New Energies, new possibilities

August 3, 2020 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are considered by the most, as two competing technologies. Although both technologies power an electric motor, they have different properties and each of them is well suited for some uses more than others.

BEVs market is increasing, with the major automotive companies, like BMW, and Mercedes, starting to introduce into the market an increasing number of electric battery vehicles, in parallel to the main BEVs company like Tesla, and Toyota. FCEVs on the other hand are still at the demonstration stage.

In April 2019 Daimler stepped back from the development of the GLC F-Cell, after many years of investigation of fuel cells technologies. Besides this decision, Daimler did not completely abandon the hydrogen powertrain, but mostly shifted its focus to a different application. In fact, a collaboration with Volvo to develop fuel cell heavy-duty vehicles will possibly begin in September 2020, which will define a new chapter for the hydrogen technologies.

Although the FCEVs have not reached large scale production, the long-term plan adopted by several countries is to implement the adoption of FCEVs among other applications. The idea is to develop a hydrogen network, which aims the adoption of hydrogen as an energy carrier in different sectors. In other words, the development of the so-called hydrogen economy.

As analyzed in the new IDTechEx report, "The Hydrogen Economy, Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Production Methods", many countries are already involved in the development of a hydrogen economy. The necessity of the hydrogen economy is driven by the requirement of reducing pollutant emissions while achieving a higher energy independence. Within the different sectors addressed by hydrogen economies, the automotive sector is one of the first to be developed. Countries like Germany and Japan have already installed a considerable number of hydrogen refueling stations (HRS), besides promoting the adoption of hydrogen technologies.

Read more about production development at Semcon.

The main reason behind this choice is to reduce the cost of hydrogen. A large-scale adoption of FCEVs, and hydrogen, would facilitate the adoption of hydrogen and related applications.

As explained in the hydrogen economy report released by IDTechEx, many countries are involved in this process and is likely that others will join to boost the adoption of green resources and fulfilling the Paris Agreement adopted by several nations.

https://www.investorideas.com/news/2020/fuel-cell/08031Electric-Vehicles.asp

Plug soars on a deal in the U.K., and other fuel cell stocks come along for the ride.

What happened

Shares of alternative energy providers -- fuel cell stocks including Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG), FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL), and Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) -- exploded higher to start out the week on Monday. As of 11:45 a.m. EDT, Plug stock is up 14.7%, its much smaller rival FuelCell is up 11.4%, and Bloom Energy has gained 6.7%.

All three stocks may have Plug to thank for their success today.

So what

On an otherwise slow news day for fuel cell stocks, Plug Power shook up the market with an announcement that U.K.-based supermarket chain Asda will be buying a "turnkey solution" for its warehouse forklift fleet, including "fuel cells, hydrogen fueling equipment, hydrogen and service" from Plug. The company notes that Asda is a new customer for Plug, and that this deal "represents the first deployment at scale of hydrogen fuel cell technology for material handling within the United Kingdom."

Investors appear to be hoping that "first" implies "first of many," and that if the popularity of hydrogen fuel cell technology takes off in the U.K., this may work to the benefit of Plug's competitors -- FuelCell and Bloom -- as well. Reinforcing that belief, Asda reminded that its parent company Walmart "has chosen to build the largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric vehicles in the world" -- the implication being that where Walmart leads, others may follow.

Now what

Asda is the U.K.'s third-largest supermarket chain, so today's announcement is kind of a big deal for Plug. That said, the company did not state quite how big of a deal it is, in terms of either revenue or profitability.

We'll get our next glance at those kinds of numbers when Plug reports its second-quarter 2020 financial results, due out before the market opens on Thursday, Aug. 6.

For the record, analysts currently forecast that Plug will report a $0.10 per share loss (25% worse than last year) on sales of $59.5 million -- up 4% year over year.

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https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/08/03/why-hydrogen-fuel-cell-stocks-popped-today.aspx

YOKOHAMA, Japan, July 31, 2020 – (JCN Newswire) – Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS), a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, announced on April 24, 2020, that it will change its name to “Mitsubishi Power, Ltd.” in conjunction with the transfer of shares in MHPS held by Hitachi, Ltd. to MHI. The date of the company name change, which was not fixed at that time, is on the schedule below.

Since its founding, MHPS has steadily improved its strength in three core areas: technology, comprehensive engineering, and after-sales servicing so as to respond to the needs of customers and society. The Company also continues to successfully achieve global business expansion. In this way, the Company is able to provide products of superlative quality and reliability, deliver projects around the world, and consistently meet user needs.

Under its new name, Mitsubishi Power, as one of the core subsidiaries of MHI Group, offers cutting-edge technologies and energy solutions for the power industry, supporting affordable and reliable power supplies in regions throughout the world. Further, by providing world-leading technologies, Mitsubishi Power is a key participant in creating a decarbonized, sustainable economy, helping to solve the challenges facing our global society.

Date of the Change of Company Name: September 1, 2020

Group Companies: The names of some Group companies in China and India, which had not been determined previously, have been decided as shown in the attachment.

See MHPS’ Group Companies Name: https://www.mhps.com/news/pdf/20200731.pdf

About Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd.
Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS), headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, is a joint venture formed in February 2014 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Hitachi, Ltd. integrating their operations in thermal power generation systems and other related businesses. MHPS today ranks among the world’s leading suppliers of equipment and services to the power generation market, backed by 100 billion yen in capital and approximately 20,000 employees worldwide. The Company’s products include GTCC (gas turbine combined-cycle) and IGCC (integrated coal gasification combined-cycle) power plants, gas/coal/oil-fired (steam) power plants, boilers, generators, gas and steam turbines, geothermal power plants, AQCS (air quality control systems), power plant peripheral equipment, digital solutions and solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFC).

For more information, please visit www.mhps.com.

https://www.powermag.com/press-releases/mhps-to-change-company-name-to-mitsubishi-power/

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On July 28, GAC Group offered the first glimpse of its first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle model, the Aion LX Fuel Cell, at the GAC Tech Day 2020.

Built on the GEP (GAC Electric Platform) 2.0, the newly-unveiled fuel cell vehicle shares a similar look to that of the Aion LX. With respect to its powertrain solution, the FCV gets a maximum output of over 150kW through the combined effort of the fuel cell system and the power battery system. The permanent magnet motor it adopts is able to deliver a peak torque of 350 N·m. Filled up with hydrogen, the vehicle will have a NEDC-rated range of over 650km.

(Aion LX Fuel Cell)

According to Feng Xingya, president of GAC Group, the automaker will kick off this year the pilot operation of its hydrogen vehicles.

Meanwhile, GAC Group also introduced the GPMA (GAC global platform modular architecture) and the GEP platforms, which respectively take aim at traditional fuel-burning and pure electric vehicles. The GPMA fits the development of sedan, SUV, MPV, PHEV and HEV models and is compatible with powertrains like conventional engines, PHEV and HEV power systems.

The BEV-focused GEP 2.0 uses the high-energy-density cells, the highly integrated module-free architecture and the high-precision BMS to create a battery system with high range and low electricity consumption, said GAC Group. Besides, the high-voltage platform and high-power charging technology are applied to solve consumer's pain point over charging issue.

GAC Group also showcased 3D structural graphene (3DG) production technology at the Tech Day. The company noted that it started researching the scale production of graphene as early as 2014, and has to-day obtained the 3DG manufacturing technology with independent intellectual property rights.

By virtue of graphene's outstanding electric conductivity and the special 3D structure, GAC has developed a super-fast-charging battery which can be charged to 80% of its capacity within 8 minutes and achieve 200-300km range on a 10-minute charge, said the company (photo source: GAC Group's WeChat account).

autonews.gasgoo.com/china_news/70017386.html

Ceres Power PLC (LON:CWR) can be worth five times its current value if full advantage is taken of the opportunities now opening up says broker Berenberg - a huge fan of the fuel cell specialist.

Investor interest in the hydrogen and fuel cell sector has moved beyond how the technology works, adds the broker and is now focused on competitive dynamics, market opportunities and electrolysis.

In this scenario, Ceres offers one of the best opportunities for equity investors, argues Berenberg.

The AIM-listed group has leading solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology, a roster of global OEM partners and numerous upcoming near-term catalysts, it adds.

Berenberg has analysed the market and believes as industries seek to decarbonise and electrification needs increase, several winners will emerge with Ceres at the forefront of SOFC adoption.

SOFCs have a huge opportunity given their higher operating efficiency and ability to better address markets such as steel, where alternatives such as proton exchange membrane (PEM) and alkaline versions are less suited.

In numerous business segments, Ceres screens very favourably, Berenberg says, particularly in stationary power applications and based just on existing partnerships it estimates an addressable market of 500GW.

In revenue terms, that amounts to a more than £950mln a year opportunity or 32 times this year’s forecast.

New areas such as rail, shipping and electrolysis are all sources of additional potential upside, adds the broker.

On a modestly favourable penetration rate of SteelCell in the stationary power market, Berenberg gets to a price target of 580p, but full penetration moves the number to 2,000p or 400% upside.

'Buy' is its investment view

Shares rose 5% to 451p

https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/LON:CWR/Ceres-Power-Holdings-PLC/