Fuel Cells

Few of the giant car makers have shown urgency in transitioning away from the internal combustion engine. What's more, the automotive market is set to decline once again in 2019 whilst electrifying newcomers made huge gains in front of sleeping incumbents' noses. Although a large fraction of this is orders (not deliveries), if OEMs do not wake up now, they never will.

Chemists have discovered a method that could turn plastic waste into valuable chemicals by using sunlight. In lab experiments, the research team mixed plastics with their catalyst in a solvent, which allows the solution to harness light energy and convert the dissolved plastics into formic acid - a chemical used in fuel cells to produce electricity.

Plans for a pilot project to test the Coradia iLint, the world's first passenger train powered by hydrogen fuel cells, for the first time in the Netherlands.

At the world's largest bus event, Busworld in Belgium in October 21-23 2019, Herald Ruijters of DG Move in the European Commission was very enthusiastic about fuel cell buses.

A fuel cell can be built from cheaper, more widely available metals using an atomic-level design that also gives the material long-term stability.

Fuel cells are pollution-free power sources that convert chemical energy to electricity with high efficiency and zero emissions. Fuel cell cars, trucks, and buses would allow people to travel long distances with convenient refueling and less of a carbon footprint.

Technology Analyst Luke Gear presents his findings from the Electric and Hybrid Marine conference held in Amsterdam.

The Toshiba ESS "H2PLAZA," produces and supplies hydrogen with renewable energy for fuel-cell forklifts and is now supplying hydrogen at Toyota.

Advancements in zero-emission fuel cells could make the technology cheap enough to replace traditional gasoline engines in vehicles.