http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/06/20170620-hyundai.htmlReport: Hyundai to boost production of new fuel cell vehicle 15x to 3,600 units - See more at: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/06/20170620-hyundai.html#sthash.0DyLaFEB.dpuf
*Presumably on a liberal cycle, so you can probably multiply by .65 or .7 to reflect EPA range.. . . Hyundai sold 242 fuel cell vehicles last year; Toyota, the market leader with its Mirai, is targeting 3,000 fuel cell vehciles sold this year. Hyundai’s decision, according to the report, is part of an effort to check Toyota and to promote fuel cell vehicles. . . .
. . . The FE Concept showcases Hyundai Motor’s fourth-generation of hydrogen fuel cell technology, an evolution of research, development and real-world evaluation programs around the world. When compared with the current generation system used in the Tucson ix35 Fuel Cell, the new technology is 20% lighter, and achieves 10% greater efficiency. In addition, the power density of the fuel cell stack is increased by 30%, boosting the car’s range significantly.
The FE is designed to run for more than 800 kilometers (497 miles)* between refueling, acknowledging the current limited hydrogen infrastructure. Elements of the FE Fuel Cell Concept will influence an SUV Fuel Cell model set for launch in 2018, which will feature advanced Hyundai Smart Sense driver assistance technologies, alongside an extensive hydrogen-powered range.
Hyundai Motor launched the Tucson ix FCEV in 2013 and sold 27 units the same year. The company had sold a total of 666 units through the end of last year. Toyota sold 2,843 units of the Mirai through the end of last year.
. . . The Chinese government is planning to supply 5,000 FCEVs and install 100 charging stations by 2020. . . .
The number of registered FCEVs in Korea stood at 128 as of May this year. . . .
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/06/20170629-bmw.htmlGermany launches €60M, 3-year consortium project on high-volume production of automotive fuel cells; BMW, Daimler, Ford, VW
. . . The “AutoStack Industry” project is a joint initiative of the German automotive and supply industries and aims to provide the technical, economic and technological basis for the commercial introduction of fuel cell vehicles in Germany and Europe by 2020. The consortium, which is lead by BMW, comprises leading German companies in the fields of automotive and fuel cell technology: BMW AG; Daimler AG; Reinz-Dichtungs GmbH (DANA); Ford Research and Innovation Center Aachen; Freudenberg Performance Materials SE & Co. KG; Greenerity GmbH; NuCellSys GmbH; Powercell Sweden AB; Umicore AG & Co. KG; Volkswagen AG; and Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg. . . .
Currently, fuel cell stacks are largely assembled by hand. Automated assembly saves time and costs and is therefore a prerequisite for a broad market launch of fuel cell vehicles.
The partners in the project will create common specifications and derive stack and component designs from this, then build a prototype stack. At the same time, the technology is being researched for a scalable and flexible production plant with a potential target capacity of 30,000 fuel cell stacks per year.
To achieve this, approximately 25 million individual components have to be inspected, processed and then packaged in such a way that no shifts occur between the components and no leakage between the components occurs in a cycle time of 0.5 seconds with high precision to 0.1 millimeter.
The key processes of such a production are the automated high-precision gripping, transfer, positioning and placement of components which are partly flexible and partly under mechanical stress. The flexible system is designed to produce stacks in the power range from 10 to 150 kW with a life expectancy of at least 5,500 hours.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1111351_chevrolet-colorado-zh2-first-ride-in-hydrogen-fuel-cell-army-truckChevrolet Colorado ZH2: first ride in hydrogen fuel-cell Army truck
. . . Underneath its show-truck body, the ZH2 is a shortened Colorado ZR2 off-road truck with a version of the experimental Chevrolet Equinox hydrogen fuel-cell test-vehicle's 177-horsepower electric motor and proton-exchange membrane fuel-cell stack. It's beefed up for military use with a suspension lift and 37-inch BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain tires (perhaps the only time you'll read those words together on Green Car Reports).
GM and TARDEC are quick to point out the benefits of fuel-cell propulsion in a military vehicle: silent and quiet running to sneak up on or away from a nasty situation, a quiet and efficient electric generator, water vapor emissions that can be converted to re-ionized potable water, and the ability to extract hydrogen from military-grade JP8 fuel. . . . Tucked away behind a hinged lid in the ZH2's bed is an electric generator that TARDEC says can easily power its latest communications equipment.
Of course, there are some drawbacks to the ZH2—and those are just what TARDEC's year-long test spread across several military bases are hoping to both uncover and improve upon. For one, hydrogen is highly combustible when ignited by, say, sniper fire. In the ZH2, GM told us that the heavily protected tank has been designed to vent hydrogen up and away from the vehicle if its tank's integrity is compromised.
There's also the limited driving range of the ZH2, which TARDEC's representatives told us has proven to be highly variable. Florida's dunes had the electric motor working especially hard, which dropped the ZH2's range to around 90 miles. But in Colorado, the army has seen about double that. Additionally, there's no existing infrastructure for hydrogen on most military bases. . . .
However, the Army can extract hydrogen from its standard-issue JP8 fuel—though that requires energy to run what are effectively refineries. That could make hydrogen a feasible fuel source for not only vehicles but generators that could provide enough electricity to support an entire remote base. . . .
http://insideevs.com/rasa-beta-test-hydrogen/Riversimple Needs Beta Testers For Rasa Hydrogen Car
. . .In order to sign up for the beta test of the Riversimple Rasa, you will need to live in or near Monmouthshire in the UK, have a reason to regularly go to nearby Abergavenny (where the one and only hydrogen refueling station will be set up), and want to test the car for between one and three months. If you meet all of those qualifications, then sign on up at the Riversimple website before September 1st and get ready to ride on H2 at some point by the end of the year. Riversimple is looking for between 80 and 100 beta testers.
As we wrote a year ago, the Riversimple Rasa is an ultra-light, two-seat, hydrogen-powered car with a range of 300 miles few tank. There are four electric motors, one in each wheel, and an 8.5-kW hydrogen fuel cell to power them. That’s not a lot of power, which is why the Rasa has a top speed of 60 miles per hour and is not allowed on the highway. The test vehicles will be hand-built.
Riversimple has not plans to actually sell the Rasa, even when it goes into actual production. Instead, the company will offer the car like today’s cell phones, using a service contract. The company says:
- "A customer will typically sign up for a contract of 1 – 3 years, and pay a monthly direct debit which comprises a fixed cost for the car + a charge relating to mileage. Riversimple pays for all the hydrogen, insurance and all maintenance, tyres, etc." . . .
sparky said:GRA...
It's seems Mirai, and Clarity and the others just don't know they're dead yet. I know one person who has a FCV (Clarity). He loves it mostly because Honda has made it "free" to him with a cheap lease and free H2. Also, there's a First Element station near his house.
Most of the news seems to be gravitating towards other FCV applications. There's no great pull for FCVs. Seems BEVs have won.
Do you disagree?
sparky said:It's mid 2017. GM has produced a damn fine, long range EV at a FCV beating price.
sparky said:Tesla has completed production of its first Model 3 (of 100k in the next 12 months?).
sparky said:Seems BEVs have won.
Yes, I disagree. It remains way too early to say, and as long as BEVs and FCEVs remain dependent on subsidies for sales (see that thread), we simply won't know what their real commercial viability is. Bolt sales have been disappointing, and I think the reason is that people are now evaluating more realistically how they're going to use the cars now that the initial early adopter excitement has faded, what their real range requirements are, and how much that's worth to them.sparky said:GRA, I do appreciate keeping you this thread updated since I'm interested in this topic.
It's mid 2017. GM has produced a damn fine, long range EV at a FCV beating price. Tesla has completed production of its first Model 3 (of 100k in the next 12 months?).
It's seems Mirai, and Clarity and the others just don't know they're dead yet. I know one person who has a FCV (Clarity). He loves it mostly because Honda has made it "free" to him with a cheap lease and free H2. Also, there's a First Element station near his house.
Most of the news seems to be gravitating towards other FCV applications. There's no great pull for FCVs. Seems BEVs have won.
Do you disagree?
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/07/20170711-itm.htmlITM Power signs hydrogen fuel contract with Honda (UK)
Lowest unleaded price/l is currently 107.7 (pence), diesel is 108.7, which converts to £4.08 and £4.11/U.S.G., so at the above price on-site electrolyzed H2 is getting close to cost parity in the U.K. for medium/large-sized non-hybrid gas cars, still a ways to go for smaller gas/diesels.ITM Power has signed a fuel contract with Honda (UK), which will purchase hydrogen at £10/kg (US$12.91/kg). . . .
This is the seventeenth fuel supply contract for refueling fuel cell electric vehicles ITM Power has signed. Honda joins Toyota GB PLC, Hyundai Motor UK Ltd, Commercial Group, Skanska, UlemCo Ltd, Arval UK Ltd, UK Government Car Service, Arcola Energy, Johnson Matthey, Europcar, The Science Museum, JCB, Anglo American, Green Tomato Cars, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and Northern Gas Networks as a fuel customer.
ITM Power is currently rolling out a network of 10 hydrogen refueling stations in the UK of which 4 are now open for public access. Each station produces hydrogen on site via ITM Power’s rapid response electrolyzer system. . . .
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/07/20170711-innbalance.html€6.1M EU project to develop advanced balance of plant components for fuel cell vehicles
The EU-funded INN-BALANCE (INNovative Cost Improvements for BALANCE of Plant Components of Automotive PEMFC Systems) project launched earlier this year with the aim of developing a novel and integrated development platform for developing advanced Balance of Plant (BOP) components in current fuel cell based vehicles.
The goal is to improve BOP component efficiency and reliability, reducing costs and presenting a stable supply chain to the European car manufacturers and system integrators. . . .
INN-BALANCE will focus on four main general topics:
- New components developments, addressing the latest changes and trends in fuel cells vehicles technology, from new air turbo-compressor, anode recirculation/injection module and advanced control/diagnosis devices to new concepts of thermal management and anti-freeze units based on standard automotive components.
Vehicle integration and validation of the components in a TRL7 platform placed at a well-known car manufacturing platform.
Providing innovative and cost-optimized manufacturing processes especially developed for automotive BOP components.
Results dissemination and exploitation, new technology broadcasting and public awareness of new, low-cost and reliable clean energy solutions in Europe bringing at the same time highly qualified new job opportunities.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/07/20170713-tmc.htmlToyota and partners begin full-scale operation of showcase project to supply low-carbon H2 to fuel cell forklifts
A Japanese partnership . . . announced that all facilities to be used in the FY2015 Regional Cooperation and Low-carbon Hydrogen Technology Demonstration Project commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment have been completed, and full-scale operations have commenced.
The goal of the project is to implement and evaluate a low-carbon hydrogen supply chain which will utilize hydrogen produced from renewable energy in facilities along Tokyo Bay (in Yokohama and Kawasaki) to power 12 fuel cell forklifts. The project aims to construct a low-carbon hydrogen supply chain that can reduce overall CO2 emissions by at least 80% when compared with conventional approaches.
A system has been created for using electricity generated at the Yokohama City Wind Power Plant (Hama Wing) to electrolyze water to create low-carbon hydrogen, which is then compressed and stored. The hydrogen produced at the site will be transported in a hydrogen fueling truck to a fruit and vegetable market, a factory, and warehouses. The hydrogen will be used in fuel cells to power forklifts at these locations.
The creation of this hydrogen supply chain in cooperation with local partners is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 80% when compared with a supply chain using forklifts powered by gasoline or grid electricity. . . .
The project includes:
- a system to produce hydrogen by electrolyzing water using wind power;
a system to optimize storage and transportation of hydrogen;
use of fuel cell forklifts; and
a hydrogen supply chain feasibility study.
Specific items to be verified by the project include the business case for hydrogen supply chains and future expansion to other regions. .
. .
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/07/20170714-sandia.htmlSandia researchers take study of hydrogen-powered passenger ferries to next level; optimizing design
In the San Francisco Bay Renewable Energy Electric Vessel with Zero Emissions study, known as SF-BREEZE, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories concluded liquid hydrogen fuel cells are feasible on technical, regulatory and economic bases. (Earlier post.)*
Now, Sandia researchers are taking the work to the next level in a second study that focuses on the optimal combination of vessel design, speed and passenger capacity, which, once determined, could reduce uncertainty in the industry; and the technical evidence to support new safety codes for hydrogen fuel-cell vessels. The work is funded by the US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration’s Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance program.
The initial feasibility study focused on a 150-passenger ferry traveling at 35 knots. Now, mechanical engineer and project lead Joe Pratt is asking whether it makes sense to design ferries that are faster or slower, larger or smaller.
Sandia Labs started by plotting typical speeds and passenger capacities of about 600 passenger ferries in the US, and found that the ferry studied in the SF-BREEZE project was actually an outlier, being faster and having fewer passengers than most.
Although previous work on the SF-BREEZE project demonstrated the feasibility of utilizing hydrogen fuel cells for propulsion power on a high-speed passenger vessel, it became apparent that there may be better economic returns when applied to slower speed vessels. The next logical step in the process is to examine the effect of speed and passenger count on the overall cost and per-passenger emissions for hydrogen fuel cell-powered passenger vessels, which is why the optimization study is important. . . .
Sandia hopes to produce a half dozen ferry concepts to demonstrate which are most economical and which will make the most impact on protecting the environment.
Sandia is reviewing International Maritime Organization codes for liquid natural gas-powered vessels and developing a technical basis for codes that could be created for hydrogen fuel-cell vessels. Currently, liquid natural gas codes are the closest regulations that can be applied to hydrogen-powered vessels, but they may not accurately represent the properties of hydrogen.
For example, the LNG code requires LNG vessels to have a clearance of 30 feet around all sides of their vents. Hydrogen is lighter than natural gas and much lighter than air, so it does not sink in air like LNG does. Thus, a 30-foot clearance underneath a vent might not be a necessary requirement for a hydrogen ferry, said Sandia Labs mechanical engineer Myra Blaylock, technical lead for the project.
Labs researchers are using computer simulation to explore and analyze four common vent and leak scenarios in which hydrogen could be released on-board vessels to show actual hydrogen behavior. The computational simulations have underlying physics models that have been validated through experiments and allow researchers to confidently explore various scenarios in a quicker and less-expensive way than conducting experimental work for each individual case. The results can be used by the International Maritime Organization to ensure the accuracy of the codes when applied to hydrogen vessels. . . .
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/10/20161006-sandia.htmlSandia study finds high-speed hydrogen-powered ferry and supporting infrastructure in SF Bay feasible
https://www.marad.dot.gov/wp-conten...dy-Report-by-Sandia-National-Laboratory-2.pdfFeasibility of the SF-BREEZE:
a Zero-Emission, Hydrogen Fuel Cell,
High-Speed Passenger Ferry
Assuming the above refers to me, I'm glad to see that you referred to me as a supporter rather than an enthusiast, as the difference to me is critical. I've stated numerous times here and elsewhere why I haven't bought one (leased to be accurate), or any PEV. They remain too expensive, aren't yet offered with the body type/size/features I want, the infrastructure is still too limited to meet my particular needs, and I have no desire to throw money away as an early adopter - BTDT. I had hopes for the Model Y, but if Elon sticks to his plan to give it Falcon Wing doors that's out too, even if I didn't reject it for the lack of physical control knobs for the HVAC system and radio.EVDrive said:<snip>I find it interesting that the biggest supporter of FCEV's on this site hasn't bought one. If there so great, buy or lease one. Put your money where your mouth is, as I always do. I've bought 3 pure EV's over the last 7 years, that's how much I support the pure EV industry. I plan to by my 4th EV in the next 6 months, the Model 3.
Already linked back a page.cwerdna said:How do you service a hydrogen fuel-cell car at a dealer?
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1111440_how-do-you-service-a-hydrogen-fuel-cell-car-at-a-dealer
Hilarious. I'd seen all the extra complexity on hydrogen FCEVs over EVs starting at Alt Car Expo 2012, but this sort of stuff doesn't surprise me that much.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/07/20170722-sandia.htmlProject shows maritime fuel cell generator can increase energy efficiency by up to 30% at part load; reliability and cost issues
22 July 2017
Direct link to Sandia Report: https://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2017/07/f35/fcto_maritime_fc_generator_2017.pdfA recent project demonstrated a 100 kW fuel cell generator with 72 kg of hydrogen storage for marine applications. Project goals were to demonstrate the use of the generator in the maritime environment, identify areas requiring additional research and development, analyze the business case, and address regulatory and other market barriers. . . .
The generator was designed and built by Hydrogenics with safety and regulatory reviews by the Hydrogen Safety Panel, US Coast Guard, and the American Bureau of Shipping. Project partner Young Brothers operated the generator for 10 months powering refrigerated containers in Honolulu, Hawaii.
- Although fuel cells have been used in many successful applications, they have not been technically or commercially validated in the port environment. One opportunity to do so was identified in Honolulu Harbor at the Young Brothers Ltd. (YB) wharf. At this facility, barges sail regularly to and from neighbor islands and containerized diesel generators provide power for the reefers while on the dock and on the barge during transport, nearly always at part load. Due to inherent efficiency characteristics of fuel cells and diesel generators, switching to a hydrogen fuel cell power generator was found to have potential emissions and cost savings.
Based on this potential benefit, Young Brothers agreed to host a hydrogen fuel cell generator and utilize it in the same way they use their existing diesel generators, powering reefers on the dock and on interisland barges. The project benefits outside of Young Brothers include the lowering of technological and business risk for future adopters of the technology by demonstrating the satisfactory use of the generator in the port environment and by feeding back to the DOE R&D programs, analyzing the real- world business case, as well as addressing regulatory and other market barriers to widespread adoption.
—“Maritime Fuel Cell Generator Project”
The generator unit consists of a 20-foot ISO standard “hicube” shipping container and contains the proton exchange membrane fuel cell rack, power inverter, ultracapacitors for short term transient loading, cooling system, hydrogen storage, and system controller and data acquisition equipment.
The system contains 72 kg of hydrogen at 350 bar and has a rated power of 100 kW, 240 VAC 3-phase, which can be divided among 10 plugs to power up to 10 reefers at a time. The design of the generator was reviewed by the US Coast Guard, American Bureau of Shipping, and the Hydrogen Safety Panel to ensure safety and compliance with regulations.
The generator was filled with hydrogen provided by Hickam Air Force Base without charge . . . When fueling was needed, the generator was loaded onto a chassis (wheeled frame trailer) and trucked to Hickam, about 7 miles from Young Brothers, where the station operator would perform the fill in about 20-30 minutes. The generator was trucked back to Young Brothers and off-loaded for continued use. Each of the eight fills during the deployment period was conducted smoothly and without any problems, dispensing a total of 428 kg into the generator.
From August 2015 to June 2016, Young Brothers used the generator on 52 different days for a total of 278 hours. It averaged 29.4 kW (gross) during this period for a total energy generation output of 7,285 kWh and achieved a 5-minute continuous peak power of 91.3 kW (gross). Its net energy efficiency ranged from 36% to 54% over the load range of 16% to 62%.
By comparison, the net efficiency of a comparable diesel generator efficiency is from 25% to 34% in this same load range. Using no diesel fuel and producing zero emissions at the point of use, during the demonstration period, the fuel cell generator displaced 865 gallons of diesel fuel, more than 16 MT of CO2 emissions, and avoided nearly 150 combined kilograms of criteria pollutants (NOx, CO, HC, PM, and SOx) as compared to an existing Young Brothers 350 kW Tier 3 diesel generator.
The Sandia report noted that the deployment experienced numerous technical issues with the generator that limited its use. The primary technical issue during the deployment was an inconsistent startup which was attributed to a communication problem between the overall system controller, inverter, and fuel cell rack. This led to problems with draining of the startup battery, and the overall result was many aborted attempted starts and non-use until the problem could be identified and fixed.
The generator’s fuel cells also experienced higher-than-anticipated consumption of DI water, which was exacerbated by the high ambient temperature along with a small DI water reservoir, causing the operators to have to fill the reservoir more than expected. The technical lessons learned from the deployment will be used by Hydrogenics to modify this generator for subsequent testing as well as to improve next generation products.
Analysis showed that even with fuel cell costs reaching the DOE target of $50/kW, the capital cost of the generator system is projected to remain three-times higher than today’s comparable diesel generator due to the balance of plant. Further, while this demonstration enjoyed free fuel from the Hickam station, that will not be the case in true commercial adoption. The current delta in hydrogen costs (high) and diesel costs (low) is expected to significantly decrease in the future as hydrogen costs decrease and diesel costs increase, but the current differential hinders the ability of today’s fuel cell systems to achieve cost parity with today’s diesel systems. . . .
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/07/20170728-ahead.htmlJapan launches first global hydrogen supply chain demo project; liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) technology
Dem/Val stage and a long way from commercialization, but interesting. The critical issue will be the energy used in conversion of H2 to/from Methylcyclohexane at each end. If that's relatively small, the ability to move a liquid at ambient pressure/temperature could really reduce total energy use of H2 transport/storage as well as handling costs.Four Japanese companies—Chiyoda, Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha—have launched the “Advanced Hydrogen Energy Chain Association for Technology Development”(AHEAD) along with the world’s first Global Hydrogen Supply Chain Demonstration Project.
The project, a subsidized “Technology Development Project to establish Hydrogen Society/Technology Development for the Utilization of Large Scale Hydrogen Energy”, is funded by the National Research and Development Agency, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), and demonstrates the use of liquid organic chemical hydrides in the hydrogen supply chain.
The project entails building a hydrogenation plant in Brunei Darussalam and a dehydrogenation plant in Kawasaki’s coastal region of Japan using Chiyoda’s SPERA Hydrogen Technology. Hydrogen will be sourced in Brunei and transported by ship to Kawasaki in liquid form at ambient temperature and pressure. Hydrogen gas will then be extracted from the liquid in Kawasaki and supplied to consumers. . . .
https://www.chiyoda-corp.com/technology/files/Joint GCC-JAPAN Environment Symposia in 2013.pdfDevelopment of large-scale H2 storage and transportation technology
with Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC)
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/07/20170731-h2.htmlTwo new H2 stations bring total in Germany to 32
. . . After the opening of stations in Wiesbaden and Frankfurt in June, Daimler, Shell and Linde have now commissioned two more hydrogen stations in Sindelfingen and Pforzheim. This brings the number of fueling options for fuel-cell cars in Baden-Württemberg to nine, making the federal state Germany’s leading H2 region. . . .
Altogether, the German government contributed €1.8 million (US$2.1 million) to the construction of the two new stations. By 2018, the plan is to have 100 filling stations. As many as 400 service stations are planned by 2023 as part of the H2 Mobility Joint Venture. . . .
Sindelfingen and Pforzheim each have the capacity to serve 40 hydrogen-powered cars per day from now on.
The new sites are conveniently located on the A8 (Pforzheim) and A81 (Sindelfingen) motorways, at key intersection points for traffic routes in southwestern Germany. The Sindelfingen H2 station is located near the historic Daimler vehicle production plant, which houses the company’s research and development center, whose responsibilities include overseeing the development of the next generation of Mercedes-Benz fuel cell vehicles based on the GLC.
Daimler is the builder of the two hydrogen stations; their H2 filling technology comes from the technology company Linde. Both are located at Shell service stations. All three companies are partners in the H2 Mobility joint venture, which is working to expanding the hydrogen infrastructure in Germany.
Daimler AG will present its latest generation of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles based on the Mercedes-Benz GLC later this year.
Other hydrogen stations are currently at the planning stage or under construction in Germany. This year, for example, filling stations in Wendlingen, Karlsruhe, Munich, Bremen and Kassel are to follow. . . .
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/07/20170731-tmf.htmlToyota Mobility Foundation launches research program to support innovative hydrogen energy solutions
The Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) has launched a research program to spur the development of a “hydrogen society”—envisioned as a set of communities with integrated, green-energy networks powered by mini-hydrogen plants that aim to create a carbon-free, hydrogen distribution system. TMF has begun soliciting research proposals under this new program.
TMF will emphasize innovations in the generation; storage and transport; and applications of hydrogen when screening the submitted proposals. A panel of hydrogen and energy experts from universities and public-sector research organizations will review the proposals and oversee their selection. . . .
The total envisioned budget is approximately ¥100 million (approximately US$890,000); TMF anticipates 10-20 projects, with up to ¥10 million (approximately US$89,000) per project. . . .
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1111955_hawaii-to-get-hydrogen-fueling-station-toyota-mirai-leases-to-followHawaii to get hydrogen fueling station; Toyota Mirai leases to follow
Hardly seems worth it for a capacity of just 5 cars/day, but I guess this is more of a test to see if there's a market.Hawaii is now getting its first hydrogen fueling station to enable fuel-cell vehicles to operate on Oahu, the second-most populated island and home to Honolulu.
Governor David Ige and officials at Servco Pacific—which owns four Toyota and two Lexus dealerships in Hawaii—recently broke ground for a hydrogen station at Servco's headquarters in Mapunapuna. It will be able to fuel up to five hydrogen vehicles a day.
The hydrogen fuel will be produced on site by electrolyzing water to split hydrogen from oxygen; that process can use electricity from any source, including renewable energy. . . .
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/08/20170809-ptg.htmlPower-to-gas trial to inject hydrogen into Australia’s gas grid; A$5M award to AquaHydrex
. . . On behalf of the Australian Government, ARENA has provided A$5 million (US$4 million) in funding to Wollongong-based AquaHydrex to develop commercially its new class of electrolyzer to produce cheap hydrogen from splitting water. In partnership with Australian Gas Networks (AGN), which owns the gas distribution network in South Australia, AquaHydrex will design and build an electrolyzer pilot plant to trial injecting a small amount of hydrogen into the South Australian gas grid in a process known as “power-to-gas”. . . .
ARENA Chief Executive Ivor Frischknecht said this demonstration is the first Australian trial to test power-to-gas that will see hydrogen being injected into the gas network.
- Hydrogen can be injected directly into the natural gas network without modification at levels of at least 10%, with some experts recently suggesting levels closer to 30% are viable to supplement our gas needs. Depending on the material the gas pipeline is made out of, the network can support up to 100% hydrogen in due course, once appropriate regulatory transition and appliance modifications are implemented. When hydrogen burns, it produces only water vapor and no carbon dioxide.
There is huge untapped potential in power-to-gas to convert surplus renewable energy to hydrogen and use our existing gas network infrastructure for long-term, safe, reliable energy storage. In the future, there will be increasing amounts of surplus renewable energy when it is sunny or windy.
—Ivor Frischknecht. . . .
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/08/20170818-arbfcev.htmlARB report: 1,600 fuel cell vehicles in California, 29 stations active; need to accelerate station deployment
Direct link to report: https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/zevprog/ab8/ab8_report_2017.pdfAs of 5 April 2017, California has more than 1,600 fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) with active registrations with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), according to the 2017 issue of its Annual Evaluation of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Deployment and Hydrogen Fuel Station Network Development released by the California Air Resources Board (ARB). This represents a net addition of 1,300 FCEVs (1,600 currently registered vs. 331 at the same time last year.
The report also identified 29 currently Open-Retail hydrogen fueling stations from as far south as San Diego, to the coastline in Santa Barbara, and as far to the northeast as Truckee. This represents an increase of 9 fueling stations since June 2016.
In addition to pre-commercial FCEV models, there are now three commercial-era production models on California’s roads, with at least three more expected in the near future.
ARB projects that a total of 13,400 FCEVs will be driving in California by 2020, and 37,400 by 2023. These projections represent slower growth than in earlier estimates (37,400 FCEVs are now projected on-the-road in 2023, compared to the previous estimate of 34,300 by 2021), but it is ARB’s understanding and estimation that they are largely in reaction to missed projections for the pace of hydrogen fueling station development.
ARB expects continued expansion of the fueling market, and corresponding growth in deployed FCEVs, to continue throughout the rest of 2017 and beyond. The total number of Open-Retail stations may increase to 34 by the end of this year. The stations that may open between now and the close of the year will expand fueling coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area, communities surrounding Torrance, and within the counties of Riverside and San Bernardino. . . .
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