The Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association welcomes its newest Tier 3 member: ClearPath! ClearPath’s mission is to develop and advance conservative policies that accelerate clean energy innovation. To advance that mission, they develop cutting-edge policy and collaborate with academics and industry. Their experts focus on nuclear, carbon capture, hydropower, natural gas, geothermal, energy storage, and energy innovation.

Click here to visit ClearPath's website.

Click here for the full press release from Plug Power.

Click here for the full press release from Nel.

Click here for the full press release from Chart Industries. 

On January 5, FCHEA member BayoTech announced it has received an equity investment of $157 million from Newlight Partners, a growth equity investor, along with Cottonwood Technology Funds, Sun Mountain Capital, and Fortistar. The new investment will be used for product development, project development, and infrastructure development, as part of BayoTech's strategic growth.

Click here for the full press release from BayoTech.

Click here for the full press release from Plug Power. 

Click here for the full press release from Nel.

On January 12, Shell opened a new hydrogen refueling station in Berkeley, California. The station is able to serve two cars at a time with a capacity of 560 kilograms. The station offers 100% renewable hydrogen generated from biogas.

On January 5, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a $4.5 billion recovery plan for California's businesses as part of the state's 2021 budget. As part of a commitment to zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure, the plan supports the construction of hydrogen fueling stations.

Click here for the full press release from the California Governor's Office.

On December 24, FCHEA member Air Liquide and Japan H2 Mobility opened a hydrogen station in Nagoya Odaka, Japan. The station is part of a governmental plan to have 200,000 fuel cell vehicles on the roads and 320 stations by 2025. The station utilizes Air Liquide's standard-type package, combining compressors and pressure accumulators into one unit. It is the seventh station to be jointly opened by the two companies.

Click here for the full press release from Johnson Matthey. 

On January 6, FCHEA member Cummins announced that HyBalance, a hydrogen production facility located in Europe, will continue to produce hydrogen for European customers. The facility was established in 2018 as a pilot project and the pilot was completed in September 2020. The facility consists of a 1.2 megawatt proton exchange membrane electrolyzer and sources its electricity from wind turbines. It has produced 120 tons of hydrogen since 2018. The facility supplies hydrogen to customers of Air Liquide.

Click here for the full press release from PowerCell.

On January 5, Aju Business Daily reported that FCHEA member Hyundai Motor has received approval from China's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to produce fuel cells within the country. According to Aju Business Daily, Hyundai had submitted an application to build a fuel cell system in Guangzhou, a port city northwest of Hong Kong. Hyundai intends to manufacture fuel cells in South Korea and assemble them in China.

Click here for the full article from Aju Business Daily.

On January 6, Plug Power announced a strategic partnership with SK Group, a South Korean business group, to accelerate hydrogen energy in Asian markets. The partners intend to provide fuel cells, hydrogen fueling stations, and electrolyzers to Korea and the Asian market as a whole. The agreement also includes a $1.5 billion investment from SK Group into Plug Power, in addition to a plan to form a joint venture in Korea.

Click here for the full press release from Plug Power.

On December 30, Nel announced it has been awarded a 20 megawatt electrolyzer contract from Everfuel, a Danish hydrogen company, for renewable hydrogen production at a facility next to a refinery in Fredericia, Denmark. The electrolyzer will source its energy from wind power, and it will have a production capacity of 8 tons of hydrogen per day along with 10 tons of storage capacity. The contract is still subject to approval by the Board of Directors. It has a value of €7.2 million (~$8.81 million) and will be delivered in 2021, with operations beginning in mid-2022.

Click here for the full press release from Nel.

Click here for the full press release from Air Liquide.

On January 14, Nel Hydrogen settled a €13.5 million (~$16.3 million) contract with electricity utility company Iberdola. The contract will provide Iberdola a 20 megawatt (MW) polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, which is intended for a green fertilizer project in Spain with fertilizer company Fertiberia. The PEM electrolyzer will be delivered to Iberdrola by the end of 2021.

Click here for the full press release from Nel. 

Click here for the full press release from Johnson Matthey. 

ACT Expo, the advanced transportation technology and clean fleet event in North America, serves as a meeting place for transportation executives looking to gain insight and hands-on access to the fuels, technologies, and vehicles driving the future of transportation. ACT Expo features dozens of product debuts and major announcements from leading OEMs and suppliers, unparalleled networking opportunities with the most influential and progressive leaders in the industry, peer-to-peer learning for progressive fleet operators, and access to the most comprehensive assembly of advanced commercial vehicles anywhere.

Click here for more information.

The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is excited to introduce the EERE Program Information Center—EERE’s new portal for funding opportunities.

Organizations interested in working with EERE can use the EERE Program Information Center to identify and respond to open opportunities—including Funding Opportunity Announcements, Requests for Information, Notices of Intent, Notices of Technical Assistance, and Lab Calls. Watch the EERE YouTube video to learn more! (Note: you must use the Google Chrome web browser to access the EERE Program Information Center)

Click here for more information on the portal.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program is announcing the release of its FY 2021 SBIR/STTR Phase I topics. Covering the research and development priorities of all EERE’s Technology Offices, these 12 topics comprised of 49 subtopics solicit innovative research across all three EERE Technology Sectors: Transportation, Renewable Energy, and Energy Efficiency.

Click here for more information.

This Special Issue of a new journal called Fuels will feature several new peer-reviewed articles on the topic of “Clean and Renewable Hydrogen Fuel”. Articles will be solicited in June 2020 with expected submissions in February 2021 and publication of the Special Issue later in 2021. Key topics include biological production methods including fermentation and algae, gasification/pyrolysis, electrolysis, and other emerging methods for clean hydrogen production.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Click here for more information.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has announced $6.4 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development projects under the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) FE-FOA 0002397, University Turbines Systems Research (UTSR) — Focus on Hydrogen Fuels.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will manage the projects. The FOA will seek to fund laboratory/bench-scale R&D in three areas of interest (AOIs):

Click here for more information.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) have announced the application period is now open for the “Zero-Emission Drayage Truck and Infrastructure Pilot Project.” Eligible applicants to this competitive solicitation include local air districts, California-based public entities, and California-based non-profit organizations. CARB funding will be allocated towards the purchase of on-road zero-emission Class 8 trucks. CEC funding will support zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and installation, and workforce training and development. Other costs associated with administrative and data collection tasks will be supported by either CARB or CEC.

Click here for more information.

The Advanced Industries Early-Stage Capital and Retention Grant helps Colorado-based advanced industries technology businesses develop and commercialize advanced technologies that will be created or manufactured in Colorado. Projects can receive up to $250,000.

The market typically under-invests in early-stage technologies. The grant’s goal is to fill the gap left by the market. The grant is not meant to compete with existing funding.

The Global Business Development (GBD) division administers this grant in partnership with Colorado’s advanced industry trade associations and receives final approval from the Economic Development Commission.

Click here for more information.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $33 million in funding to support innovative hydrogen and fuel cell research & development (R&D), infrastructure supply chain development and validation, and cost analysis activities.

Activities that result from this FOA will support the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE’s) H2@Scale vision and leverage capabilities at DOE National Labs through close collaboration with the Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck (M2FCT) and H2NEW consortia.

FOA topics include R&D in:

Additional topics include infrastructure R&D to validate hydrogen refueling models, and to develop supply chain components to enable high throughput fueling for hydrogen stations that serve heavy-duty applications. The FOA also seeks projects conducting independent cost analyses of hydrogen production, storage, and fuel cell technologies.

Click here for more information.

The West Coast Collaborative’s Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Corridor Coalition (WCC AFICC) seeks input on funding needs for plug-in electric, hydrogen, propane, compressed and/or liquefied natural gas fueling stations that are accessible to Class 5+ on-highway vehicles (>16,001 lbs), locomotives, marine vessels, and/or other heavy-duty nonroad equipment.

The WCC AFICC has developed a survey to collect information that will help evaluate funding needs for medium and heavy-duty (MHD) accessible alternative fuel stations along the West Coast. Feedback from this survey will also help to evaluate awareness of and satisfaction with the EPA Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grant programs.

Submit survey responses regarding needed MHD accessible plug-in electric, hydrogen, propane, compressed and/or liquefied natural gas fueling stations in the WCC states and territories, including: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Tribal Lands, and the U.S. Pacific Island Territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. This survey seeks to build upon the findings presented in the CALSTART Medium and Heavy-Duty Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Strategic Development Plan (March 2020).

Click here to take the survey, and click here for more information.

The primary goal of the State Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) Clean Fuels Incentive Program (CFIP) is to reduce consumption of imported petroleum through the use of homegrown alternative fuels that will result in a cleaner and greener transportation sector within Maryland, improving the state's economy and environment in the process. With a program budget of $1.3M, there are 2 areas of interest (AOI) under the FY21 CFIP.

Click here for more information.

There are $90 million in funds allocated to this category, for which the first installment was allotted $27 million. The first solicitation is scheduled for release pending approval by the South Coast AQMD Board on Friday, August 7, 2020. If approved, applications will be accepted online beginning Tuesday, August 18, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. (PST) and will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Both public and private entities that own and operate eligible vehicles may apply. Funding is available to replace the following vehicles with zero emission technologies:

Class 8 only:

Click here for more information.

CORE is designed to accelerate deployment of cleaner off-road technologies by providing a streamlined way for fleets ready to purchase specific zero-emission equipment to receive funding to offset the higher cost of such technologies. This project is analogous to the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP), but will specifically target zero-emission off-road freight equipment that is currently in the early stages of commercial deployment.

Click here for more information.