” explained the Flemish Minister of Economy and Innovation, Jo Brouns (CD&V). That is also why the financial support for fossil alternatives like LNG or […]
June 08, 2022
Toyota and its subsidiary Woven Planet Group have developed a prototype of a portable hydrogen cartridge of 5 kg with 3.3 kWh output. This could become an easily swappable alternative for batteries in all kinds of applications in and around the home, from powering household appliances and heating houses to fuel cell bikes and cars […]
June 07, 2022
British chemical company Ineos wants to build an open hydrogen network in Antwerp together with gas distributor Fluxys. The hydrogen network must serve as an alternative to fossil fuels. The Ineos factories may later become one of the largest customers of this hydrogen network. Climate-neutral Ineos is the first industrial player to sign an agreement […]
May 31, 2022
As part of a complete network of five hydrogen filling stations, DATS24 opened a second unit in Wilrijk yesterday. The forecourt lies along the busy lanes of the A12 and not far from the city of Antwerp, where garbage trucks drive on the emission-free fuel carrier. The plan for DATS24 to roll out several hydrogen […]
May 19, 2022
Mercedes is joining forces with Sila Nanotechnologies, who developed an innovative battery with a much higher density (+30 to 40%) than what we see today in lithium-ion EV batteries. The first of these would be for the future electric G-Class. Alternative to hydrogen Sila Nanotechnologies is a start-up from Silicon Valley in California that uses […]
May 19, 2022
Giant Japanese carmaker Toyota has announced a significant partnership with the French world leader in gas and technologies Air Liquide for hydrogen mobility. Together with Portuguese bus manufacturer CaetanoBus, they will act on developing infrastructure and vehicle fleets to accelerate the deployment of hydrogen for both light and heavy vehicles. “We are uniting our forces […]
May 17, 2022
French start-up of hydrogen cars Hopium wants to appoint Minister of Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari to its board of directors. Djebbari is still serving at the Elysée but has announced that he intends to retire from political life with the formation of a new government at hand. The specific tasks for Djebbari have not been made […]
May 16, 2022
The Afro-European startup NamX has presented a fuel cell SUV designed by Pininfarina set for market launch in 2025. The highlight of this Hydrogen Utility Vehicle (HUV) lies in its hydrogen storage. NamX’s patented technology combines a fixed hydrogen tank and six removable capsules as secondary tanks. These tanks were of primary concern also to […]
May 12, 2022
CMB-Tech, the tech daughter of Belgian shipping giant Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB), and another daughter, Dutch Windcat Workboats, have presented the ‘Hydrocat’, the world’s first hydrogen-powered crew transfer vessel (CTV) of this size. It’s 25 meters long, 7,3 m wide, and can cruise at a speed of 30 knots (55 km/h). The Hydrocat, with a […]
May 09, 2022
Anglo-American Mining has put its first hydrogen-powered mining truck on duty. This zero-emission behemoth is poised to replace the mining giant’s diesel-powered fleet and kickstart an entire carbon-free ecosystem if the trial goes well. The gargantuan dump truck, running on six tires the size of a bungalow, can transport 290 tons of ore and has […]
May 06, 2022
On Thursday, Siemens, the German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe, presented a new hydrogen train model at its factory in Krefeld. This first Mireo Plus H, as the model is called, was unveiled as part of the H2goedRail project, a joint endeavor with the German railway manager Deutsche Bahn. […]
May 03, 2022
Daimler Truck, Europe’s leading manufacturer of buses and coaches, plans to turn the page on diesel-powered city buses by 2030, aiming for a 100% electric offering that will rely, in part, on hydrogen. The German group, which has sold some 600 e-buses out of a total of 18 700 units in 2021, only wants rechargeable […]
April 29, 2022
The new Port of Antwerp-Bruges, a fusion of the harbors of Antwerp and Zeebrugge, wants to become “the green entry to Europe”. Its ambitions are not to be sneezed at: Port of Antwerp-Bruges wants to become Europe’s largest international export harbor, and at the same time reconcile economy and climate. Port of Antwerp-Bruges is determined […]
April 25, 2022
One of the first helicopters in the world powered with a fuel cell on hydrogen might take off as soon as 2023; a lightweight CoAX2D from German EDM Aviation. The latter, the first ultralight helicopter with a German Type Certificate, would be empowered with an 80 kW fuel cell from California-based green energy start-up HyPoint. […]
April 22, 2022
Flemish transport company De Lijn will order 99 electric buses worth 66,5 million euros next year. The delivery of the new buses should allow the old diesel buses, Euro 3 and 4, to be put aside by 2025. The Brussels transport company MIVB/STIB must also renew its fleet of buses that run on thermal engines: […]
April 20, 2022
French carmaker Renault announced it would unveil its hydrogen concept car on May 19th at the ChangeNOW summit to be hosted between the Grand Palais Ephémère and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, expecting 400 delegations from 120 countries. It looks like Renault is carefully following the hydrogen path for the passenger car of Toyota, Hyundai, […]
April 19, 2022
Spain is gearing up its efforts in hydrogen as a sustainable alternative to oil in the northern part of the country, spanning from the Basque Country over Navarra and Aragon to Catalonia. Beginning of this month, it announced the creation of the ‘Ebro Hydrogen Corridor’, with a network of 20 hydrogen filling stations by 2025 […]
April 14, 2022
The Belgian-Dutch port company North Sea Port, a fusion of the harbors of Ghent, Terneuzen, and Vlissingen, wants to become a hydrogen hub on a European level. The port company, therefore, developed a hydrogen strategy, it announced this week. North Sea Port and the industry are facing the challenge to make the transition from fossil […]
April 07, 2022
Two French industrial companies aim to replace all freight diesel locomotives on the non-electrified parts of the French rail network. Train manufacturer, Alstom, is set to develop a heavy-load fuel-cell locomotive, while energy provider Engie will produce and supply emission-free hydrogen from renewable energies. The new train’s first runs are scheduled for 2025. “Our ambition […]
April 07, 2022
Porsche has invested an additional $75 million in the international developer of electric fuels, HIF Global. The German carmaker wants to import climate-neutral e-fuel from their plant in Chile to keep the internal combustion engine alive in the 911 and make racing sustainable. There’s no denying it. While Porsche is at the forefront of developing […]
March 30, 2022
On Tuesday, French automotive equipment manufacturer Plastic Omnium announced its ambition to get into battery production. The industrial group specialized in automotive body parts – and, more recently, hydrogen – is in exclusive negotiations to purchase Actia’s Power division to design and manufacture onboard batteries. The French group has also purchased an equity stake in […]
March 24, 2022
Several demo cars of the BMW iX5 Hydrogen are traveling around Europe to gather support (financial and other) from all kinds of instances. BMW sees FCEVs as an exciting alternative for BEVs in the far future, and this move illustrates BMW’s belief in the technical solution. Last week, we talked with Jürgen Guldner, Vice President […]
March 23, 2022
The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR) has developed a ‘groundbreaking’ new concept of a lightweight plug-in fuel cell vehicle combining a 48 kWh rechargeable battery and a 45 kW fuel cell to offer a 1 000 km range. New letter words to learn: PFCV, PFCEV, PHFCEV? The Interurban Vehicle (IUV) […]
March 18, 2022
Flanders and Germany are betting on faster adoption of hydrogen to cut gas reliance from Russia. Flanders wants to convert natural gas from Norway to hydrogen in the port of Ghent, while Germany is starting a feasibility study for transporting H2 from Norway through a pipeline. The Flemish minister-president said that hydrogen is the only […]
March 16, 2022
Hyvia, the joint venture of Renault with American fuel cell manufacturer Plug Power, has started serial production of fuel cells in its factory in Flins, Yvelines in France. The Flins factory near Paris will produce some 1 000 fuel cell systems annually. With the 50/50 joint venture, Renault and Plug Power want to capture a […]
March 11, 2022
What was deemed impossible until recently, has suddenly become a reality because of Putin’s war in Ukraine. According to an analysis by BloombergNEF grey – or polluting – hydrogen has become more expensive than its green alternative due to the critical rise in prices for fossil natural gas it is made from. In Europe, it […]
March 10, 2022
Generally, BMW is very cautious about admitting hydrogen could become a viable alternative for the electric passenger car. But meanwhile, it proves at its test center in Arjeplog, Sweden, on the Arctic Circle, that its iX5 Hydrogen is better suited for extreme winter conditions than any BEV. No range loss and refueled in 3-4 minutes […]
March 08, 2022
The Italian manufacturer of LCVs and trucks Iveco is joining forces with Hyundai to cope with the development of green drivelines and the transition towards electrification and digitalization. Both manufacturers have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) or a preliminary agreement for cooperation. According to both companies, areas of mutual interest are electric powertrains, architectures […]
March 07, 2022
After Airbus in Europe took the lead on developing airplanes burning hydrogen instead of kerosene, American aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney is also looking into hydrogen-fueled propulsion technology for commercial aviation. End of February, it got a $3,8 million grant from the US Department of Energy (DoE) to develop these engines. The HySIITE project will […]
March 01, 2022
Together with its commercial vehicle subsidiary Hino and partner Isuzu, Toyota plans the development of a hydrogen bus model using the fuel cell stack from the Mirai. The three companies have agreed to begin studying and planning this zero-emission route bus, which, according to Toyota, has its part to play in the conversion of Japan […]
February 24, 2022
The Hyoffwind consortium with Colruyt’s Virya Energy and grid manager Fluxys expects its green hydrogen project in Zeebrugge, Belgium’s first 25 MW hydrogen electrolyzer plant, to get its building permit by the middle of 2022. It should be operational by the end of 2023. The consortium has granted the building contract of the factory to […]
February 23, 2022
Former Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller is changing seats again. A few months after being appointed CEO of Vietnamese VinFast, he joins American electric truck builder Nikola Motors as President. After four months in Vietnam, he stepped down in December to return to Europe for personal reasons. According to the Nikola press release, he will be […]
February 17, 2022
As of the 28th of February, the city of Oxford is putting the brakes on all non-zero emission vehicles in its city center. As part of a pilot project, only electric cars or vehicles running on hydrogen will be allowed free entrance. Oxford will not block the innermost ring for vehicles with other drivelines, but […]
February 15, 2022
Ahead of the Superbowl, AB InBev’s daughter Anheuser-Busch has set up a showcase of delivering its first-ever zero-carb Bud beer to pubs and restaurants in Los Angeles with a zero-emission Nikola Tre fuel cell semi and BYD electric trucks. The Nikola truck powered by hydrogen picked up a load of beer from the Van Nuys’ […]
February 15, 2022
France is willing to subsidize the purchase of an electric or hydrogen truck, bus, or coach up to 65% of the difference with its diesel sibling. For trucks, up to 26 tons, and buses, this can be as high as 100 000 euros, heavy-weight e-trucks even 150.000. It also applies to converting ICE vehicles to […]
February 14, 2022
According to Angelo Bruno (60), former Alderman of Genk and the CEO of Group Bruno, the plan to open three hydrogen stations for trucks in Limburg is beginning to take shape. A first station at the current Esso station at the Hermeslaan in Genk, parallel to the E313 highway, could be operational at the end […]
February 11, 2022
At the TRANSfarm, a site near Leuven meant for up-scaling technologies developed at the Louvain University, the Belgian SolHyd research project is readying a 350 m2 production space for its hydrogen panel. The panel, now cast into an attractive industrial design by Comate Engineering & Design, can generate up to 250 liters of hydrogen from […]
February 08, 2022
A consortium of German heavyweights led by BMW is working on developing a flat tank for storing hydrogen at 700 bar that can be mounted in a car’s underbody like batteries for a BEV as an alternative for today’s bulky H2 tanks. A solution should be ready by the end of 2022. Today, these cylinders […]
February 07, 2022
The Energy Observer, the experimental zero-emission catamaran of French entrepreneur Victorien Erussard that circumnavigated the globe twice, gets a commercial successor in what has to become one of the world’s first fully-electric cargo ships, powered with hydrogen and fuel cells and Aerowings. The Energy Observer 2 will be 120 meters long, 22 meters wide, and […]
January 31, 2022
The big test of the hydrogen bus of the Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB has been delayed. The first test runs were scheduled for September last year, but the test with passengers onboard has now been postponed for six months. “It will arrive on the network on 7 February,” says MIVB/STIB spokesperson Françoise Ledune. “The […]
January 28, 2022
Airplanes with 200 passengers flying up to 2 000 nautical miles or 3 700 km on hydrogen without any emissions at all? Yes, by 2035, European aircraft manufacturer Airbus says, it will be possible by burning hydrogen like spacecraft. But the challenge is: how to store enough of it onboard? Hydrogen provides three times more […]
January 24, 2022
More and more manufacturers of recreational vehicles (RVs) are interested in electrification and deploying plans in that direction. Lately, two American names have joined the queue. Winnebago has presented an electric motorhome concept, and Thor industries did the same but also added an ‘e-assisted caravan’. All over the world, camper specialists are working overtime to […]
December 30, 2021
Just days after Hyundai announced that it is shutting down its internal combustion engine development team, the company is also pushing the pause button on its hydrogen car project. The company was developing its third-generation fuel cell at luxury brand Genesis. But the South Korean economic newspaper Cosun unveiled that the project has now been […]
December 29, 2021
The world’s first purpose-built liquefied hydrogen carrier is on its way from Japan to Australia to pick up its first load. Built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan, the 110-meter long Suiso Frontier can transport 75 tonnes of liquified hydrogen at a temperature of minus 256°C. That way, the volume of the gas in 1 […]
December 23, 2021
American hydrogen truck builder Hyzon has signed a supply agreement with the Dutch Geesinknorba group for 300 refuge collection trucks. In the three-year contract, Geesinknorba is assigned to be Hyzon’s exclusive vendor for zero-emission refuse trucks. Geesinknorba operates in more than 30 countries and is already a pioneer in zero-emission waste collection with options for […]
December 21, 2021
Last week the first hydrogen-powered Peugeot has rolled off the production lines: the e-Expert Hydrogen van. The latter is the peer of the Opel Vivaro-e and the Citroën Jumpy on hydrogen light vans that get fuel cells from Symbio, the joint venture between Faurecia and Michelin. The vehicles combine a fuel cell and a battery […]
December 16, 2021
Paris zero-emission taxi provider Hype, currently running a fleet of more than a hundred H2-powered cabs, has raised another €20 million with French hydrogen pioneers HRS and McPhy to expand that fleet to 10 000 by 2024. Ready for the Olympics in the French capital, the latter includes 20 hydrogen filling stations in the Ile-de […]
December 15, 2021
The EU Commission has presented a four-pillar Action Plan for a cleaner, greener, and smarter mobility on the cross-border transport network through Europe and its nine major corridors. That means shifting more passengers and freight to rail and inland waterways, the roll-out of charging points every 60 km along highways, hydrogen filling stations at 150 […]
December 15, 2021
On a podium floor flooded with EVs, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda addressed the media on Tuesday to outline the new EV plans of his company. The Japanese car manufacturer is accelerating its efforts. A boosted total investment of 8 trillion yen (€31 billion) is foreseen to get 30 EV models in the overall line-up by […]
December 08, 2021
The inland container barge FPS Maas is the first of the fleet to start sailing between Rotterdam and Antwerp on hydrogen-powered fuel cells. Dutch shipping company Future Proof Sailing just signed a long-term agreement with AirLiquide to supply green hydrogen in specially designed multi-modal hydrogen storage containers on deck. As a zero-emission vessel owner, FPS […]
