PowerCell Sweden AB has signed a Nordic cooperation agreement with Soltech Group regarding a joint development of stationary energy solutions based on the two

companies’ products within fuel cells and solar energy.

In a first collaborative project, the two companies will conduct a feasibility study regarding a stationary power solution that will secure power supply for Amokabel AB in Alstermo, Småland.

The Soltech Group is Sweden’s leading supplier of energy solutions based on solar energy and develops and sells complete solutions where solar panels have been integrated into roofs and building facades. The aim of the cooperation agreement is to utilize the two companies’ expertise and products to offer stationary energy solutions based on a combination of solar energy and fuel cells. By using excess energy from solar panels to produce hydrogen, solar energy can be stored and converted back to electricity in a fuel cell when needed.

The aim of the feasibility study that the two companies will perform for Amokabel, is to examine if solar energy in combination with hydrogen storage can alleviate the company’s problem with grid capacity. As Amokabel has grown and increased its production, it has experienced increasing problems with lack of power in the existing grid.

“The increasing need of energy, and sustainable energy in particular, makes the combination of solar energy and fuel cells extremely interesting” said Andreas Bodén, Director Sales and Aftermarket. “We therefore see a great potential for stationary fuel cell power generation based on locally produced and stored hydrogen”.

Stefan Ölander, CEO of Soltech, added that the cooperation is a breakthrough in helping all businesses and the public sector with the major problems related to insufficient grid capacity.

For additional information:

https://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/pv_solar/powercell-signs-cooperation-agreement-with-soltech-regarding-20200914

Chinese car companies are planning on boosting hydrogen fuel cell vehicle sales – a niche category in the world’s largest car market. Government officials are expected to announce supportive policies as early as this month.

The largest carmaker from the People’s Republic, SAIC Motor, wants to sell over 10,000 hydrogen fuel cell models by the year 2025, as reported by Reuters.

Meanwhile, commercial vehicle-maker Beiqi Foton Motor (a BAIC unit) is aiming for 4,000 hydrogen vehicles by 2023, before raising the bar to 15,000 units by 2025.

Read Also: Toyota Teams Up With Five Chinese Automakers To Develop Fuel Cells For Commercial Vehicles

These announcements came after a finance ministry official stated that China will begin rolling out new policies to support this technology. China has a relatively small fleet of hydrogen vehicles at just over 7,000 – compared to more than 4 million fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars.

The new policies will require local city governments and companies to build up the infrastructure, setting up a more mature supply chain and business model. As for the pilot cities, they will likely include Beijing, Shanghai, as well as those in the northern Shanxi and eastern Jiangsu provinces, according to sources who declined to give their names.

At the same time, global brands such as Toyota and Hyundai have already announced plans for hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles in China. Furthermore, the Japanese carmaker will work alongside no fewer than five major Chinese companies in Beijing Automobile Group, FAW, Beijing SinoHytec, Dongfeng Motor and Guangzhou Automobile Group to develop fuel cells that will be used in commercial vehicles.

Hongqi H5 FCEV pictured 

https://www.carscoops.com/2020/09/chinese-carmakers-would-like-to-sell-more-hydrogen-fuel-cell-models/

Just last week we wrote about General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) announcing a strategic partnership with Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA), giving it an 11% stake in the company. As part of the deal, GM will produce the Nikola Badger by the end of 2022 while Nikola also gains access to GM’s Ultium battery system and Hydrotec fuel cell technology.

"Nikola is one of the most innovative companies in the world. General Motors is one of the top engineering and manufacturing companies in the world. You couldn’t dream of a better partnership than this," Nikola founder Trevor Milton said of the announcement.

Shares of both companies jumped on the news, with shares of Nikola gaining more than 40%. For Nikola, however, the enthusiasm was short-lived as the company faced pressure for the rest of the week after being accused of being a fraud.

"Nikola is an intricate fraud built on dozens of lies over the course of its Founder and Executive Chairman Trevor Milton’s career," Hindenburg Research wrote.

"We have gathered extensive evidence—including recorded phone calls, text messages, private emails and behind-the-scenes photographs—detailing dozens of false statements by Nikola Founder Trevor Milton."

The extremely detailed report has 53 questions for Milton to answer before coming to the conclusion that "Nikola is a massive fraud constructed on dozens of lies."

"We have nothing to hide and we will refute these allegations. They have already taken up more time and attention than they deserve," Nikola said in response.

"We have retained leading law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP to evaluate potential legal recourse, including with respect to the activist short seller and any others acting in concert."

Shares of Nikola obviously didn't react well to the company being accused of fraud. Shares gave up all of their gains from the GM news and then some, ending the week more than 40% below the highs following the GM news on Tuesday. Shares of Nikola are now down nearly 70% from their high in June.

Well-known short-seller Citron Research agreed with Hindenburg Research's assessment of Nikola, tweeting "Congrats to Hindenburg for exposing what appears to be a total fraud." Citron also said it would cover half of all legal expenses Hindenburg Research may accumulate.

GM is standing by Nikola despite the allegations of fraud.

"We are fully confident in the value we will create by working together," GM said.

"We stand by the statements we made in announcing the relationship."

It appears Nikola will have a legion of detractors that believe the company is a fraud to deal with just like it's larger rival Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has had to for years.

BEIJING — Chinese automakers have announced plans to increase sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, a niche segment in the world's biggest auto market, and the government is expected to announce supportive new policies, possibly as early as this month.

SAIC Motor, China's biggest automaker, which has partnerships with Volkswagen and General Motors, said on Sunday it plans to sell over 10,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2025.

Commercial vehicle maker Beiqi Foton Motor, a BAIC unit, said last week it aims to sell 4,000 hydrogen vehicles by 2023, and 15,000 such vehicles by 2025.

The announcements came after a finance ministry official said earlier in September that China will roll out a new package of policies to support hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

China now has a fleet of just over 7,000 hydrogen vehicles, compared with over 4 million pure battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Current policies to support electric vehicles offer subsidies on sales. But new supportive policies will require local city governments and companies to build up a more mature supply chain and business model for the industry. Three industry sources familiar with policy discussions said authorities could announce a new policy as early as this month.

Pilot cities will likely include Beijing, Shanghai, as well as cities in northern Shanxi and eastern Jiangsu provinces, according to sources, who declined to be named as the issue is not public.

The Finance Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some global automakers from Toyota to Hyundai have already announced plans for hydrogen vehicles in China

https://www.autoblog.com/2020/09/14/hydrogen-vehicle-sales-china/

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.