New Energies, new possibilities

An experimental drone has managed to stay in the air for an impressive 3.5 hours thanks to a hydrogen fuel cell developed by a team at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands. The verticle take-off and landing (VTOL) drone uses a total of 12 motors.

The drone project is a collaboration between the team from the Delft University of Technology, the Royal Netherlands Navy, and the Netherlands Coastguard.

The drone weighs 29 pounds and has a wingspan of 9.8 feet, with six motors on each side of the fuselage. Due to a large number of motors, up to seven motors can stop working without affecting the drone.

As a result of the 3.5-hour flight time, the drone is perfect for providing support in reconnaissance and inspection tasks, especially in a maritime environment. The drone can be sent to a suspicious vessel and broadcast live feedback to the main ship. This allows people to stay away from potential danger and allows for better situational awareness.

Henri Werij, Dean of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft said:

“One of the most important aspects of this research project is the hydrogen-powered flight. Worldwide, hydrogen is seen as one of the most important contenders for achieving green and sustainable aviation fuel.”

While on the ground, the drone is angled up slightly, which is more efficient for the motors to lift the drone as they work more like a helicopter than a plane.

To keep itself in the air, it uses a 300-bar 6.8-liter carbon composite hydrogen cylinder fed by an 800-watt fuel cell that converts it to electricity for the motors. As a result of the reaction, the drone emits oxygen and water, making it great for the environment compared to gas-powered drones.

Commander Pieter Blank added:

“The current generation of young people grow up in this way of learning and experimenting, and for us, they are our personnel of the future. As an innovator in the Royal Netherlands Navy and Netherlands Coastguard, I am proud of this cooperation with TU Delft. The development of the maritime, hydrogen-powered drone is a true technical breakthrough which has huge future potential.”

With the rapidly expanding interest in heavy-duty electric trucks, Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) and Hino USA will ‘leverage’ the new Hino XL Series chassis with Toyota’s proven fuel cell technology to build on the development of a 25-tonne fuel cell electric truck (FCET) for the Japanese market, which was announced earlier this year. The first demonstration vehicle is expected to be launched in the first half of 2021. 

Tak Yokoo, senior executive engineer at Toyota Research and Development, said: “A fuel cell-powered version of the Hino XL Series is a win-win for both customers and the community. It will be quiet, smooth and powerful while emitting nothing but water. Toyota’s 20-plus years of fuel cell technology, combined with Hino’s heavy-duty truck experience, will create an innovative and capable product.” 

Meanwhile, the railway company JR East, Hitachi Ltd and Toyota Motor Corporation have entered into an agreement to develop and test railway vehicles equipped with hybrid systems that use hydrogen-powered fuel cells and storage batteries as their electric power source. 

The combination of JR East’s vehicle design and manufacturing technologies, Hitachi’s railway hybrid drive system technologies and Toyota’s technologies from its development of the Mirai fuel cell electric vehicle and the SORA fuel cell bus, will enable the three companies to adapt the fuel cells used in automobiles for railway applications. 

Toyota will develop the fuel cell device and Hitachi the hybrid drive system in the test train, which will have the nickname HYBARI (HYdrogen-HYBrid Advanced Rail vehicle for Innovation). 

Testing is scheduled to start in March 2022 on the JR East Tsurumi Line/Nambu Line, with the two-carriage train having a maximum speed of 62mph and a maximum range of 87 miles. 

The Dutch company is hoping the renewable energy will cut carbon emissions as a part of global goals.

Green Machines has announced the launch of a new hydrogen fuel cell sweeper, which was unveiled on November 11.

The company is using the new street sweeper design to help cut down on carbon emissions.

The Dutch sweeper manufacturer views hydrogen as a vital renewable energy source. It will play a central role in reducing carbon emissions to help countries and municipalities around the world to reach their ambitious goals. The newest fuel cell sweeper is a part of the company’s 500 series. The GM 500H2 was developed based on the design of its predecessor, the GM 500ze, which was a fully electric model. That said, this version also includes a spectrum of new potential.

This new model uses hydrogen and oxygen to generate the electricity needed to power the vehicle. The unique component of the GM 500H2 is the H2-POD system. According to Green Machines, that system makes it possible to overcome the challenge of having to invest in an infrastructure for hydrogen refuelling. Building that type of infrastructure can be a complex and costly process. By overcoming that challenge, the technology becomes more affordable.

The H2-POD system makes it possible for the fuel cell sweeper to be refuelled more conveniently.

The H2-POD is a flexible cartridge system. By using it, the machine can be refilled by the user whenever and wherever it is most convenient. Users that already have an existing hydrogen infrastructure can choose the 500H2 that has an installed fixed tank for their machinery. This makes it possible for the vehicle to be refuelled in a matter of minutes.

That said, the company also pointed to additional advantages of the GM 500H2 in that it is swappable, meaning that other models can also swap into using hydrogen fuel. For instance, current owners of the electric GM 500ze, that is powered by Li-Ion batteries, won’t need to purchase an entirely new machine to benefit from the latest H2 powered technology.

Instead, those users can request to convert their Li-Ion Light Pack or Li-Ion Plus Pack in their 

GM 500ze into the hydrogen fuel cell sweeper technology with either of the two available H2 system options.

General Motors  (GM) - Get Report is recalling nearly 70,000 Chevy Bolt electric vehicles made between 2017 and 2019 over potential fire risks.

Five fires have been reported from among the 68,667 vehicles that have been on the road in the past 3 1/2 years. 

GM said that it recommends that drivers not park their vehicles in a garage at full state of charge and that 2017-2018 Bolt owners set "Hilltop" state of charge to be safe. 

Bolt model year 2019 owners should manually set to 90% when charging. Some 2019 Bolts were made from LG Cells manufactured in Holland, Mich., and those vehicles are not affected by this recall. 

The company said that it is introducing a temporary fix by locking the 10% capacity in battery packs. 

GM's announcement comes about a month after Hyundai recalled 77,000 Kona electric vehicles over the risk of battery fires.

About a dozen Kona EV fires were reported over the past 18 months, leading to Hyundai's decision to recall the vehicles. 

In a call with the media, GM reportedly appeared to attribute the fires to issues at its battery cell partner, LG Chem, according to Electrek. 

Hyundai also blamed LG Chem for its own battery issues, with its investigation finding that “the separator in the battery cell was damaged due to errors in the manufacturing process, Electrek reported.

GM shares at last check were 5% higher at $41.29.