April 18, 2024
Belgian gas network manager Fluxys and its Luxembourger counterpart, Creos, have signed a letter of intention to grow their partnership in hydrogen infrastructure. Both companies aim to evolve the European Hydrogen Backbone project. A cross-border vision is fruitful for the landlocked country of Luxembourg. With this cooperation, both companies want to develop hydrogen transportation and […]
April 17, 2024
French company Hype’s hydrogen taxis are coming to Brussels, according to the business newspaper L’Echo. To tackle the market in the Belgian capital, Hype notably acquired a stake in the local taxi company Mol-Tax. The company would also install its green hydrogen stations in Brussels. Second hydrogen taxi project in Brussels From 2025, all new […]
April 05, 2024
According to the specialized website H2mobile, the Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari seems interested in using a hybrid hydrogen-burning internal combustion engine (HICE) in its sports cars. Ferrari has apparently filed a patent to protect this idea. A number of manufacturers are still investigating the possibility of using hydrogen as a cleaner fuel for internal […]
March 12, 2024
Belgian bus manufacturer Van Hool decided to cut almost half of its jobs at its headquarters in Koningshooikt after a series of cascading troubles eviscerated its competitiveness. Some point to Van Hool’s hydrogen strategy, others to the lack of support from public transport company De Lijn, but neither explanation offers a complete picture. It has […]
March 08, 2024
Hydrogen, regarded as one of the critical energies for decarbonizing heavy road transport and the steel industry, faces a new hurdle. The cost of its quintessential production tool, the electrolyzer, is rising steeply instead of reaching affordability. That’s not according to plan. A recent report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), the 2024 Electrolyser Price […]
March 01, 2024
Honda has unveiled the CR-V e:FCEV, a plug-in hybrid SUV variant that combines a rechargeable battery with a hydrogen fuel cell drivetrain. It will be launched in the US and aims to combine the flexibility of a PHEV with a permanent zero-emissions drivetrain. Honda is one of the few car manufacturers still working on hydrogen […]
March 01, 2024
This year, the hydrogen car builders at the technical university TU Delft want to set a new world record on public roads. They earlier set records, but in a different category. This time, they intend to build a car that must meet all requirements to be allowed on public roads. The Eco-Runner Team, as the […]
February 12, 2024
While support for hydrogen trucks is still building, the market for hydrogen passenger vehicles simply doesn’t seem to be there. Shell has decided to close all of its seven California-based hydrogen stations for light-duty vehicles due to “supply complications and other external market factors”. The support for hydrogen-powered passenger cars seems to be dropping. Even […]
February 08, 2024
Nikola and Daimler Truck have inaugurated new hydrogen refueling stations in the US and Europe. While Nikola can start to move past its mobile fueling units, Daimler Truck is aiming to change the game with cheaper and more efficient subcooled liquid hydrogen stations. Nikola, the American zero-emission truck manufacturer, has opened its first HYLA hydrogen […]
February 01, 2024
Stellantis has started production on its mid-size and large hydrogen fuel cell vans in its Hordain (France) and Gliwice (Poland) plants. They feature a zero-emission range of up to 500 km, with a 4-5-minute refueling time. The manufacturer now has combustion, battery-electric, and hydrogen variants of its commercial vehicles. In total, eight hydrogen fuel cell […]
January 29, 2024
Technical partners Honda and General Motors (GM) have initiated mass production of hydrogen fuel cell systems at their shared facility in Brownstown, Michigan. It has been a long time coming, as the two auto giants announced their collaboration in fuel cell technology ten years ago. The $85 million facility, part of the Fuel Cell System […]
January 26, 2024
Holcim, the Swiss-based construction materials and cement company, has placed a record order for 1 000 battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 trucks. The company wants to have 30% zero-emission trucks by 2030, and it’s not just counting on Daimler Truck to achieve this goal. This isn’t the first time Holcim has signed a letter of intent […]
January 24, 2024
Alexander Vlaskamp, CEO of German heavy truck maker MAN Truck & Bus, is no believer when it comes to hydrogen to decarbonize heavy transport. Although MAN develops both to a certain extent, he’s convinced that the limited supply and high cost of green hydrogen make a fuel cell truck unable to compete with battery electric […]
January 19, 2024
The Afro-European start-up NamX has released more details about its first car, the HUV. It appears that the automaker is joining the league of combustion-engined hydrogen cars, as the driveline of HUV features a roaring V8. We didn’t see that one coming. All passenger cars on hydrogen today use a fuel cell to make the […]
January 08, 2024
Nikola Motor’s 2023 has been tumultuous, to say the least. But the American zero-emission semi-truck manufacturer has closed out the year with its first hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks being delivered to customers. The outlook for 2024 should follow soon. Nikola’s 2023 year in review was not an easy one. The troubles started (or continued, […]
January 02, 2024
How do you make hydrogen more appealing to petrolheads? Perhaps outfitting a 1976 Jeep Cherokee Chief with a 6.2-liter V8 hydrogen combustion engine and some tasty modifications will allow you to have all the fun without any pollution. This is the French energy technology group GCK’s approach, together with motor oil specialist Motul. Consolidated in […]
January 02, 2024
Honda and Isuzu have started on-road testing in Japan of their jointly-developed ‘Giga Fuel Cell’ truck, a 12-meter long, 25-ton truck equipped with four 103 kW fuel cells providing 320 kW (429 hp) of electric power and a range of 800 km with 56 kg hydrogen in its tanks. The potent fuel cell developed by […]
December 27, 2023
Japanese motorbike and marine engine manufacturer Yamaha will present at the next Miami Boat show in February 2024 a prototype of a 5.6 liter V8 outboard motor running on hydrogen. Specs are scarce, but Yamaha already developed a 5.0 liter V8 car engine on hydrogen for Toyota in 2021. Yamaha is also working on fuel […]
December 27, 2023
Last Friday, DATS 24, Colruyt Group’s fuel and energy provider, opened up two additional hydrogen filling stations in Belgium, one in Erpe-Mere and the other in Herve. The latter is also the first hydrogen station in Wallonia for passenger cars. In addition to the ones in Halle, Haasrode, Wilrijk, and Ollignies, DATS 24 now counts […]
December 13, 2023
Three years after the initial announcement, the world’s first hydrogen-powered tugboat, baptized appositely ‘Hydrotug 1’, has arrived at its workstation in the Antwerp Port to start its real-world testing from mid-January. It features BeHydro V12 dual fuel medium speed engines, each providing 2 megawatts, that can run on hydrogen or diesel fuel. The idea is […]
December 07, 2023
Belgian start-up Solhyd, a spin-off of KU Leuven University, announced securing six million euros of seed capital from ‘a group of experienced entrepreneurs’ to optimize further the basic technology of ‘distilling’ pure hydrogen directly from the air using a particular solar-H2 panel and deploy it in pilot applications. After assembling earlier prototypes of their Gen1 […]
December 06, 2023
Symbio, the equally owned joint venture between French automotive supplier Forvia Group (Faurecia and Hella), French tire giant Michelin, and car manufacturing group Stellantis, has inaugurated its SymphonHy gigafactory on Tuesday in Saint-Fons, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in France. It’s Europe’s largest factory, with 700 employees to produce 16 000 hydrogen fuel cells initially, to […]
December 04, 2023
The stalling pickup market in the EU doesn’t refrain Toyota from introducing new powertrains in its famous workhorse. Slated for launch in 2024 is an electrified version of the 2.8-diesel engine. Though Toyota is a pioneer in hybrid drivetrains, the proposed solution in the Hilux remains modest. The Hilux Hybrid brings a 48-volt system to […]
November 28, 2023
Hyvia, the joint venture between Renault and Plug for hydrogen technology, has unveiled the new H2-Tech hydrogen fuel cell architecture for the current Renault Master van. A next-gen platform for the new Renault Master is coming in 2025. While we saw the launch of the all-new Renault Master, with a new battery-electric powertrain offering up […]
November 21, 2023
The Dutch energy provider Eneco has applied for a permit to construct a large-scale green hydrogen plant in the port of Rotterdam (the Netherlands). The ‘Eneco Electrolyzer’, as the utility will be called, is scheduled for 2026, and the hydrogen plant should be put into operation in 2029. The Dutch utility will use electricity from […]
November 15, 2023
Toyota has expanded its European commercial vehicle line-up with the Proace MAX, a derivative from Stellantis’ Fiat Ducato/Peugeot Boxer/Citroën Jumper/Opel Movano quartet. It features six body configurations and up to 420 all-electric range. On the other side of the world, the Japanese manufacturer has revealed a HiAce passenger van with a hydrogen combustion engine. In […]
November 06, 2023
Quantron AG, a spin-off of Germany’s Haller Group, will help Ford Trucks on a fast track to put its F-Max trucks to be built in Turkey on a fuel cell hydrogen diet. Both parties signed a letter of intent to share Quantron’s know-how in energy management systems, e-axles, high-power batteries, fuel cells, and tank integration. […]
October 30, 2023
Australian hydrogen vehicle start-up H2X has partnered with Austrian motorcycle and sports car manufacturer KTM to develop lightweight body and chassis elements for H2X’s hydrogen fuel cell van. The ‘Origami’ modular chassis allows the H2X ‘Darling’ to have multiple body options. We first heard from H2X in October 2022, when it tried to homologate its […]
October 24, 2023
On Monday, energy infrastructure group Fluxys Belgium launched its pilot project ‘BE-HyStore’ in Loenhout (Belgium). The project is intended to investigate the feasibility of hydrogen storage in the Loenhout subsurface. With 40 years of underground natural gas storage expertise, Fluxys will explore the possibilities of storing hydrogen in an underground aquifer. Federal Minister of Economy […]
October 17, 2023
Belgian shipowners’ family Saverys puts its money where its mouth is in taking the forefront of greening the world’s tanker business. Exmar, a leading player in transporting liquefied gas products like LPG, butane, propane, and ammonia, has ordered the world’s first two gas tankers that can run on the ammonia they transport. Two 46 000 […]
October 11, 2023
Hydrogen gas (H2) can be used as fuel for cabs and other cars in Brussels without any problems. That is the conclusion reached by D’Ieteren’s Taxis Verts and Colruyt’s Virya Energy after a one-year pilot project involving more than 55 000 km of driving. According to the two initiators, the zero-emission technology could, in the […]
October 10, 2023
Antwerp-based tanker shipping company Euronav remains in Belgian hands. Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB) and the Norwegian Frontline, Euronav’s two major shareholders, have reached an agreement on the matter. The agreement is described as one of the largest deals in the shipping industry in recent decades. “A huge milestone”, says CMB CEO Alexander Saverys, who is […]
October 10, 2023
Iveco and Hyundai have unveiled their first collaboration for the bus market: the Iveco Bus E-Way H2, which runs on a hybrid fuel cell and battery-electric powertrain and is meant for city use. The new zero-emission bus was unveiled at the Busworld show in Brussels. Hyundai and Iveco first announced their partnership for zero-emission drivetrains […]
October 02, 2023
Nikola has celebrated the commercial launch of its hydrogen fuel cell electric truck at its manufacturing facility in Arizona. The trucks are now ready to be built for customers, with Nikola also supplying the hydrogen refueling ecosystem. After a few tumultuous months, with the recall of all of its battery-electric Tre trucks and the separation […]
September 29, 2023
Belgian company CMB.TECH is building Africa’s first public filling station in Namibia with on-site green hydrogen production. The site in Walvis Bay uses solar energy to make the hydrogen. Its strategic location should provide direct access to major shipping routes. “Our facility will supply hydrogen to trucks, ships, and railway applications,” the company says. The […]
September 29, 2023
Daimler Truck announced with some pride it had a prototype of its Mercedes-Benz fuel cell truck GenH2 accomplish a journey of 1 047 km on hydrogen with only one filling session. The truck maker says this is another milestone within its dual-track strategy with hydrogen and battery-powered vehicles. The truck completed the run fully loaded […]
September 28, 2023
Dutch State Secretary for Infrastructure Viviane Heijnen has put some €125 million aside to subsidize the building of new hydrogen tank stations with an adjoining fleet of 10 to 15 hydrogen-driven trucks to ensure profitability. An attempt to solve the eternal chicken-and-egg problem by forcing the transport and energy sectors to shake hands. The new […]
September 27, 2023
British airplane engine expert Rolls-Royce says it has proven a critical engine technology that marks a significant step in enabling hydrogen as an aviation fuel. “Tests on a full annular combustor of a Pearl 700 engine at DLR in Cologne running on 100% hydrogen have proven the fuel can be combusted at conditions that represent […]
September 27, 2023
Belgium will launch a call for projects worth 10 million euros next month to support the import of green hydrogen into ports. Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Groen) reports this. Belgium has ambitious plans for hydrogen. Besides making the country a leader in hydrogen technologies, Belgium also wants to be an import and transit […]
September 25, 2023
Dutch energy supplier Eneco is to withdraw from the Brussels residential market. No more new customers will be accepted, and existing contracts will not be renewed after expiry. According to Eneco, the decision results from overly complex regulations and overprotection of customers. As a result, conditions are no longer profitable and unsustainable in the short […]
September 21, 2023
Toyota, an official sponsor of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024, will deploy a fleet of 500 of its Mirai hydrogen cars as part of the official fleet to ferry athletes and officials between the different sports venues. The Mirai fleet will be refueled with hydrogen from renewable sources provided by French hydrogen specialist […]
September 18, 2023
Everfuel, the operator of Denmark’s hydrogen stations, has decided to close all of its operational stations, leaving customers of hydrogen cars or buses with no opportunity to fill up their vehicles. Currently, only the station in Henning is operational. It’s a big u-turn from Everfuel’s earlier ambition to have 19 hydrogen stations ready by the […]
September 15, 2023
Danish container shipping company Maersk has launched the world’s first container ship to run on green methanol in its fleet. The ship, the ‘Laura Maersk’ was christened in Copenhagen by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “This ship embodies Europe’s decision to be a pioneer in the fight against climate change,” von der Leyen […]
September 13, 2023
Polish zero-emission bus manufacturer Solaris has secured the most significant order for hydrogen buses in Europe, with 130 units for Bologna’s public transport company TPER and an option for 140 more FCEV buses. A day later, Venice’s Azienda Veneziana della Mobilita ordered 90 more hydrogen buses, expandable up to 108 units in total. It’s a […]
September 13, 2023
VDL Special Vehicles has produced the first of five hydrogen fuel cell trucks for Toyota Motor Europe, which will be used in an extensive five-year test by Toyota’s European logistics providers. The hydrogen truck uses Toyota’s fuel cell technology. Earlier this year, in May, the Dutch VDL group and Toyota Motor Europe announced a partnership […]
September 05, 2023
Regionalverkehr Köln (RVK), Cologne’s regional public transport company, has ordered 18 more hydrogen e-buses from Solaris, expanding the fleet, which already consists of 35 hydrogen buses from Solaris. The new buses are the articulated Urbino 18 model, which was revealed in 2022. Cologne ordered its first hydrogen bus from Polish manufacturer Solaris in 2020 and […]
September 05, 2023
While all eyes are focused on the IAA in Munich, Toyota’s Hilux hydrogen pickup was revealed on Tuesday at Toyota Manufacturing UK’s vehicle plant in Derby, England. As expected, the technology comes from the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell electric sedan. “Technology that has proved its quality in almost ten years of commercial production,” the […]
August 10, 2023
The British chemical company Ineos wants to invest 10 million euros in a hydrogen boiler. The boiler will be located at Ineos’ subsidiary Inovyn in the port of Antwerp and will produce steam using its own surplus of hydrogen. This way, the company can avoid losing energy. To make the Antwerp chemical cluster more sustainable, […]
August 09, 2023
A new Spanish operator, Surcar Airlines Hidroaviones, is planning to retrofit Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter seaplanes with ZeroAvia’s 600kW ZA600 fuel cell engines to enable zero-emission sightseeing flights in the Canary Islands. It signed an agreement for this with British-American start-up ZeroAvia. ZeroAvia just announced the completion of its initial prototype ZA600 flight testing […]
August 07, 2023
By the end of the year, Ford will deploy a fuel cell version of its F-Max, under development at its Turkish subsidiary Ford Otosan, within the framework of an EU incentive. The 44-tonne truck features fuel cell stacks from Canadian specialist firm Ballard. Together with Volvo, Scania, and Renault, Ford Trucks is a member of […]
August 04, 2023
German railway company LNVG has decided to halt further investments in hydrogen trains to replace diesel engines. Claiming they are cheaper to run, the company’s latest order consists of battery-powered and catenary trains only. The strategic move is significant, as the company was famed for inaugurating the first commercial hydrogen train line. In the summer […]
August 03, 2023
Airbus, BMW Group, and Quantinuum, leaders in mobility and quantum technologies, have developed a hybrid quantum-classical workflow to speed up future research using Quantum Computers to simulate quantum systems, focusing on the chemical reactions of catalysts in fuel cells. In a new technical paper, ‘Applicability of Quantum Computing to Oxygen Reduction Reaction Simulations‘, the three […]
August 02, 2023
Tel Aviv University scientists have succeeded in developing a groundbreaking method to produce green hydrogen. The method, developed by doctoral student Itzhak Grinberg and by Dr. Oren Ben-Zvi, claims to have over 90% efficiency by harnessing the power of green electricity and utilizing a highly efficient biocatalyst. The research is founded upon the rare instances […]
August 01, 2023
Stellantis Group has completed its 33,3% purchase in entering the capital of French fuel cell specialist Symbio, already a supplier of hydrogen systems for the group’s utility vehicles. The current shareholders, automotive supplier Faurecia and tire giant Michelin announced in December last year the start of negotiations with Stellantis. “Acquiring an equal stake in Symbio […]
July 26, 2023
One of British best-known climate activists and industrialists and founder of Ecotricity, the ‘world’s first green energy company’, unveiled plans to launch by 2024 the ‘first electric airline powered by renewable energy’. Ecojet, as the new airline is called, will operate planes converted to hydrogen fuel cells by 2025 from Edinburgh to start, expanding through […]
July 24, 2023
It’s going further downhill with the French hydrogen car fairy tale of racing pilot Olivier Lombard, the Hopium Māchina that once was called the ‘French Tesla of hydrogen’ by the former Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari. The Paris court granted the start-up a judicial recovery procedure for six months, eventually to be extended to twelve. In […]
July 17, 2023
British Ineos Automotive, the global chemical giant’s daughter, debuted at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (GFS), the hydrogen demonstration version of its Landrover Defender-clone, the Grenadier. The Grenadier Demonstrator got BMW’s latest fuel cell technology as used for the iX5 Hydrogen. After ‘rigorous offroad testing’ in the Austrian mountains, the Grenadier Demonstrator proved capable of […]
July 14, 2023
German automotive supplier Robert Bosch GmbH has started mass production of fuel cell engines at its Stuttgart-Feuerbach factory, one of the ‘oldest’ of the group’s numerous factories worldwide. The first fuel power modules are going to American electric truck startup Nikola, whose Class 8 hydrogen truck should come to the US market in the third […]
July 07, 2023
Belgium’s ambition to lead in developing a hydrogen grid was proved once again last Thursday: the plenary of the House of Representatives approved the first hydrogen law to regulate the transport of green hydrogen via pipelines. It may be the first such law worldwide, according to the cabinet of Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten […]
June 30, 2023
On its ‘tech days 2023’, state-owned Chinese carmaker GAC (Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.) showed several technical ‘tour de forces’, including the world’s first passenger car engine running on ammonia. GAC developed a 2.0-liter engine that can burn liquid ammonia, delivering 120 kilowatts of power and a 90% reduction in carbon emissions compared to conventional fuels. […]
