Fuel cells

• [New] Beijing will install more than 70 hydrogen fuel stations and increase the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on its roads to 10,000 by 2025.
• [New] Beyond hydrogen fuel cell cars, Beijing's plan involves the addition of 4,400 trucks to transition from fossil fuels to H2 from 2021 through 2025.
• [New] Hydrogen production equipment has the potential to cover a market of approximately £4 billion annually by 2050 and stationary fuel cells used for vehicles could make up a traded market of £15 billion annually (Vivid Economics, Energy Innovations Needs Assessment: Hydrogen and fuel cells, 2019).
• [New] We expect the use of hydrogen in the transport sector to grow rapidly over the next ten years - albeit from a low base - eventually offering a market opportunity for machinery companies of some $45 billion to $50 billion annually by 2050.
• [New] In rail transport, fuel cells provide a green alternative in situations where an overhead catenary system providing electric power can not be used, and they will likely become competitive with diesel in the next ten years.
• In a three-year pilot demonstration, National Grid will assess the economics of Standard's 1 MW electrolytic hydrogen plant for three separate applications: generating electricity, mixing hydrogen with natural gas, and powering fuel-cell and battery electric vehicles.
• The number of NEVs - comprising purely electric cars, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles - will jump sixfold to 6.6 million units by 2025 from the current population.
• Toyota Motor Corporation has developed a product that packages a fuel cell (FC) system into a compact module and plans to begin selling it in the spring of 2021 or later.
• Solid oxide fuel cell technology is the most optimal solution for reducing greenhouse gas emission using liquified natural gas, as it could reduce ships' carbon dioxide emissions by 34%.
• Forrest remains optimistic, pointing to China's ambition to have more than a million hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles on the road by 2030 along with plans in Japan and South Korea to increase their use.
• China aims to put as many as 1 million fuel cell vehicles on the road by 2035 in an aggressive campaign to promote clean vehicles.
• Some companies, including Tesla, focus on perfecting the already popular lithium-ion batteries; others take the risk to explore new battery tech such as hydrogen fuel cells and solid-state batteries.
• Toyota does not envisage a one size fits all scenario, but a future in which different electrified technologies, including hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV), fuel cell electric (FCEV) and battery electric (BEV) vehicles all play a part.
• The LOCATE facility, which will be based at the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc site in Dundee, will shortly receive £4 million to support heavy duty vehicle platform testing and innovation, particularly around hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric powertrains.
• Investments in hydrogen technologies could act to supplement renewable generation investments and perhaps support the development of a domestic industry for using South Africa's significant platinum reserves in hydrogen fuel cells for export.
• Toyota is selling the Mirai fuel cell vehicle running on hydrogen, and plans to boost tenfold the global sales of the Mirai with the second-generation Mirai.
• New Facility Expected to Substantially Reduce Costs for Fuel Cell Trucks Manufactured in the US, Eliminating a Key Bottleneck.
• Fuel cell technology could become viable in the future, at least according to Renault's head of alternative fuels.
• North America followed by Europe is expected to be potential markets for hydrogen fuel cells.
• A single NPM could produce enough hydrogen to power 38,000 fuel cell vehicles or 1,500 long-haul fuel cell trucks at average annual usage rates in the US.
• As with the Brooklyn-based firm Air Company, the Ionomr membranes could be used for electrolysis and applications such as hydrogen fuel cells.
• Ballard fuel cell modules will be deployed in CP's Hydrogen Locomotive Program.

Last updated: 18 April 2021