On March 19, German heating manufacturer Viessmann, based in Allendorf, announced it would shut down Hexis, its subsidiary in charge of developing SOFCs. The headline of the press release sounded rather innocuous: “Viessmann takes new path to implementing future-proof technology.“ However, in the third paragraph, the company then said it “will discontinue operations at Hexis.“
Langweid am Lech is the first-ever place in Germany where residential fuel cells will meet all energy needs. Regional energy utility Erdgas Schwaben, based in Augsburg, has joined forces with developer Michael Dumberger and heating system supplier Viessmann to install Panasonic fuel cells in each of the 62 duplex and row houses under construction in a new residential zone. Another 43 will reportedly be part of a similar project in Mering.
Langweid am Lech is the first-ever place in Germany where residential fuel cells will meet all energy needs. Regional energy utility Erdgas Schwaben, based in Augsburg, has joined forces with developer Michael Dumberger and heating system supplier Viessmann to install Panasonic fuel cells in each of the 62 duplex and row houses under construction in a new residential zone.
With great fanfare, Tesla head Elon Musk announced what he had devised as a second masterplan. The corporation is not only to produce batteries for its Powerpack and Powerwall, but should also supply the added solar modules (takeover of sister company SolarCity is in progress). The new plan additionally includes aims to design several other electric cars – from trucks and smaller transport vehicles to buses.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was as eloquent as ever when he raised the targets for the company’s electric car models: Instead of producing 500,000 electric cars (total figure, all models – i.e., Model S, Model X and Model 3) in 2020, the company should already achieve that number in 2018 and increase it to one million in 2020. One can question whether these targets will become reality, as they require even more large infusions of cash, making additional capital increases inevitable. And this although Tesla has just recently sought more money
A capital increase again: around US$ 750 million going to Tesla. Whether this will help provide the cash needed to build the Gigafactory for batteries – which is said to cost up to US$ 5 billion – seems doubtful. The increase also left a bitter aftertaste, as Morgan Stanley was the underwriter (placed the shares) of the “spontaneous” capital increase and, at the same time, a new study
Japan’s ENE-FARM program is arguably the most successful fuel cell commercialization program in the world. ENE-FARM has supported the deployment of well over 120,000 residential fuel cell units and is providing proof that long term public-private partnerships can push new technology into the marketplace. New models coming on the market in 2015 are smaller, more efficient, cheaper and more easily installed than previous models.