Was that the signal so many had waited for? On Nov. 29, 2016, BMW, Daimler, Ford and Volkswagen announced the establishment of a joint venture in the electric transportation sector. They explained in a memorandum of understanding that they would join forces and equally share responsibilities for advocating the deployment of a “high-powered DC charging network for battery-electric vehicles covering long-distance travel routes in Europe.”
The fourth quarter brought another growth boost by 70% to USD 38.4 million compared to the same quarter last year. Plug Power’s total revenue added up to more than USD 103 million, although it could have been 3.6 million more if the sale-leaseback transactions hadn’t forced the company to distribute the amount for tax reasons across contracts. Revenue was originally thought to reach USD 100 million.
Are cars like the BMW i8 electric vehicles? A question hotly debated by many stakeholders in the electric transportation industry, not least since the government has planned to introduce various incentives for these types of vehicles. The German Electric Mobility Act (EmoG) passed in June 2015 says that communities can allow electric cars on bus lanes – whether or not the vehicles in question are actually running on gas or electricity
Dear Reader, I would like to present you with some short number examples: The German Callux program installed 474 fuel-cell heating systems within eight years; the original target was 800. Japan currently has over 140,000 of these systems. The German 50 Filling Station program was supposed to set up 50 H2 filling stations until the end of 2015. In the end, there were only 19. Until the middle of 2016, another 23 are said to be added. Meanwhile, Japan has already had 80 of these stations in operation (On a side note, the CEP predecessor, the Verkehrswirtschaftliche Energiestrategie, had envisioned 2,000 public H2 filling stations until 2010).
The work on developing ultra-cold hydrogen was abandoned together with the H2 combustion engine in 2006 – at least, that is what everyone believed. After years of uncertainty, it is now clear that BMW is still holding on to cryogenic technology. Proof of that is the inauguration of a new pump at the multi-energy refueling station in Munich, at which drivers can fill up both their compressed gas and their ultra-cold H2 tanks.
This summer car manufacturer BMW presented a new vehicle driven by a fuel cell. In Miramar in the south of France, the Bavarian company revealed their new BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo (GT) on the first of July 2015. The car is a showcase vehicle, which was developed in cooperation with Toyota and is planned for mass production by 2020.
Second quarter figures certainly fell short of expectations. All segments reported decreasing revenues. Still: The second half of 2015 should bring forth many positive developments in several areas, according to Ballard’s CEO, Randall MacEwen. FuelCell Energy would be “extremely busy.” This means: I assume that the takeover of Protonex will soon become reality, as over 50% of preliminary votes by Protonex’s shareholders were in favor of the deal.
Seldom before was it evident just how big the gap between theory and practice can get than it was at the 66th International Motor Show (IAA). Indeed, in the run up to the IAA 2015, the show organizers, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) had said clearly and repeatedly that electric mobility would be a key topic again at this year’s event. In reality, things were very different, however: neither fuel cells nor battery powered vehicles proved to be a major topic at any of the auto manufacturers. Of those present, only Toyota made a clear focus on hybrid vehicles, presenting the new Mirai
Mercedes-Benz doesn’t only sell vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells; it also uses them at its production facilities. Since the start of June 2015, the firm’s transporter plant in Düsseldorf has been operating two forklift trucks which are powered by hydrogen fuel cell. The forklift trucks were manufactured by Linde Material Handling and are supplied on location at a mobile H2 filling station provided by Air Products. One of the goals of the project, which will