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GCC:
OCTA board approves draft plan for conversion to 100% zero-emission bus fleet by 2040; testing fuel-cell and battery-electric


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/06/20200625-octa.html


. . . OCTA has already gradually transitioned its fleet over the years, from diesel-burning buses to clean-burning renewable compressed natural gas (CNG) buses with near-zero-emission engines. The state has set a requirement to transition to complete zero-emission transit within the next 20 years.

The plan is not a commitment to a specific type of technology at this point. OCTA is in the process of testing both hydrogenated fuel-cell electric buses and plug-in battery-electric buses to determine which technology best meets OCTA’s needs related to operations, maintenance and cost, among other things.

In April, the OCTA Board of Directors approved a request for quotes to purchase 10 plug-in battery-electric buses.

The pilot program for the battery-electric 40-foot buses comes following OCTA’s debut at the start of 2020 of 10 new hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses.

Those hydrogen fuel-cell buses began operating in January, when OCTA debuted its hydrogen fueling station in Santa Ana. In all, it represented a $22.9-million investment.

More than half of that funding—$12.5 million—came from California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment, particularly in disadvantaged communities.

Testing both hydrogen fuel-cell and plug-in battery-electric buses will allow OCTA to collect valuable data and to determine which technology—or the best mix of technologies—to pursue moving forward.

OCTA operates more than 500 buses in the regular OC Bus system across Orange County. For now, most of those buses run on compressed natural gas but OCTA is working toward the goal of producing zero emissions. . . .

The hydrogen fuel-cell buses continue to be tested on routes throughout Orange County. The plug-in battery-electric buses are expected to begin operation in Orange County in late 2021.
 
GCC:
Samsung Heavy Industries and Bloom Energy sign joint development agreement for SOFC-powered ships


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/06/20200630-shi.html


. . . Our goal is to replace all existing main engines and generator engines with these highly efficient solid oxide fuel cells [SOFCs] to align with the International Maritime Organization’s 2030 and 2050 environmental targets.

—Haeki Jang, vice president of shipbuilding & drilling sales engineering at SHI. . . .

SHI and Bloom Energy are actively working towards the next milestone in this development with a target to present the design to potential customers in 2022. Following commercialization, the two companies anticipate that the market for Bloom Energy Servers on SHI ships could grow to 300 megawatts annually. . .

The joint development agreement between SHI and Bloom Energy follows an Approval in Principle for fuel cell-powered Aframax crude oil tankers from DNV GL, the internationally accredited marine shipping registrar and classification society, announced in September 2019. The next class of ship to be submitted for design approval is the LNG carrier.
 
Both GCC:
Hyundai ships 10 XCIENT Fuel Cell heavy-duty truck to Europe for commercial use


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/07/20200706-xcient.html


. . .The company plans to ship a total of 50 XCIENT Fuel Cells to Switzerland this year, with handover to commercial fleet customers starting in September. Hyundai plans to roll out a total of 1,600 XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks by 2025.

XCIENT is powered by a 190-kW hydrogen fuel cell system with dual 95-kW fuel cell stacks. Seven large hydrogen tanks offer a combined storage capacity of around 32.09 kg of hydrogen. The driving range per charge for XCIENT Fuel Cell is about 400km, which was developed with a balance between the specific requirements from the potential commercial fleet customers and the charging infrastructure in Switzerland. Refueling time for each truck takes approximately 8~20 minutes. . . .

Hyundai Motor is developing a long-distance tractor unit capable of traveling 1,000 kilometers on a single charge equipped with an enhanced fuel cell system with high durability and power, aimed at global markets including North America and Europe.

In 2019, Hyundai Motor Company formed Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility (HHM), a joint venture with Swiss company H2 Energy, which will lease the trucks to commercial truck operators on a pay-per-use basis, meaning there is no initial investment for the commercial fleet customers.

Hyundai chose Switzerland as the starting point for its business venture for various reasons. One of the reasons is the Swiss LSVA road tax on commercial vehicles, which does not apply for zero-emission trucks. That nearly equalizes the hauling costs per kilometer of the fuel cell truck compared to a regular diesel truck.

Hyundai’s business case involves using purely clean hydrogen generated from hydropower. To reduce carbon emissions, all of the trucks need to run on only green hydrogen. . . .




Ballard receives $7.7M MEA order from Synergy JV in China


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/07/20200704-ballard.html


. . . Ballard’s leading fuel cell technology is currently powering over 650 Fuel Cell Electric Buses and more than 2,200 fuel cell trucks in China, representing key market share at this early stage of market development. This follow-on order from the Synergy-Ballard joint venture is an important indicator of the continued progress and market demand for Ballard fuel cell technology in heavy- and medium-duty motive applications in China, including buses and commercial trucks.

We expect to see high adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles in China as the national and provincial governments increasingly prioritize the decarbonization of mobility with zero-emission solutions. Where vehicle use cases require extended range and rapid refueling, we believe Ballard fuel cell technology will offer a compelling value proposition, including high reliability and durability along with competitive total-cost-of-ownership.

—Alfred Wong, Ballard Managing Director – Asia Pacific
 
GCC
Dr. Richard Group testing Solaris hydrogen bus


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/07/20200709-richar.html


The hydrogen bus Solaris Urbino 12 hydrogen is being tested again in Austria. After successful test runs in Vienna in June, the bus was handed over to the Dr. Richard Group, the largest private bus operator in Austria, which presented the vehicle in St. Pölten on 7 July 2020.

"The Dr. Richard Group has been dealing with emission-free mobility for a few years now. Over the course of numerous tests of battery buses we were able to gain a valuable insight into their practical operation and implementation. Now, for the first time ever, we have a chance to test a hydrogen-powered Solaris bus. The longer the distances to be covered and the heavier the vehicle itself, the more important this type of driveline is becoming, also in terms of resources needed to refuel. The relatively high costs still remain a barrier to a large-scale implementation of this particularly environment-friendly technology, but we look forward to the test which constitutes a significant milestone on our path to green mobility."

—Dr. Ludwig Richard, owner and president of the Dr. Richard Group. . . .
 
GCC:
PowerCell in EU project to develop and operate a refuse truck with fuel cells


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/07/20200710-powercell.html


PowerCell Sweden AB will participate in an EU project that will develop and operate a refuse truck with fuel cells for Renova AB, western Sweden’s leading environmental enterprise within recycling and waste management. Renova’s end customer, the City of Gothenburg, wants to increase testing of fuel-cell-powered refuse trucks.

The truck and its operation will be partly funded by the EU project REVIVE which has an objective to accelerate the development of hydrogen-fueled refuse trucks in Europe.

REVIVE will place 15 fuel cell refuse vehicles to be tested in 8 different cities or regions in Europe: Breda, Helmond, Amsterdam, and Groningen (the Netherlands), Antwerp (Belgium), Bolzano and Merano (in South Tyrol, Italy) and Gothenburg (Sweden). . . .

Hydrogen fuel cell trucks have a comparable driving range, refueling time and payload capacity to diesel-powered trucks while producing less noise and emitting only water vapor—welcome advantages for refuse trucks operating in residential areas with early morning collection times. . . .


Somewhat surprising to me that they wouldn't use a BEV for this, but Sweden's cold and apparently there's lots of power being used by hydraulics. They may also plan to get H2 from waste processing, so that may explain it.
 
GCC:
TR Group & Hiringa partner to introduce heavy fuel cell electric trucks into NZ


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/07/20200714-tr.html


. . . The companies will offer fuel-inclusive lease packages that offer greater flexibility to heavy vehicle operators and companies looking to decarbonize their supply chain. The vehicles will be offered in several configurations and weight classes including over 50t combined mass and 6x4 and 8x4 drivetrains. The first vehicles are expected to be available in 2021.

When fuel cell vehicles are powered by green hydrogen, they provide a sustainable zero emission transport solution. They can provide a viable alternative to diesel trucks and vehicles that have high uptime requirements, travel longer distances or carry heavy payloads. . . .

Hiringa’s refueling network, expected to begin operations in the first half of 2021, will provide coverage of the major freight routes in the North and South Islands.
 
GCC:
Phoenix Motorcars deploys electric cargo truck to service family-owned business in Sacramento


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/08/20200802-phoenix.html


. . .Built on the popular Ford E-450 chassis with a Rockport Commercial Trucks body, the electric box truck is equipped with custom shelving to suit the specific needs of the customer. The truck is equipped with a 105 kWh battery pack offering up to 110 mile range and can be charged up in about 3 hrs with a 50 kW Level III charger. . . .
 
GCC:
Fuel cell electric vehicles powered by Ballard have driven more than 50M km; 70% in China


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/08/20200805-ballard.html


. . . Ballard PEM fuel cell technology and products—with the 8th generation power module launched in 2019—have been integrated for many years into FCEVs to provide zero-emission power for vehicle propulsion in 15 countries around the world. This includes approximately 1,000 Fuel Cell Electric Buses (FCEBs) and 2,200 commercial trucks. . . .

Some of the FCEBs that operated over 8-years in the field exceeded 38,000 hours of revenue service with no major fuel cell maintenance requirements.
 
Both GCC:
Mercedes-Benz eActros electric trucks moving to Rotterdam and The Hague


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/08/20200807-eactros.html


After about a year of intensive practical use by ten customers in Germany and Switzerland, eight of the purely battery-powered Mercedes-Benz eActros trucks are now successively going to new customers in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. They also will put the eActros through its paces in tough everyday transport operations for about a year. Two vehicles will continue the operational testing with customers in the first test phase. . . .

One of the many findings gained during the practical tests in the first test phase is that the range of the eActros of approximately 200 kilometers has proven to be absolutely realistic, regardless of load, route or topography. . . .

Lithium-ion batteries with 240 kWh supply the energy for the eActros. Depending on the available charging power, the batteries can be fully charged within two hours (at 150 kW).

The development and testing of heavy-duty electric trucks in distribution transport is receiving support from Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) and Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), as part of the Concept ELV² project.



Tesla X is OCTA’s first all-electric vanpool vehicle


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/08/20200807-octa.html


The Orange County (CA)
Transportation Authority (OCTA) has a Tesla Model X SUV as its first all-electric vehicle in the OCTA Vanpool program. The Tesla X is provided by Green Commuter, one of three vanpool companies contracted by OCTA to provide vehicles to commuters in Orange County to help them share the ride as they travel to work.

The all-electric vanpool vehicle is being used by five employees who work in Seal Beach at the Naval Weapons Station. They commute approximately 140 miles roundtrip each day from near Murrieta in southern Riverside County. . . .

The overall number of vanpools currently running in Orange County is down sharply from approximately 470 operating prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, when many employees began working remotely. . . .

This year, OCTA has taken several steps in the continued effort toward zero-emission technology. In January, OCTA introduced a fleet of 10 hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses and debuted the nation’s largest hydrogen fueling station at its Santa Ana Bus Base.

In April, the OCTA board approved a pilot program for 10 plug-in battery-electric buses, scheduled to begin operating in late 2021.
 
GCC:
Nikola receive order for 2,500 battery-electric waste trucks from Republic Services; fully integrated chassis and body from Nikola


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/08/20200811-nikola.html


Nikola Corporation announced a minimum order of 2,500 electric refuse trucks from Republic Services, expandable up to 5,000. This order is to begin full production deliveries in 2023 with on-road testing likely to begin in early 2022. The refuse trucks are anticipated to carry up to an industry-leading 720 kWh of energy storage. . . .

The powertrain software will be limited to 1,000 HP and is expected to outperform current diesel and natural gas competitors. The new platform can give refuse trucks nearly three-times the HP of natural gas and diesel options, giving operators the ability to go up hills with full loads without issue.

The electric platform is expected to offer up to 150 miles of range and 1,200 cans on a single charge. . . .
 
GCC:
Hamburger Hochbahn issues tender for 50 fuel cell buses


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/08/20200819-hochbanfceb.html


Hamburger Hochbahn AG has launched a tender for the delivery of up to 50 fuel cell buses for the years 2021 to 2025. The invitation to tender consists of four lots.

Hochbahn will purchase both pure fuel cell hybrid buses and battery-electric buses in which the fuel cell serves as a range extender. Both solo and articulated buses are tendered for both technical solutions.

The basis of the tender is a detailed specification sheet that sets clear technical requirements for the vehicles. These include a minimum range of 300 km (186 miles) for solo buses and 230 km (143 miles) for articulated buses—longer ranges than required for the basic battery-electric bus tender (earlier post). . . .

Together with the pure battery buses, which have a range of 150 or 200 kilometers depending on the generation, Hochbahn is setting up its technology portfolio with the fuel cell buses so that the diesel bus can be retired by the end of the decade and the vehicle fleet can be completely converted to emission-free drives. The advantages of fuel cells are their high flexibility and range. . . .

The HOCHBAHN currently has two battery buses with fuel cells as range extenders that are used in normal line operations.
 
All GCC:
Hiringa Energy and HYZON Motors to deploy fuel-cell-powered heavy trucks in New Zealand in 2021


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200901-hiringa.html



Toyota & Honda partner on fuel cell bus mobile power generation system to supply electricity in disasters


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200901-movinge.html



Japanese demonstration project begins for commercialization of vessels equipped with high-power fuel cells


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200901-fcvessel.html



ULEMCo to deliver 20 hydrogen-fueled vehicles for Glasgow; largest hydrogen dual fuel conversion to date


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200903-ulemco.html
 
Bill Gates’ recent post about electric vehicles contained a number of interesting insights about his views on electrification. While the Microsoft co-founder noted that EVs present an ideal solution for short-haul travel, he argued that battery-electric vehicles will probably never be a practical solution for heavy-duty machinery like 18-wheelers. This makes vehicles like the Tesla Semi inherently flawed, at least according to the tech visionary.

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-semi-wont-work-bill-gates-biofuels/
 
lorenfb said:
Bill Gates’ recent post about electric vehicles contained a number of interesting insights about his views on electrification. While the Microsoft co-founder noted that EVs present an ideal solution for short-haul travel, he argued that battery-electric vehicles will probably never be a practical solution for heavy-duty machinery like 18-wheelers. This makes vehicles like the Tesla Semi inherently flawed, at least according to the tech visionary.

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-semi-wont-work-bill-gates-biofuels/
The arguments mentioned in the article are not convincing for trucks since the energy penalty for adding battery weight is m*g*ƒ/3.6 Wh/km
g*ƒ = ~ 9.8*0.009 per tyre per Kg tyre load, while energy density is presently around 200 Wh/Kg and expected to increase to 250 wh/Kg in the near future. R&D roadmaps include 400 - 500 Wh/Kg

Battery cost and charging are moving targets.
The only argument I know of that currently has merit is the load limit of roads but I think that can be mitigated with more axles.

---
The killer application for electric trucks is platooning. Electrics have natural advantages here due to the response speed and Tesla is way ahead of everybody else in the software.
 
General Motors is taking a stake in electric vehicle maker Nikola Corp. in a deal that will eventually deliver $4 billion in benefits to GM as it commercializes its EV technology. 
The partnership will ultimately reduce costs for each company as GM pursues its all-electric vehicle strategy.
In the deal, announced Tuesday, Nikola will exchange $2 billion in newly issued stock for services and access to GM's parts and components. Nikola has yet to make any of the heavy duty hydrogen fuel cell trucks it is developing. GM also has the right to nominate one board director at Nikola.

GM will "engineer, homologate, validate and manufacture the Nikola Badger battery electric and fuel cell versions," the companies said in a statement. The Badger is a heavy-duty fuel-cell electric pickup expected to go into production by the end of 2022.
“This strategic partnership with Nikola, an industry leading disrupter, continues the broader deployment of General Motors’ all-new Ultium battery and Hydrotec fuel cell systems,” said GM CEO Mary Barra. “We are growing our presence in multiple high-volume EV segments while building scale to lower battery and fuel cell costs and increase profitability."

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2020/09/08/gm-nikola-partnership-electric-pickup-trucks/5743468002/
 
So much for "fully functional"
Nikola admits prototype was rolling downhill in promotional video
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2020/09/nikola-admits-prototype-was-rolling-downhill-in-promotional-video/

Best quote from Nikola: :lol: :lol:
"Nikola never stated its truck was driving under its own propulsion in the video," Nikola wrote.
 
All GCC:
Ballard introduces fuel cell industry’s first commercial module to power ships: FCwave


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200909-ballard.html



Freudenberg Sealing Technologies and Quantron AG collaborate on fuel cell systems for heavy-duty trucks


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200909-fst.html



DOE awards Cummins $1M to develop hydrogen rescue truck


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200916-cummins.html

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), in collaboration with the US Department of Defense and the US Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, has awarded Cummins, Inc. approximately $1 million in federal funds to develop H2Rescue, a hydrogen fuel cell truck that will travel to disaster relief sites and provide power, heat, and water. . . .



Element 1, CO-WIN road testing medium-duty fuel cell truck with onboard methanol-based hydrogen generation


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200917-e1.html



Daimler Trucks unveils Mercedes-Benz fuel-cell concept truck, previews long-haul battery-electric truck; electrification strategy


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200917-daimlertrucks.html


Liquid H2 for the long haul tractor, range of 1,000 km/620 miles.
 
All GCC:
BYD electric motor coaches selected for California purchasing contract; available to governmental entities outside CA


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200903-byd.html



Citroën introduces electric ë-Jumper van; up to 17 m3 payload


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200905-jumper.html


Volta Trucks reveals purpose-built full-electric large commercial vehicle for inner city freight distribution: Volta Zero


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200907-volta.html


Toronto now has the largest fleet of electric buses in North America on the road with arrival of third new electric bus model


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200911-ttc.html



DHE begins piloting Volvo VNR Electric heavy-duty trucks in SoCal fleet


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200911-dhe.html



City of Szczecin buying 8 Solaris Urbino 18 articulated electric buses


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200916-solaris.html


Proterra unveils ZX5 next-generation battery-electric transit bus


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200916-proterra.html



Endera delivers electric shuttles to ACE Parking for San Diego Airport; Lightning Systems drivetrain


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200917-endera.html



Mack LR Electric refuse truck to enter production in 2021


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200917-mack.html



Corvus Energy to supply batteries for five new electric ferries


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200918-corvus.html



Enel enters public transit electrification market in US; partners with MassCEC for electric bus fleet


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200919-enel.html
 
Both GCC:
MZK Pila buying five Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200921-solaris.html


Solaris has won a tender announced by the public transport operator Miejski Zaklad Komunikacyjny (MZK) in Pila for the supply of five Urbino 12 electric buses including the charging infrastructure. The deliveries will be completed in April 2022. . . .

The electric drive consists of two motors integrated in an electric axle, each of 125 kW. Of the three types of batteries offered by Solaris, MZK in Pila has opted for Solaris High Power batteries of 120 kWh, with a guaranteed range of 90 km on a single charge, for its buses. This type of energy storage enables a very quick recharging, lasting barely a few to a dozen or so minutes. . . .



EMT Madrid places a third order with Irizar e-mobility making a total of 55 Irizar electric buses in fleet


https://www.greencarcongress.com/2020/09/20200921-irizar.html
 
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