Energy – International World Of Business

Nel plans gigafactory in Michigan

Press Room Team — Thu, 11 May 2023 13:45:13 +0000

Volldal emphasizes that the short distance to General Motors, headquartered in Detroit, has played a decisive role in the choice of state. The two companies collaborate to develop further and improve Nel’s PEM electrolyser technology.

“Having Nel’s new facility close to our home base of HYDROTEC development, in southeastern Michigan, will help us more quickly accelerate our electrolyzer collaboration,” says GM executive director of HYDROTEC Charlie Freese.

Coming Green Hydrogen Wave Set to Create Thousands of New Union Jobs

Press Room Team — Thu, 11 May 2023 13:45:12 +0000

“We were in the mechanical era 50 years ago, and now we’re in the electrical era, and soon to come we’ll be in the hydrogen era,” said Local 11 Business Director of Renewables Tommy Faave said. “This is the next era of good-paying electrical jobs – whether it’s hydrogen production, storage, or transportation – hydrogen projects like these are going to be key to building up our membership and bringing in more apprentices and more journeymen into Local 11. Fossil fuels are not going to be around forever.”

NFI receives third zero-emission contract from RTC, for up to 107 New Flyer fuel cell-electric buses, expanding sustainable, high-capacity mobility in Southern Nevada

Press Room Team — Thu, 11 May 2023 13:45:11 +0000

RTC has awarded New Flyer a five-year contract with an initial firm order for seven zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell-electric Xcelsior CHARGE FC 60-foot heavy-duty transit buses (or 14 Equivalent Units “EUs”), as well as the option to purchase up to 100 buses (200 EUs) over the duration of the contract. In total, NFI added up to 107 buses (214 EUs) to its first-quarter 2023 backlog from firm and option orders. 

Researchers devise new system for turning seawater into hydrogen fuel

Press Room Team — Thu, 11 May 2023 13:45:10 +0000

A new dawn for hydrogen mobility in Europe

Press Room Team — Thu, 11 May 2023 13:45:09 +0000

With the EU’s commitment to hydrogen stations every 200km on major roads, the industry now sees a positive sign to push forward with the development of a hydrogen mobility ecosystem. OEMs, suppliers, energy companies and organizations all see a clear path to introduce hydrogen and FCEVs in the mobility ecosystem.

Recipient of 2022 California Platinum Proton Award Announced: State Senator Josh Newman

Press Room Team — Thu, 11 May 2023 13:45:07 +0000

Equity must be central to clean hydrogen deployment

Press Room Team — Thu, 11 May 2023 13:45:06 +0000

Toyota Receives Zero Emission CARB Executive Order for HD Fuel Cell Electric Powertrain Kit

Press Room Team — Thu, 11 May 2023 13:45:04 +0000

The hydrogen-fueled powertrain kit includes hydrogen fuel storage tanks, fuel cell stacks, batteries, electric motors and transmission, and offers a viable alternative to traditional diesel powertrains used in commercial goods transportation as companies look to transition their fleets to zero-emission vehicles.

Trucking’s Electric Vs. Hydrogen Battle Starts to Percolate

Press Room Team — Sun, 16 Apr 2023 22:18:26 +0000

Purely battery-powered trucks have a head start on hydrogen fuel cells in the race to decarbonize trucks, but because of major drawbacks for both technologies, the competition is far from settled.

While hydrogen trucks offer long driving range and quick refueling, only a few very expensive models are on the market. Battery-electric rigs are relatively cheaper and more widely available, but operating them at scale will require massive investments in high-powered charging infrastructure.

Juicing up 1,100 trucks at the same time for 45 minutes would use the capacity of an entire nuclear power plant, according to Martin Lundstedt, the CEO of Swedish manufacturer Volvo.

“And 1,100 trucks is nothing,” Lundstedt said in an interview. “We are talking about professional equipment to be used around the clock. It’s not like with a car that is only used 2% to 3% of the available time during the day.”

While hydrogen trucks offer long driving range and quick refueling, only a few very expensive models are on the market. Battery-electric rigs are relatively cheaper and more widely available, but operating them at scale will require massive investments in high-powered charging infrastructure.

Decarbonizing road logistics is one of the biggest challenges facing governments and companies looking to contain global warming. Carbon-dioxide emissions from trucks and buses have soared 80% over the last two decades, and the vehicles heavily contribute to toxic particulate pollution in urban areas. For the industry to limit temperature increases to no more than 1.5°C, two-thirds of trucks sold this decade must be zero-emission, according to a World Economic Forum report.

Image

A Volvo electric truck at the InterBattery exhibition in Seoul on March 16. (Jean Chung/Bloomberg News)

Battery-electric trucks are already making an impact on the road, with Volvo, Daimler Truck and Volkswagen’s Traton offering different-size models to logistics clients. DHL has put several of Volvo’s e-trucks to work on London streets. Germany’s DB Schenker in January ordered 100 electric trucks from Traton’s MAN brand and has an agreement with Sweden’s Volta Trucks for some 1,500 e-rigs. Danish shipping company Maersk last year ordered 300 vehicles from Swedish startup Einride for its U.S. warehousing, distribution and transportation business.

PHASE 3 EPA STANDARDS: Emissions proposal is toughest ever for trucks

The modest success of electric trucks — just 0.1% heavy-duty trucks sold in Europe in 2021 were zero-emission — is partly due to their availability. Around 12 times more battery-electric truck models will be available this decade than fuel cell trucks, according to BloombergNEF estimates. Proponents say charging times of an hour or two will come down to around 45 minutes by mid-decade, and that e-rigs will benefit from cheap excess renewable energy.

Daimler Truck, Traton and Volvo have teamed up to address the lack of infrastructure and plan to install and operate at least 1,700 charging points for heavy-duty trucks in Europe, with a planned total investment of €500 million ($551 million). Still, battery costs will have to fall further to make the economics of trucks operating on longhaul routes competitive, according to BNEF, which sees battery trucks reaching cost parity with diesel around 2030, and fuel cell vehicles somewhat later.

“For our customers, it’s really about the lowest possible cost,” said Kenny Kristensen, a manager for Maersk’s land transportation decarbonization program. “Any energy transition in history has always been that the lowest cost wins.”

Image

A Mercedes-Benz GenH2 hydrogen-powered truck. (Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg News)

But don’t count out fuel cell trucks just yet. Their drivetrains convert hydrogen into electricity that then powers the motor, emitting only water vapor. A fuel cell powertrain weighs less, allowing the vehicles to drive longer distances with greater loads and shorter refueling stops.

While Volvo has six battery-electric trucks on offer and sold more than 4,300 of these vehicles since 2019, it’s also pursuing fuel cells. The company last year started testing hydrogen trucks with 621 miles of range that can be refueled in 15 minutes. Daimler Truck has done similar trials the last few years.

President Biden Visits Future Electrolyzer Manufacturing Facility on Investing in America Tour

Press Room Team — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 16:11:59 +0000

President Biden visited the Cummins Power Generation Facility in Fridley, Minnesota, where later this month Cummins will dedicate 89,000 square feet of the facility to electrolyzer production. The launch of this new capacity follows Cummins’ announcement in October 2022—just two months after President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act—that the company will begin manufacturing their electrolyzers in the United States for the first time.

“When Cummins first manufactured hydrogen electrolyzers, they had to make them overseas … But now, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act with the tax credits for renewable energy, Cummins is going to manufacture these electrolyzers here in America for the first time,” said President Biden. “Cummins is turning this part of the factory … into a new production line for clean energy technology. Here at this plant, 600 workers now making diesel engines will be re-trained, and an additional 100 jobs—so a total of 700 jobs—will be making clean energy technology.”

Investments in electrolyzer manufacturing will expand production of clean hydrogen essential to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, create good-paying jobs, and bolster clean energy supply chains here in America. The president’s visit highlighted how the Investing in America agenda—including historic funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the American Rescue Plan—is building a clean-energy economy, rebuilding our infrastructure and supply chains, unleashing a manufacturing boom, and creating good-paying jobs across the country.

Cummins has been a longstanding partner of the Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), with projects dating back to 2004. Cummins and HFTO are currently partnered on two projects, which aim to: (i) develop and demonstrate high-volume manufacturing processes for solid-oxide electrolyzer cells and stacks; and (ii) advance proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems for heavy-duty transportation applications.

As part of the Investing in America tour, President Biden, Vice President Harris, First Lady Jill Biden, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, members of the Cabinet, and senior White House officials are visiting more than 20 states over the course of three weeks to highlight the impact of the president’s Investing in America agenda.