Nikola Corporation and General Motors Co. have announced a strategic partnership that begins with the Nikola Badger and carries cost reductions through Nikola’s programmes, including: Nikola Badger, Nikola Tre, Nikola One, Nikola Two and NZT. As part of the agreement, Nikola will utilize General Motors’ Ultium battery system and Hydrotec fuel cell technology, representing a key commercialization milestone for General Motors.

Nikola will exchange $2 billion in newly issued common stock for the in-kind services and access to General Motors’ global safety-tested and validated parts and components. General Motors will be subject to a staged lock-up provision beginning in one year and ending in June 2025. General Motors will engineer, homologate, validate and manufacture the Nikola Badger battery electric and fuel cell versions.

Trevor Milton, founder and executive chairman, Nikola, said: “You couldn’t dream of a better partnership than this. By joining together, we get access to their validated parts for all of our programs, General Motors’ Ultium battery technology and a multi-billion-dollar fuel cell programme ready for production. Nikola immediately gets decades of supplier and manufacturing knowledge, validated and tested production-ready EV propulsion, world-class engineering and investor confidence. Most importantly, General Motors has a vested interest to see Nikola succeed. We made three promises to our stakeholders and have now fulfilled two out of three promises ahead of schedule. What an exciting announcement.”

Mary Barra, chairman and CEO, General Motors, said: “This strategic partnership with Nikola continues the broader deployment of General Motors’ all-new Ultium battery and Hydrotec fuel cell systems. We are growing our presence in multiple high-volume EV segments while building scale to lower battery and fuel cell costs and increase profitability. In addition, applying General Motors’ electrified technology solutions to the heavy-duty class of commercial vehicles is another important step in fulfilling our vision of a zero-emissions future.”

The agreement with Nikola extends General Motors’ utilization of its fuel cell technology to the Class 7/8 semi-truck market and represents a high-volume commercialization of its leading Hydrotec fuel cell system and complements the company’s battery-electric propulsion. Fuel cells will become increasingly important to the semi-truck market because they are more efficient than gas or diesel. General Motors sees additional growth opportunities in multiple transportation, stationary and mobile-power end markets.

General Motors’ battery development work is ongoing. Its Ultium battery technology roadmap includes silicon anodes and lithium metal anodes, which will improve vehicle range, affordability, and reduced dependence on rare and costly metals. It is already demonstrating automotive-grade durability and significantly higher energy density.

Nikola will be responsible for the sales and marketing for the Badger and will retain the Nikola Badger brand. The Badger was first announced in Februay 2020 and will make its public debut in December 2020 at Nikola World 2020 in Arizona. Badger production is expected to start in late 2022 at a location to be announced at a later date.

９月１日は防災の日。 日々の生活をイメージしたある実験が行われました。 実験用の集合住宅で行われたのは、災害で停電が発生したとの想定で、外部からの電力供給を48時間止める実験です。 【記者リポート】 「48時間停電することを想定した実験が行われているのですが、このように、部屋の電気はつけることができるんです」 ここは、大阪ガスの社員が実際に暮らしている住宅で、家庭用燃料電池などがあり、停電していても、最大で1200ワットの電力を生み出すことができます。 こちらのお宅では、扇風機のほか、３台あるエアコンのうち、１台は使用可能。 比較的涼しい玄関の近くで過ごすなどして暑さをしのぎました。 【実験に参加した人は…】 「本当に災害が起こった時にはこういう形で生活ができるんじゃないか、始めの３日間くらいは生活できるんじゃないかと実感をすごく持ってます」 大阪ガスでは、新型コロナウイルスの影響で自宅避難のニーズが高まる中、停電が起きても自立して発電できる自社の家庭用燃料電池を広めたいとしています。

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/5b4e7b701dd81d29fb686abb3048784cbee858d9

New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has given its approval for five Japanese companies to participate in a demonstration project for high-power fuel cell (FC) vessels commercialisation.

The five companies are NYK Line, Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) and ENEOS Corporation.

The project is expected to commence this month and will be the first effort of Japan to develop a fuel cell vessel and to conduct a demonstration operation.

Greenhouse gases (GHG) can be completely eliminated when fuel cells are used as a power source.

The companies are planning to develop a high-power FC vessel that will weigh 150t and will operate as a medium-sized tourist ship.

The feasibility study of the vessel and the fuel supply will commence this month, while the vessel design and equipment installation process will begin next year.

The construction and production are planned in 2023 with pilot operation expected in 2024.

https://www.ship-technology.com/news/japanese-companies-fuel-cell-vessel/

Major Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen K.K. said Tuesday that it will conduct a trial to put high-power fuel cell commercial ships into practical use with Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corp. and others.

Using hydrogen as fuel, the ships will not emit carbon dioxide.

It will be the first test of its kind to be conducted in Japan, according to Nippon Yusen.

The companies will develop fuel cell batteries for vessels. They will then start operating a vessel equipped with such batteries as a midsize tourist ship that can accommodate around 100 people.

The ship will be based in the port of Yokohama. The test will be held until February 2025.

The companies will consider whether to introduce the batteries to small coastal vessels, including cargo ships, on the basis of the results from the test.

Eneos Corp., which will also participate in the test, will develop a hydrogen station for vessels.

The international shipping industry is aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent from 2008 by 2050.

Seeing hydrogen fuel as a viable option for the industry, Nippon Yusen and others are speeding up efforts to develop related technologies.

In 2019, Toyota and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced plans for a hydrogen fuel-cell lunar rover, to launch later in the decade. Now the vehicle has a name—Toyota Lunar Cruiser.

The name is a reference to the Toyota Land Cruiser SUV, which has built up a reputation over several decades for off-road prowess. The Lunar Cruiser's grille also looks influenced by the classic FJ-Series Land Cruiser. But this lunar rover is designed to boldly go where no Land Cruiser has gone before.

While the current Land Cruiser can seat up to seven people, the Lunar Cruiser will only have room for two astronauts. They will get a more comfortable ride than their predecessors, however. Unlike the rovers used during the Apollo lunar missions, the Lunar Cruiser will have an enclosed, pressurized, cabin, so astronauts can drive it without space suits.

When the project was first announced in March 2019, Toyota said the rover would be able to operate on the moon for up to six weeks, with a range of 1,000 kilometers (about 621 miles) per tank of hydrogen. Solar panels will provide supplementary electricity.

Toyota previously said a fuel-cell powertrain was the right choice because it would be one fifth the mass and about 20% smaller in volume than a comparable battery-electric powertrain—an important consideration when everything needs to be launched to the moon via rocket. As an added benefit, water produced by the fuel cells can be used for cooling equipment or drinking, Toyota has said.

In its 2019 proposal, Toyota said hydrogen and oxygen for the fuel cells would initially be brought to the moon from Earth. Later, water found on the moon could be used to produce hydrogen through electrolysis, with solar panels providing the electricity, the automaker said.

Toyota Lunar Rover concept

The Lunar Cruiser is an extreme example of how automakers are looking to expand use of fuel cells beyond passenger cars.

Hyundai has been looking at ways it can take its fuel-cell technology beyond vehicles, as it looks at a bigger-picture hydrogen economy.

Toyota has experimented with fuel-cell trucks and buses, and its next Mirai remains on the way—although little has been said about the model in nearly a year.

Meanwhile Hyperion, which is hoping to deploy fuel-cell tech across various modes, showed the XP-1 supercar last month.

Hydrogen could have promise as a future aircraft fuel—perhaps with a complete redesign of passenger and cargo planes around the limitations of hydrogen storage.

Just don't expect this project to piggyback anything from Tesla or SpaceX. Elon Musk has said that hydrogen might be worthwhile for the first stage of rockets, but nothing more.

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1129449_toyota-lunar-cruiser-could-take-hydrogen-fuel-cell-tech-to-the-moon

The first heavy trucks powered by zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cells are set to be hauling freight on New Zealand highways as soon as early next year.

In a key step toward establishing a hydrogen transport infrastructure, Hiringa Energy and US-based Hyzon Motors have announced a heads of agreement that secures access for Hiringa and its fleet partners to the supply of zero-emission heavy goods vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) combine hydrogen (stored onboard the vehicle) and oxygen (from the atmosphere) to generate electricity that powers the vehicle. The only tailpipe emission is water vapour.

Hyzon and Hiringa Energy have teamed up to bring hydrogen-powered heavy trucks to New Zealand

FCEV trucks have the benefit of being an electric vehicle, but with comparable weight and power to diesel-powered trucks, and have a similar refuelling time of around 15-20 minutes

Hyzon Motors, based in New York, is developing a range of heavy and medium trucks along with buses and coaches powered by PEM (proton-exchange membrane) fuel cells.

The global launch for the first production vehicles is expected in late-2020 and work is also continuing on both light truck and van models, as well as a 140-tonne road train application for use in parts of Australia.

New Plymouth-based Hiringa Energy and its partners plan to roll out over 1500 FCEVs by 2026. The trucks will come in a variety of right-hand-drive configurations with a gross combined mass (GCM) of over 50-tonne including 8x4 and 6x4 rigid and prime movers with driving distances of up to 500km.

“This is an exciting milestone for Hiringa Energy and our partners,’’ said Dan Khan, Hiringa’s chief technology officer.

Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) combine hydrogen (stored onboard the vehicle) and oxygen (from the atmosphere) to generate electricity that powers the vehicle. The only tailpipe emission is water vapour.

“It comes on the back of over three years of detailed planning and analysis working together with heavy fleet operators, government and leading technology vendors such as HYZON Motors.

“The FCEV truck market is growing rapidly, with enormous demand coming out of the US and Europe.

“So, for New Zealand to be able to secure this agreement with Hyzon demonstrates New Zealand’s leadership in how we are approaching the hydrogen FCEV opportunity.

“We look forward to getting these trucks on our roads early next year and putting them through their paces prior to widespread rollout for the New Zealand trucking industry in 2022.’’

The initial phase comprises 20 trucks in 2021. The trucks will be fuelled by Hiringa’s nationwide hydrogen refuelling network located at partner sites such as Waitomo Group’s existing fuel stops.

The network will expand to eight stations across the North and South Islands by 2022 as part of a phase 1 network plan. It’s estimated the network will be able to service 100 per cent of North Island and 82 per cent of South Island heavy freight routes.

Phase 2 will expand the network to at least 24 stations by 2025, providing coverage for 95 per cent of New Zealand’s heavy vehicle routes.

“The Hiringa hydrogen infrastructure deployment will position New Zealand to become a global leader in the adoption of zero-emission heavy vehicle technology, and we are pleased to be playing a majorpart in this transition,’’ said Craig Knight, co-founder of Hyzon Motors.

part in this transition,’’ said Craig Knight, co-founder of Hyzon Motors.

An artist’s impression of hydrogen fuel cell heavy trucks on Kiwi roads.

“We see NZ as an early adopter, and almost unique in being able to establish a minimum viable network on hydrogen filling right off the bat.

“Hiringa has strong support from trucking companies, government and commercial partners to get working on decarbonisation of commercial transport at a far quicker pace than most believe possible.”

He said Hyzon’s heavy-duty fuel cells were “best in class” in terms of durability and power output.

“This heads of agreement with Hiringa closely follows the signing of an agreement for Hyzon to supply hydrogen fuel cell-powered coaches to Western Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group’s Christmas Creek operations. We are excited to be rapidly growing our presence in Australia and New Zealand and look forward to playing our part in the global decarbonisation story,” Knight said.

Establishing hydrogen as a viable heavy transport fuel requires investment in the refuelling network, suitable vehicles and partners willing to operate them.

“New Zealand is set to be one of the first countries in the world to be able to offer a zero-emission national supply chain,’’ said Andrew Clennett, CEO of Hiringa.“This agreement helps bring a major piece of the puzzle together for zero-emission supply chains, delivering an exciting solution for the high utilisation heavy trucking sector, and complements the partnerships we have been growing with trucking industry leaders such as TIL Group and TR Group,’’

The New Zealand government has recently confirmed provisional support of $20 million towards the establishment of Hiringa’s nationwide refuelling network

https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/122636171/zeroemission-hydrogen-heavy-trucks-to-hit-kiwi-roads