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Weichai Power – China’s largest diesel engine manufacturer on the fuel cell highway

Weichai Power – China’s largest diesel engine manufacturer on the fuel cell highway

The company Weichai Power, which I’ve so far only mentioned in this column as partnering Ballard, has a revenue around the EUR 20 billion mark and a stock market valuation of the same order. In 2020, a good EUR 1 billion was marked up as profit, with dividends also paid out. Weichai Power has several bus brands to its name and is the nation’s largest diesel engine manufacturer; it has clearly recognized the potential offered by fuel cells in the commercial vehicle sector and, in its own words, is intent on becoming the market leader.

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Batteries for passenger cars – Fuel cells for trucks

Batteries for passenger cars – Fuel cells for trucks

The designers of the HDC-6-NEPTUNE Concept were inspired by the Streamliner Railway (1936-1959).
Design of the HDC-6-NEPTUNE Concept, inspired by the Streamliner Railway, © Hyundai Motor

Two years ago, the interest of German truck manufacturers and freight forwarders in fuel cells was extremely low. It’s different today. Almost all logistics companies are now in some way concerned with the question of what fuel their vehicles will be powered by in the future.

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Fuel cell use in the logistics industry

Fuel cell use in the logistics industry

forklift

Toyota forklift truck, © Toyota

The good news is that fuel cells for materials handling equipment are no longer confined to a niche market. Entire warehouses in North America are currently being served by hydrogen-powered forklift trucks. This type of fuel cell application is also becoming increasingly popular in Asia and Europe, but their logistics industries will have some catching up to do. (more…)

Hydrogenics: Profit Taking after Being on a Roll

Hydrogenics: Profit Taking after Being on a Roll

HyLYZER

HyLYZER® 400-30 electrolyzer, © Hydrogenics

Hydrogenics (Nasdaq: HYGS) has a full schedule with USD 151.2 million in backlog for several types of fuel cell applications, from truck conversion kits (Scania in Norway) to bus stacks in China to H2 refueling stations and power-to-gas systems. A loss of USD 5.7 million (minus USD 0.45 per share) in the second quarter can be considered a temporary slump, as the company said that some shipments had been moved to the third. Hydrogenics intends to stick to the forecast it had published for the entire year. (more…)

Toyota Truck for Los Angeles

Toyota Truck for Los Angeles

Toyota

Fuel cell truck equipped with H2 tanks, © Toyota

Soon, Toyota may not only be known for its fuel cell cars and buses, but for trucks as well. A new initiative called Project Portal aims to build a 36-ton truck equipped with two fuel cell stacks originally designed for the Mirai. They will be supported by a 12-kilowatt-hour battery to provide 500 kilowatts of output and 1,800 Nm of torque at a range of 320 kilometers (199 miles). (more…)