The hub projects are expected to showcase an entire hydrogen supply chain, including production, storage and distribution as a way forward on decarbonization in various sectors.
With specific terminals signing on to take part, the ports’ portion of the California hub could include on-road trucks, fueling stations, yard tractors, top handler equipment and tugboats.
Under his watch, new Toyota CEO Koji Sato says a top focus through the end of the decade will be expanding the hydrogen infrastructure and the array of industries using the futuristic fuel.
Nevada and Arizona have a unique energy ecosystem, with geological resources and transportation routes that support favorable conditions for a clean hydrogen market. These include strategic access to critical transportation routes for energy delivery; the geological resources to support storage of large volumes of salt deposits at low cost; and pre-existing infrastructure and pipelines for integration with other renewables.
These attributes provide the region with an opportunity to meet energy demand and export to larger markets via major interstates, rail and pipelines.
The project is a triumph for North America, though European countries beat Canada to the punch: Germany started testing the world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger trains in 2018, going on to roll out a fleet in 2022. The German Coradia iLint trains, also made by Alstom, can reach speeds of 140 miles per hour. A single tank of hydrogen can last for more that 600 miles.
According to a statement from Alstom, since 2018 its hydrogen-powered trains have traveled more than 100,000 miles across eight European countries. Now, the company is positioned to expand across the Atlantic.
The new Wolftank USA Inc. will supply the American market with the Group's innovative hydrogen solutions and will initially focus on mobile hydrogen filling stations.
Working together, the companies’ goal is development of fast-fuel multiple modes for heavy-duty transportation at the same station, uniting different standards of gaseous and liquid hydrogen vehicle fueling using high flow and efficiency liquid pumping.
In the case of long-haul trucking, however, a new, first-of-its-kind CATF report comparing the operational performance of hydrogen and battery electric powered trucks and identified several advantages to hydrogen fuel cell trucks and fueling infrastructure that could help to quickly and efficiently decarbonize that sector.
Through this partnership, FirstElement Fuel is leveraging its True Zero network of hydrogen refueling stations to fuel three XCIENT Fuel Cell prototypes at full 700 bar pressure. In addition, FirstElement Fuel is deploying its first-of-its-kind high capacity mobile refueler, which was developed in a collaboration between FirstElement Fuel, Taylor-Wharton, and Nikkiso. The mobile refueler, which is capable of high-capacity fueling at 125 kilograms per hour, is being used to support pilot programs for several other Heavy Duty FCEV OEMs as well.
Later this year, FirstElement Fuel and Hyundai Motor will launch the world's largest commercial deployment of Class 8 hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks in Oakland, California The project, titled NorCAL ZERO was jointly funded by the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and is being managed by the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE). The hydrogen refueling partnership between FirstElement Fuel and Hyundai Motor is providing valuable data and learnings which are helping inform design considerations for the NorCal ZERO project. FirstElement Fuel considers the fueling partnership with Hyundai Motor a very successful step towards the overall goal to advance hydrogen as a replacement for fossil fuels.
In the U.S., long-haul heavy-duty trucking accounts for nearly half of the nation’s on-road, carbon-emitting diesel fuel consumption and roughly 13% of U.S. transportation greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, this type of trucking—like marine shipping and aviation—is an end-use case where vehicle weight and energy needs can make it hard to decarbonize with on-board batteries alone.
Zero-carbon fuels like low-emissions hydrogen, which contains no carbon and produces no carbon dioxide when combusted or used in a fuel cell, can play a valuable role in the decarbonization of hard-to-electrify systems, provided the hydrogen is produced in ways that minimize greenhouse gas emissions.
A new zero-emissions ferry powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology has arrived in San Francisco, where it will undergo trial runs and preparations to carry passengers later this year.
The 70-foot catamaran is believed to be the first commercial maritime vessel in the United States powered entirely by hydrogen fuel cells, officials said. The boat is a key part of an ambitious plan by the San Francisco Bay Ferry to phase out a significant number of its pollutant-spewing diesel vessels with zero-emission watercraft by 2035.
GKN Hydrogen, Technology & Investment Solutions LLC and Circle Green, Inc. announce the operation of a microgrid project utilizing GKN Hydrogen’s metal hydride hydrogen storage.
- The microgrid is located at Circle Green Technical Park near Adelanto at the former Meadowbrook Dairy within an unincorporated portion of San Bernardino County.
- The project will validate and demonstrate the dynamic operation of GKN Hydrogen’s HY2MEDI energy storage system (ESS) integrated within the Circle Green Technical Park and supporting the renewable energy technology development at the site.
Recent reports have suggested that large-scale production of hydrogen could do more harm than good in the effort to reduce global warming.
But the reality is that the climate benefit from a well-regulated clean hydrogen economy outweighs the impact of any emissions that hydrogen would add to our energy system, especially if we prioritize hydrogen produced from renewables-powered electricity.
Why not now? Guldner explained the infrastructure is not ready, adding the European Union’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive could massively improve the refueling network.
ZeroAvia today announced that it has achieved record-breaking performance in testing of its High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane (HTPEM) systems. Early testing of the pressurized 20kW HTPEM stack power module in ZeroAvia's UK R&D location has demonstrated a record 2.5 kW/kg specific power at the cell level, paving the way for 3+ kW/kg system level densities in the next 24 months.
Cummins has invested more than $1.5 billion in research and technology, capital and acquisitions to build Accelera’s leadership and technological capabilities. Accelera is now a global leader in zero-emissions technologies, providing battery electric and fuel cell electric solutions across commercial and industrial applications with hundreds of electrolyzers generating hydrogen around the world today.
Toyota recently developed new electrolysis equipment that produces hydrogen from electrolyzing water using the FC stack and other technology from the Mirai. The equipment will be put into operation this March at a DENSO Fukushima Corporation plant, which will serve as a technology implementation venue to promote its widespread use going forward. Toyota will accelerate its efforts to build a model for the local consumption of locally produced hydrogen, using electrolysis equipment to produce clean hydrogen and combust it in one of the plant's gas furnaces.
Furthermore, Toyota will publicize the details of its efforts to build such a hydrogen utilization model in the hopes of expanding the model's implementation to many people from various industries and regions.
The Hydrogen Generation System at Nine Mile Point is one of four projects supported by DOE to demonstrate clean hydrogen production at commercial nuclear power plants.
In addition to these demonstrations, DOE is investing billions through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to develop and mature clean hydrogen production in the United States to help lower emissions and create new job opportunities for American workers.
It also supports the Department’s Hydrogen Shot goal of reducing the cost of hydrogen by 80 percent to $1 per 1 kilogram in 1 decade.
Another bill awaiting introduction aims to boost a multi-state effort to turn the Rocky Mountain region into a hub for clean hydrogen. The U.S. Department of Energy plans to award up to $7 billion to 10 hydrogen networks around the county. Colorado has joined New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming to ask for a portion of the funding.
Hydrogen has attracted interest as a potential climate-friendly replacement for fossil fuels. Once produced, it could power ships, aircraft or electric trucks. Factories could burn it in furnaces to make steel and other industrial materials. And utilities could use it as a way to store wind and solar energy for future use.