Germany

Germany has launched the world’s first operational hydrogen trains and US researchers have presented a novel design for a tubular PEM fuel cell. ABB and Hydrogen Optimized, meanwhile, have expanded their strategic ties and Slovakia has moved forward with a major gas-blending pilot project.

The Canada-Germany Hydrogen Alliance is part of a wider deal that includes batteries and raw materials. Many details remain unclear, but the 2025 target for first deliveries is ambitious, says Paul Martin, the founder of the Hydrogen Science Coalition.

The government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has allocated €10 million ($9.93 million) to support the deployment of balcony solar modules with a power output of up to 600 W.

The German authorities reviewed bids with a total capacity of 767 MW and selected projects totaling 201 MW. The final prices ranged between €0.0820 ($0.0813)/kWh and €0.0891/kWh. The final average price was €0.084.

Germany’s Liontron said it can prepare 300 cups of coffee per day from the PV modules and storage tech on its bicycles for beverage vendors. This means its mobile coffee shops can operate without grid connections.

Gasunie will establish a total storage capacity of approximately 26 million kilograms of hydrogen, with the first storage facility to be operational by 2026. Porsche Engineering has revealed its findings on the potential of hydrogen combustion engines, while hydrogen plans advanced in Australia and Portugal.

Switzerland’s Meyer Burger is accelerating the expansion of its solar panel production capacity, following the extension of the US solar tax credit for PV manufacturers and an order from developer DE Shaw for 3.75 GW of US-made heterojunction modules.

The authorities in China’s Guangdong province have released a 2022-25 plan that foresees the retail price for hydrogen dropping to less than CNY 30/kg ($4.42/kg). Germany and Canada, meanwhile, are set to strengthen their collaboration on hydrogen, and Ford has revealed plans to team up with Southern California Gas for a hydrogen fuel cell electric truck that will be on the road by 2025.

Meyer Burger has announced that it has concluded a binding supply agreement with Norwegian Crystals for silicon wafers to use in heterojunction cell manufacturing. Hydro facilities primarily power the production of the wafers and their precursor materials in Norway. Combined with the shorter distance they’ll have to travel, this adds up to a low carbon footprint.

China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) has announced plans to invest €7.34 billion ($7.6 billion) to build a 100 GWh battery plant in Debrecen, Hungary. It will be the company’s second battery cell manufacturing facility in Europe.