Masks save lives, but they’re also becoming a gargantuan waste problem

 

Masks save lives, but they’re also becoming a gargantuan waste problem

Plastic medical waste has increased dramatically during the pandemic

Written byThe Record (Nepal)

Posted 25 August 2021  

Image by Deewash Shrestha via Record Nepal. Used with permission.

This article by Prasansha Rimal was first published on The Record (Nepal) and an edited version is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.

Waste management, especially in the medical sector, was already a problem area in Nepal and it only got worse during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a September 2020 World Bank report, 2,600 tonnes of waste are dumped in landfills every day in Nepal. The report estimates that, among the total waste generated, as much as 56 percent is organic, 16 percent glass, 8 percent paper, and 13 percent plastic. However, plastic products — especially single-use utensils, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), surgical masks, face shields, and gloves — have become much more ubiquitous since the pandemic began.

These plastic products are not just essential to keeping hospitals running and protecting frontline workers, but have also become common to domestic households as wearing a mask before going out has become routine. But, with more masks, gloves, gowns, and disposable bags being used, they are also being disposed of just as frequently.

Raj Krishna Shrestha sips tea as he waits for people to come to his truck to dispose of their household waste. Early every morning, 52-year-old Shrestha drives his truck from Balkumari to Lagankhel, parks in front of the Patan Hospital, and waits to collect the waste from the previous day. Then, he drives around collecting more waste around the vicinity before dumping it in Balkumari.

This has long been Shrestha’s everyday routine. While not much has changed for him since the pandemic started, one thing that is different is the waste he collects every day — there’s a lot more plastic now.

One study from February 2021 estimates that, since the pandemic started, the global amount of plastic waste generated is 1.6 million tons per day. The study further estimates that 3.4 billion single-use face masks and shields are being discarded every day. Covid-19 has reversed the momentum of a years-long global battle to reduce plastic waste pollution, say the authors. According to estimates by Grand View Research, a global business consulting firm, the sales of disposable face masks skyrocketed from 800 million US dollars in 2019 to 166 billion in 2020. Such a sharp increase in the purchase of disposable face masks correlates with an increase in the amount of waste.

And that’s only part of the story. What is concerning is not just the amount of waste that is being generated but the mismanagement of its disposal. For waste workers like Shrestha, this has led to increased fears of getting infected.

“Nobody separates their household waste into degradable and non-degradable waste. This is hazardous for us and clearly shows that people don’t think twice about what happens to the masks or gloves they have used while infected,” said Shrestha. “It also shows that people have little regard for our work and safety.”

Various studies have found the Covid-19 virus can survive up to 72 hours on plastic, and discarding used masks and gloves along with other household waste could risk strengthening the chain of transmission.

“The amount of surgical masks and other plastics has definitely increased. Sometimes, it is frightening to have to pick up surgical masks because you never know who might have used them. But we cannot stop working. We have families to look after,” said Urmila Deula, a 40-year-old sweeper appointed by Lalitpur municipality.

Image by Deewash Shrestha via Record Nepal. Used with permission.

“In Nepal, data on how much plastic use has increased since the pandemic hasn't been calculated yet, owing to a lack of resources and manpower. However, it is safe to say plastic waste has increased since the pandemic started from just looking at the increasing amount of day-to-day use of surgical masks, gloves, and sanitizer bottles,” said Dr Buddhi Sagar Poudel, spokesperson of the Ministry of Forests and Environment.

In addition to a lack of personnel and budget to segregate waste, there’s a larger problem: a general lack of consciousness among the public regarding waste disposal.

“People do not think about separating their household waste and because of this, waste like masks and gloves are directly going to landfills,” said Poudel.

There is legislation in place — like the Solid Waste Management Act 2011 and the Health Care Waste Management Guidelines 2014 — that mandates waste segregation. The Health Care Waste Management Guidelines recommend that health institutions not mix their non-risk waste with other kinds of waste and that health institutions should dispose of their medical waste themselves.

Larger hospitals like Bir Hospital, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, and Patan Hospital are able to properly dispose of the waste themselves as they have the resources. Private hospitals like Alka Hospital in Lalitpur are also attempting to do the same.

“We autoclave medical waste related to Covid-19, as this reduces the risk of spread of the virus through medical waste,” said Navaraj Thapa, manager at the lab of Alka Hospital.

But not all hospitals follow the guidelines, and local bodies and households do not bother with waste segregation.

“We have issued instructions asking that the waste produced in households, which might be infectious, like surgical masks, clothing, or other materials used by Covid-19 infected persons, should be kept separately for 72 hours before mixing it with other types of waste produced in the household,” said Sarkar Bir Shrestha, in-charge of the Okharpauwa landfill site. “But we don’t have any mechanism in place to check if the public is following our instructions.”

A simple solution to this problem would be to choose sustainable, environment-friendly alternatives over plastic. Washable, reusable cloth masks, for one, could help. A research paper on cloth masks found that textile products that have less than 300 TPI (threads per inch) have filtration efficiency above 80 percent, which provides good protection against the virus. The paper also recommends another alternative to single-use masks — using two layers of cotton or flannel masks of at least 100 TPI. A well-fitted multi-layer mask combining a layer of 600 TPI cotton and electrostatic filtering produces an efficiency of over 90 percent, comparable to those achieved by N95 respirators, says the paper.

“In addition to encouraging the use of cloth masks, another solution to tackle the problem of increasing plastic waste would be to incinerate medical waste or discard it properly in structured landfill sites,” said Stuti Sharma, partnerships and advocacy lead at Doko Recyclers.

But in the long-term, the old principle of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ remains the only sustainable way to tackle increasing plastic pollution, say experts. Everyone — individuals, organizations, hospitals, and local bodies — must do their part.

“The chance of Covid-19 spreading is higher when there is lack of participation of the community,” said Prakash Pathak, managing director of Scrap Recycle Foundation. “The authorities need to come up with an alternative to surgical masks and PPE, as this would reduce the amount of plastic production at the source. But more importantly, everyone needs to just take responsibility to properly sort their waste.”

Read more Global Voices stories on the global impact of COVID-19

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• COVID-19

Written byThe Record (Nepal)

GREENWASHING AFRICA
The green and equitable revolution: A call to arms FROM ROLLS ROYCE

Aug 24, 2021

Image: Pixabay

Why we must work together to ensure the COVID-19 pandemic does not delay our journey towards Africa’s net zero writes Ben Story, strategic marketing director at Rolls-Royce.

The impact of COVID-19 has been colossal. Economies are being stunted and health systems severely strained in Africa and across the world as governments continue to grapple with a profoundly complicated pandemic. Many fear that global recovery will not be equitable.

Against this unprecedented backdrop, you could be forgiven for assuming that the green revolution has slid down the agenda. Yet the world’s pre-pandemic challenges have not disappeared – our collective vulnerability as a planet and our exposure to nature have been revealed again. How we survive sustainably as a species, everywhere, must be ingrained into everything we do as corporations, governments, institutions and communities.

The pandemic should galvanise our collective vision and sense of urgency. We already knew that the power that matters is sustainable power; a Rolls-Royce mantra backed by years of R&D investment into net zero power solutions.

We know Africa has huge potential and that today’s technologies can help industries, entrepreneurs and communities flourish sustainably while reducing the implications of global warming.

And the implications are eye watering. While addressing global leaders at the 1st Climate Change Adaptation Summit in Switzerland, African Development Bank President AkinwumiAdesina said that climate change is costing Africa up to $15 billion a year.

Even though the continent currently only contributes around 2% of harmful global emissions, we stand at the frontline of the crisis. Last year we saw deadly flooding and the worst locust outbreak for 70 years, events created by extreme weather that continue to displace hundreds of thousands of people across the Sahel and threaten the future security of millions.

We are issuing a call to arms by joining thousands of companies in the UN Race to Zero, aligning our entire business system and value chain around achieving net zero by 2050. By 2030 we want all our new products to be net zero compliant; and by 2025, more than 75% of our R&D spend will be channelled into lower, net zero and zero carbon technologies.

Transforming carbon-intensive industries is a good starting point. These sectors, which include activities such as mining, aviation, power generation and maritime, account for 30% of global emissions.

In aviation, the physics of generating enough thrust to elevate and safely sustain 300 tonnes of metal in the air for 8,000 nautical miles (the longest A350 journey) has made fossil-based fuels difficult to dislodge. Here, we are working with partners to develop 100% sustainable aviation fuel which mimics the kerosine that we use today. For shorter journeys, electric and hybrid aerospace propulsion gives great cause for excitement.

Meanwhile, in power generation, change is happening at pace. The International Renewable Energy Agency announced in January that with the right policies, governance and access to finance, Sub-Saharan Africa could meet up to 67% of its energy needs via renewable power before 2030.

However, critical baseload power requires a transitioning energy source that is reliable enough to replace fossil fuels. It is our belief that the renewable power mix should be supported by a network of standardised, state-of-the-art, affordable nuclear power stations, powered by the UK’s small modular reactor (SMR) solution. With a capacity of 470MW, each SMR can supply enough electricity to power one million homes a year, for 60 years. SMRs can also underpin the immense power needed to create green hydrogen and synthetic fuels

Five calls to policymakers

To assist and accelerate industrialists like us and many others on their net zero strategies, five things need to change.

First, we need global consistency between countries and regions to establish level playing fields which avoid the risk of carbon leakage. The upcoming COP26 hosted by the UK and Italy is another chance to align priorities and set this in motion – indeed, many have commented on this being a make-or-break event.

Second, alongside drastic reductions, we need to concurrently tackle the removal of carbon already in the atmosphere. This will require prioritising and incentivising investment in regenerating nature’s natural carbon sinks, protecting existing ecosystems and restoring those that have been degraded, as well as developing and implementing new technological solutions that capture and store or re-use carbon.

Third, policymakers must incentivise circular economy business practices across the entire value chain. Ideally, this would protect biodiversity and nature, human health and social mobility, and economic growth, without negatively impacting developing economies.

Fourth, financing needs to become more accessible. Up to $100 trillion is needed between now and 2050, and much of that needs directing beyond companies that are already making progress to those which hold the key to making entire economies sustainable.

And fifth, the entire transition process must be fair for Africa and spur inclusive growth and job creation – without this, widespread support for net zero will be impossible to achieve.

If these five wheels are set in motion, then net zero becomes eminently more attainable.

Written by: Ben Story, Strategic Marketing Director, Rolls-Royce

SOUTH AFRICA

Commentary: Nuclear waste storage is not a problem

WE HAVE A WHOLE DAMNED CONTIENT TO BURY IT IN 
Aug 20, 2021

Low level nuclear waste trench during packing in South Africa

By Dr Kelvin Kemm is a nuclear physicist and is CEO of Stratek Business Strategy Consultants

The European Commission’s scientific body the Joint Research Centre released a report in April 2021 which stated that nuclear power is classified as ‘green’ because it does not emit any carbon dioxide gas. This is important because nuclear then qualifies for a ‘green’ investment label under the EU green finance taxonomy.

But the anti-nuclear lobby immediately objected. Currently, nuclear power accounts for 26% of EU electricity. Of course, it is also stable electricity, which is available all the time and not dependent on the weather. So why do the extreme greens object to nuclear when it emits no CO2? Well, one reason is that extreme green elements want to curtail all electricity production, and also do not want inexpensive electricity.

Their argument is that if there is plentiful inexpensive electricity then mankind will make more cars, more TVs, more air conditioning, and so on. For that more factories will be built, roads made, telecommunications extended and so the list goes on. They don’t want that. They want GDP growth to slow down, or ideally stop. They advocate a simple lifestyle in which flying in aeroplanes, and eating red meat is to be frowned upon.

So they don’t like the idea of inexpensive reliable nuclear power, particularly if it becomes available in African countries.

So now that the EU says that nuclear is ‘Green’ from a CO2 point of view, they are desperately looking for another angle to use to oppose it. One that they are grasping at is nuclear waste.

Have you read?
Commentary: Opportunities presented by nuclear energy for South Africa

Aircraft landing at low level nuclear waste site in the Western Cape, South Africa

The nuclear waste threat

Let me state clearly that nuclear waste disposal is not a problem. A far larger problem is the disposal of old wind turbines and solar panels.

The first thing to take note of is the volume difference. There is a huge volume of wind turbines and solar panels which have to be disposed of in due course. But the amount of high-level nuclear waste is tiny.

Koeberg nuclear power station uses only one truckload of nuclear fuel per year. That fuel then powers all of Cape Town and half of the Western Cape. Only one truckload in a year! When you burn coal it turns into other stuff, like coal ash, carbon dioxide, and other gases. Mountains of ash in fact. But if you look at a nuclear fuel element before it goes into a nuclear reactor, and then when it comes out again, one and a half years later, it looks exactly the same.

Some uranium atoms inside have been changed into other atoms, but nothing like ash or gas is produced. Nothing! All you have to dispose of is the original truckload. One per year. Only individual metal assemblies, no gas, no ash, nothing else.

So we must ask: are these used fuel elements dangerous? The answer is an emphatic yes. If you were to walk past an unprotected one it will kill you. But you can also die from sleeping pills; skydiving; or driving a car; if you do not take due care. If you want a good night’s sleep you can take an entire bottle of sleeping pills. You will not wake up! But people generally do not do stupid things with products, or with actions, which can be dangerous. Nuclear professionals do not do stupid things with spent fuel elements either.

When anti-nuclear activists accuse nuclear professionals of not taking nuclear waste into account, that is plain stupid. Can you seriously imagine professional nuclear engineers designing a nuclear power station and forgetting to make provisions for handling spent fuel elements?

Vaalputs HQ nuclear waste site in South Africa

Disposal for Koeberg NPP

South Africa possesses one of the largest and oldest nuclear waste repositories in the world. It is called Vaalputs and is about 100km inland from the remote Northern Cape town of Springbok. South Africa is the same size as the whole of Western Europe, so we are fortunate to have ample space to choose a place that is 100 kilometres from human habitation.

Currently only lower levels of nuclear waste are stored underground there. Items like lab coats, paper towels, old pipes, and so on, which were used in a nuclear facility and which may contain some nuclear residue.

The government has not yet authorised the permanent storage of the spent nuclear fuel there. All the spent fuel, from nearly 40 years of operations at Koeberg is still on-site, either underwater in a pool, or lined up outside in special protective casks. That is how little there is. If you want to sit next to one of the casks and eat your lunch it is quite safe to do so.

The extreme green’s attempts to demonise nuclear waste are plain silly. Even sillier is to try to claim that waste storage is beyond the ability of nuclear professionals to deal with.

There is no problem with nuclear waste, when it is handled by professionals, in accordance with the stringent rules of procedure that are in place.

Nuclear power is by far the best green energy for Europe, and even more so for all of Africa.

Dr Kelvin Kemm is a nuclear physicist and is CEO of Stratek Business Strategy Consultants, a project management company based in Pretoria. He carries out business strategy development and project planning in a wide variety of fields for diverse clients. Stratek@pixie.co.za

AFRICA

Is there space for hydrogen in the just energy transition?
Aug 26, 2021

Image: Pixabay.

A just energy transition within the Global South context doesn’t just mean changing the energy source from brown to green, but often means creating energy access in the first place.

A newly released TIPS policy brief into the relationship between energy access and poverty and the necessary energy transition brewing around the world, suggests that addressing the lack of access to electricity could help create the necessary change.

The International Energy Agency in its Financing Clean Energy Transitions in Emerging and Developing Economies report says the world’s energy and climate futures are increasingly hinged on whether these economies can manage their transitions successfully.

Have you read?
Link between just energy transition and energy poverty
Emerging and developing nations need help to fund the energy transition

While the world does have enough money to manage the necessary transition (according to the report), the money isn’t making its way to where it is needed. This is despite the fact that in many cases it is easier for emerging and developing economies to develop green energy sources from scratch rather than make the same mistakes developed nations have already made with brownfields developments.

While Africa may be considered energy poor by most metrics (the World Bank earlier this year said close to 85% of sub-Saharan Africa lacks access to clean cooking, accounting for 35% of global access deficit) it is enriched with renewable resources as well as the metals required by the technological processes to produce green hydrogen.
Could green hydrogen boost Africa’s just energy transition?

Hendrik Malan, CEO at Frost & Sullivan Africa, sees hydrogen as a key building stone in addressing sub-Sahara Africa’s electrification challenge. “Select countries in the region already have infrastructure in place which can be leveraged to take advantage of green hydrogen for both production and export.”

Given the attributes and pace of development of the sector, Malan believes it is critical that Africa creates a conducive R&D and investment environment to drive local applications for hydrogen. For him, this starts with an enabling policy environment: “Without a local market and commercial ecosystem, it would be challenging to consistently attract large scale investors due to the capital intensive nature of the sector.”

He thinks South Africa is at least ten years away from developing a functioning hydrogen economy, if that enabling policy environment is first created.

Malan will moderate a roundtable on hydrogen on 1 September, during which he will discuss with expert panellists the kinds of policies and support mechanisms Africa would need in place to foster the development of the sector.

“Chemical storage systems such as hydrogen are considerably easier, cheaper and can be stored for longer periods than battery energy storage systems, which generally have higher production costs and geopolitical complications. With Africa’s renewable energy opportunities, would the advancements in hydrogen and storage technology enable Africa to fully utilise these resources and supply the world with large quantities of green hydrogen for instance?” asked Malan.

MoUs between developed nations with aggressive decarbonisation targets who want to use hydrogen and emerging markets in Africa are a sign of traction in the market. Whether this results in Africa as a net exporter of hydrogen or creator of more electricity for own consumption is anyone’s guess. ESI

Germany eyes world's cheapest green hydrogen from Namibia amid global 'race for best sites'

Europe’s largest economy closes partnership deal with African nation, which hopes to produce renewable H2 at prices as low as $1.8/kg

Namibia has huge space and a small population.

Photo: Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images

25 August 2021 
By Bernd Radowitz

Germany plans to import huge volumes of what it claims will be the world's cheapest green hydrogen under a pact with Namibia that further widens a global dash to secure prime locations for H2 production linked to massive renewable power installations.

German science minister Anja Karliczek and Obeth Kandjoze, head of the Namibian planning commission, signed a joint communiqué of intent to build up the southern African nation's enormous solar and wind energy potential, and then ramp up its green hydrogen economy.

The science ministry will provide up to €40m ($47m) in support from Germany’s post-Covid economic stimulus programme for the partnership, Karliczek pledged.

“There is already a race around the world for the best hydrogen technologies and the best locations for hydrogen production,” she said.


Germany to tap Australia for 'industrial scale' green hydrogen imports in funding pact planRead more

“From our point of view, Namibia has particularly good chances in this competition. We want to use them together.”

Hydrogen strategy

The deal with Namibia is part of Germany’s €9bn ($10.6bn) national hydrogen strategy that was presented last year and includes €2bn in support to green hydrogen projects in partner countries around the world, as Europe’s largest economy due to space restraints won’t be able to produce sufficient green H2 at home to meet expected demand.

Berlin last year signed a deal with Australia – one of the world’s most promising countries in the emerging global hydrogen economy – amid an effort to secure massive future imports of the green gas, as well as exports of electrolysers made in Germany.

Namibia, while not yet a renewables hotspot like Australia, also has very favourable conditions. The African nation is very sparsely populated with only only 2.5 million inhabitants, and boasts more than 3,500 hours of sun, plus strong winds.

Those conditions would enable production of green hydrogen via electrolysis at a price of €1.50-2.00 per kg ($1.76-2.34) – the cheapest in the world, according to Karliczek, who said the expected production prices in Namibia would be even more competitive than in renewable hydrogen front-runner countries Chile and Australia. Some analysts, however, have warned that pricing assumptions of green hydrogen mega-projects are based on over-optimistic assumptions.


Germany targets massive green hydrogen output and imports in $10bn national strategyRead more

“The [German] National Hydrogen Council estimates that German industry alone, excluding refineries, will have a hydrogen requirement of 1.7 million tonnes per year by 2030, which will continue to increase thereafter,” Karliczek said.

“This demand forecast shows that we need large quantities and cheap kilo prices quickly. Namibia can deliver that.”

Namibia in November plans to present its own hydrogen strategy. But the country is also one of the driest on the African continent, creating a need for desalination plants in order to provide the water for the giant electrolysers necessary to produce large quantities of green H2 for export.

Germany plans to at first carry out a feasibility study, followed up by German-Namibian pilot projects and the training of local specialists for hydrogen.


Giga-scale green hydrogen: 'Developers are being unrealistic about levelised costs'Read more

“The feasibility study aims to show the potential of a green hydrogen economy, including innovative seawater desalination, in Namibia and exports to Germany,” said Stefan Kaufmann, a German lawmaker from Karliczek’s Christian Democrats (CDU).

“Building on this, we want to test in pilot projects how green hydrogen can be generated and transported in Namibia.”
Vulnerable to climate change

Kandjoze added that Namibia is particularly prone to the consequences of climate change, and needs to act now.

“Namibia is particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. Two thirds of our electricity comes from hydro-power, which depends on the rain and the rivers at Ruacana,” the head of the Namibian planning commission said.


World's largest hydro dam 'could send cheap green hydrogen from Congo to Germany'Read more

“Twenty-three percent of our workforce depends on agriculture. Long periods of drought, as we have recently experienced, are only a harbinger of catastrophic conditions for many of our fellow citizens.”

The country hopes to be able to start with green hydrogen exports before 2025, after previously covering its own needs for renewable energy and green H2.

The hydrogen agreement comes in the wake of a recent reconstruction aid deal, which foresees payments of €1.1bn from Germany to Namibia in compensation for colonial crimes, although the funds are not officially called a reparation payment.

Namibia was a German colony between 1884 and 1915, during which Germany from 1904-07 massacred tens of thousands of Herero and Nama in the first genocide of the twentieth century. The country was later occupied by South Africa before it became independent in 1990

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Alstom pioneers hydrogen mobility for rail in the Middle East and North Africa

Through innovations in electric transport and hydrogen fuel, Alstom aims to shape the future of the region’s mass transit and mobility for the better. In doing so, it remains dedicated to significantly reducing emissions, minimising land use and carbon footprint, and decarbonising rail transport

by Disha Dadlani

August 29, 2021

Saudi's 450km high-speed Haramain rail link to open soon

Hydrogen technologies and solutions in transport will play a very important role in transitioning to a cleaner more sustainable future accelerating the Middle East and North Africa Green Economy vision. Alstom, a global leader in rail transport and sustainable mobility, is working closely with many regional transportation authorities to ensure the most advanced and sustainable technology innovations are in place to safeguard the health, wellbeing, and mobility of communities across the Middle East and North Africa.

In line with the aim to facilitate a global transition to a low-carbon transport system, Alstom has pioneered several sustainable mobility solutions. The Coradia iLint™ is a perfect illustration for the commitment to designing and delivering innovative and environmentally friendly solutions making Alstom the first company to have developed and put into operation hydrogren trains.

The region’s government is taking major strides towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cutting down on the use of fossil fuels, and decarbonising transportation.

Supporting the UAE Vision 2021, the National Agenda focuses on improving the quality of air, preserving water resources, increasing the contribution of clean energy, and implementing green growth plans. Consequently, outlining Dubai’s commitment to transitioning to a green economy, the leadership inaugurated the Green Hydrogen Project at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park – a first of its kind project in the MENA region that aims to produce eco-friendly hydrogen using renewable energy.

Known as a global driver of innovation towards carbon neutrality in rail transport – Alstom places a huge focus on greener and smarter mobility solutions. Alstom has been the first company worldwide in 2018 to introduce a new regional train based on hydrogen fuel cells and batteries. Most recently, Alstom completed the acquisition of Helion Hydrogen Power. This promising, innovation-driven company, a 100% subsidiary of AREVA Energies Renouvelables, is specialised in high power fuel cells, thus complementing Alstom’s expertise in hydrogen technology.

“At Alstom, we are proud to be contributing to promoting the use of hydrogen as our aim is to position hydrogen as a strategic factor in the energy transition, as we are convinced it will bring about the change in road and rail transport – towards a clean and ultimately emission-free energy system,” says Mama Sougoufara, Managing Director, Alstom MENAT.

“The key advantage of the technology is that it is emissions-free when used to power a train (the only by-product is water) and is zero-emission throughout its full lifecycle if produced from renewable energy. The railway industry is already one of the cleanest sectors in the field of transport. As a dedicated and long-standing partner of the region’s transportation and mobility development, Alstom will continue to play an integral role in improving the environmental performance of rail across the region.”

Alstom acknowledges its responsibilities to further decarbonise mobility and thus is committed to accompany its clients in this major transition by offering efficient alternatives to diesel trains.

Through innovations in electric transport and hydrogen fuel, Alstom aims to shape the future of the region’s mass transit and mobility for the better. In doing so, it remains dedicated to significantly reducing emissions, minimising land use and carbon footprint, and decarbonising rail transport.

Nation’s First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Ferry to Launch in California

SWITCH Maritime is set to launch the Sea Change, a hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric ferry in the San Francisco Bay. The zero-emission vessel is designed to accommodate around 75 passengers.

August 27, 2021 •
Skip Descant
GOVTECH

The “Sea Change” is a hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric ferry which will soon undergo testing and deployment in the California Bay Area.
Submitted Photo: SWITCH Maritime

The nation’s first hydrogen fuel cell electric ferry is set to launch in the California Bay Area. SWITCH Maritime will launch the Sea Change in the San Francisco Bay for its initial testing and data collection phase before launching the new vessel into full ferry service.

The 75-passenger ferry is nearing manufacturing completion at a ship facility in Washington state, and will launch in the San Francisco region in the fall. From there, the ferry will undergo a three-month data collection and testing phase where the boat will operate in a number of different service profiles to test the fuel cell system in different modes and applications. The project was awarded a $3 million grant by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

“The objective of that is to make public this data, and for the state to understand a techno-economic analysis on the fuel cell system, and the viability of that to apply to other hovercraft and the like,” said Elias Van Sickle, director of commercial development and operations at SWITCH Maritime.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are powered by an electric motor. The technology involves mixing hydrogen — the most common element in the universe — with oxygen to create electricity. The electrification of the transportation sector has evolved primarily in the direction of storing energy in batteries, as is the case with numerous models of electric cars on the market. However, hydrogen fuel cell technology has been identified as a better fit for large vehicles, like maritime vessels, transit buses or even airplanes.

“You’ll see more of hydrogen playing a role in those heavy-duty applications. Because they’re really hard to decarbonize, these big energy requirements,” said Van Sickle.

“This vessel is electric. It has an electric motor, and the only question is where do those electrons come from?” Van Sickle pointed out. “They can come from a battery. They can come from a fuel cell, or they can come from a combination of both.”


A shorter route, with lower energy requirements and suitable charging opportunities, tends to serve battery-electric power fairly well, he added. Longer routes requiring faster speeds and extensive operational duration tend to be better served by hydrogen fuel cells.

“This boat is relatively small, still. But when you scale up to much bigger ships, you really run into some limitations in how much energy you can fit onboard a boat to make it go the distance that it needs to,” said Van Sickle.

The goal is to also demonstrate that the technology “is modular and scalable, and can power some of the larger types of vessels as well,” he added.

The ferry will be fueled from a delivery truck. The company has plans to establish its own infrastructure and supply chains to support more vessels as the company grows the fleet.

Organizations like the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) in the Bay Area — an operator of the San Francisco Bay Ferry service — are already exploring projects to develop waterside hydrogen refueling, said Thomas Hall, public information and marketing manager at WETA.

“We are currently studying shoreside infrastructure needs for zero-emission ferries and working with the California Air Resources Board to accelerate a move from diesel to zero-emission technology on our vessels,” said Hall.

“WETA is excited to learn more about this application of hydrogen fuel cells in a maritime setting as we work toward moving our fleet toward zero emissions,” he added.

There are about 1,000 passenger ferries in operation in the U.S., most powered by diesel engines. SWITCH would like to see hydrogen fuel cell technology continue to develop for these applications, as an alternative for when older ferries are retired.

“They’re all aging assets,” Van Sickle said of the older ferries. “And we have this window of opportunity where, rather than replacing those aging assets with more diesel-powered ferries for the next 30 years of pollution, we really want to accelerate that energy transition, and really make those go over to zero-carbon options.”


Skip Descant
Skip Descant writes about smart cities, the Internet of Things, transportation and other areas. He spent more than 12 years reporting for daily newspapers in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and California. He lives in downtown Sacramento.
SEE MORE STORIES BY SKIP DESCANT

Are hydrogen-powered aircraft about to take off?

Project Fresson aims to deliver the world’s first truly green passenger aircraft using hydrogen fuel cell technology. Image courtesy of CAeS.

Posted on 16 Aug 2021 by Jonny Williamson

COVID-19 wiped out 15 years of passenger air traffic growth almost overnight. As the world steadily returns to the skies, the sustainability of air travel is coming under greater scrutiny. With the search for alternative propulsion technologies heating up, could ‘green hydrogen’ represent the next oil revolution? Paul Perera certainly thinks so, and having led the hydrogen ambitions for both Rolls-Royce and GKN, he knows a thing or two about the subject. Jonny Williamson sat down with him to learn more.

You believe aircraft powered by hydrogen, either from direct combustion or via a fuel cell, represent significant growth opportunities for UK manufacturers. Why?

Paul Perera, Global Sustainable Technology Leader

Paul Perera: Many of the changes hydrogen brings to an aircraft relate to areas the UK leads in. For example, the wings will likely be different in design but will still form an integral part of the aerostructure.

This is good news as wings represent about 90% of aerostructure work for UK-based operations such as GKN and Spirit AeroSystems.

Within the fuselage, the fuel tank is the most complex, important structure and due to the extreme low temperature of liquid hydrogen, cryogenic tanks are the most likely option. These tanks are effectively large metallic pressure vessels and incredibly high value.

The UK is already working to establish a supply chain in order to deliver comparable vessels to the nuclear industry, a capability that has clear cross-sector transferability.

Hydrogen fuel tanks weigh more than traditional tanks and the fuselage is likely to be longer. This means that landing gear will need to be configured for heavier landing weights. Several prominent landing gear manufacturers have operations in the UK, including Safran and Messier-Dowty.

The fuselage is going to change the most, from a pure manufacturing perspective. This represents a big opportunity as UK industry isn’t that deeply involved in fuselage production currently.

Of equal, if not greater, interest is the opportunity to move into lucrative new markets by leveraging existing domestic capability. For example, we know that hydrogen is a viable means for taxiing aircraft around an airport.

Converting diesel or auxiliary power units to hydrogen fuel cells could see UK-based manufacturers taking a slice of business from the likes of Honeywell or Lycoming in the US.



The Gigastack project, led by ITM Power, Ørsted, Phillips 66 Limited and Element Energy, will use renewable hydrogen to support the UK’s net zero by 2050 target Image courtesy of ITM POWER.

Small manufacturers account for the majority of the aerospace supply chain. What should they be doing to exploit these opportunities?

There are three key elements here. ONE – become familiar with the changes hydrogen brings to an aircraft, identify your key strengths and understand what you are doing today that has relevance to the future.

TWO – focus on the opportunities not the threats. If I was a pump or valve manufacturer, I’d be looking closely at how cryogenic pumps and valves are produced. If I was making electric motors, I’d be delighted to see the potential for more applications.

If I was involved in gas turbines, the temperature of combustion may rise but most components will remain the same. We may see a decline in long range and wide body aircraft, but that may be offset by a rise in short-haul or regional jets.

You should also be exploring transferability into sectors beyond aerospace. Hydrogen has applications in marine, automotive, rail, public transport and heating, and there’s work currently underway to make those applications a reality.

THREE – What will be vital is producing these parts cost-effectively and at scale. Embracing Industry 4.0 technologies, particularly advanced automation, will be key if the UK is to compete with the likes of China on the world stage.



Three concept aircraft are enabling Airbus to explore a variety of configurations and hydrogen technologies that could shape the development of future zero-emission aircraft. Image courtesy of Airbus.

Where is this push for hydrogen aircraft coming from, wasn’t it tried before and failed?

It was, and it failed because the infrastructure didn’t exist and there wasn’t enough investment to create it. Plans were subsequently shelved and attention turned elsewhere. Increasing environmental awareness and growing concerns over climate change has focused the world’s attention on more sustainable means of travel, among other transformations.

The pandemic has certainly brought an acceleration of investment in infrastructure. In July 2020, the European Commission presented its EU Hydrogen Strategy with the aim of installing 6 GW of renewable hydrogen electrolysers and producing up to 1 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2024. It then intends to scale this to 40 GW of renewable hydrogen electrolysers and 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030.

The Commission has also initiated its Clean Aviation programme, which hints at two different demonstrations of hydrogen-powered aircraft.

On a national level, the French government is providing €1.5bn in support of Airbus’ plan to develop commerciallyviable zero emissions aircraft, which includes research to develop the use of hydrogen for fuel.

The likes of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos are investing tens of millions of dollars into producing cheap green hydrogen through their foundations. There is also a boom happening around sustainability-driven venture capital money, more generally.

Momentum around hydrogen looks to be accelerating year on year. The need is clear, technology solutions have reached a high enough level of maturity and investment capital is available.

Surely hydrogen alone isn’t a panacea for air travel to continue as it has done?

Hydrogen probably isn’t suitable for long-haul aircraft because every nautical mile travelled means additional fuel weight. Though hydrogen provides more energy than kerosene, it doesn’t have as high a volumetric density. Storing sufficient hydrogen fuel for long-haul travel currently remains a challenge.

Ultimately, though, the change may be driven by individuals rather than manufacturers. Should we revert to travelling in shorter hops rather than one long, single journey? The question then becomes, are we happy to accommodate a few additional hours of flight time and airport transfers? Are we willing to sacrifice convenience for climate change?



Airbus is working to deliver the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft by 2035, with hydrogen propulsion helping
deliver on this ambition. Image courtesy of Airbus.

The UK aerospace industry is one of the best in the world. Is enough being done to maintain this position should a shift to hydrogen occur?

We’re certainly late to the table in terms of infrastructure investment. That being said, there are multiple activities underway nationwide.

Examples include the Hydrogen to Humber Saltend [H2H Saltend] project, which is building one of the world’s first atscale facilities to produce hydrogen from natural gas.

Project Fresson, led by Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, is working to develop hydrogen fuel cell-powered aircraft with wing-mounted fuel tanks. The first flight is planned for 2022 and entry into service by 2024, Loganair intends to use them for flights in and around the Orkney Islands.

Indeed, Kirkwall Airport on the Orkney Islands is running a green hydrogen project to decarbonise its heat and power.

Brexit actually provides the UK with the ability to own this space over and above the US certainly, and Europe to some degree. Being out of European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) control offers the UK the opportunity to define a standard for hydrogen. In doing so, we would remove one of the biggest impediments to progress.


So far, we’ve discussed hydrogen as a fuel source. What are your thoughts on sourcing it in the first place?

Hydrogen is abundantly available because producing it is just a case of using electricity to split water (H20) into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2), a process called electrolysis.

I say ‘just’, electrolysis is the most energy intensive part of the process. Renewable energy sources, however, are doing much to bring energy cost down; as well as being better for the environment compared to traditional forms of electricity production.

The UAE is using readily accessible and cheap solar power to produce green hydrogen on tap. Given the UK’s growth and expertise in offshore and onshore wind power, that thinking could certainly be replicated here.

The UK has the potential to generate the cheapest green hydrogen in Europe. This potential is attracting significant investment, from ITM Power’s new gigafactory in Sheffield and Ørsted’s development of the world’s largest offshore wind farm in Yorkshire, to the National Centre for Propulsion and Power at the University of Cambridge’s Whittle Laboratory, which is due to open in 2023.



In May 2021, the first turbine at what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm was installed at Hornsea Two, 50 miles off the Yorkshire coast. Image courtyes of ØRSTED.

If the UK truly wants to ‘build back better’ and greener, however, we must think beyond aircraft. There’s an opportunity here for hydrogen to potentially fuel every form of airport transport.

Could Heathrow become a net zero hydrogen-powered hub for buses, trains, aircraft, even for combined heating and power? In doing so, you build an economy around the airfield which would create jobs and pull in further investment and development.

What’s stopping us from doing exactly that?

Clarity. We should have had a hydrogen strategy off the back of the government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution back in January. Publication of that strategy was delayed to March, then to June and it’s now expected towards the end of July.

If there was a policy that said the UK was heading towards this fuel in this timeline, like we’re doing with diesel vehicles, then the money would follow. But today, with competing options on the table, investing money is akin to playing roulette.

A lack of relevant skills is also challenging. Graduates with experience in hydrogen, cryogenics and fuel cells are in short supply and are increasingly lured overseas to better funded research posts or better paid jobs.

We must work harder to retain these individuals. VentilatorChallengeUK was so successful because we quickly recognised what was happening, we identified the solution, we assembled the right team and then activated them in a way that had never been done before. We need to apply the exact same ethos to sustainable aviation.


The recently-opened Sheffield Gigafactory is home to a high capacity, semi-automated electrolyser manufacturing facility and a Hydrogen Academy to train apprentices and local engineers. Image courtyes of ITM POWER.

Having been heavily involved in VentilatorChallengeUK and its success, what lessons do you think can be applied here?

Start now or risk losing out to others. Recognise that this is going to happen much faster than you believe it will. VentilatorChallengeUK needed to produce 30,000 units, which seemed an impossible number to reach. Yet, we delivered almost half that, 13,500, in just 12 weeks.

Collaboration is vital. Don’t put boundaries around your organisation and think that you’re in isolation. There are always those doing something that would be possibly complimentary or help accelerate your opportunity to find a solution. Get out there and find those partner companies, universities, start-ups, whoever it might be.
Among other projects, Paul is currently involved in.

World-first hydrogen helicopter to certify plug-and-play H2 powerplant
By Loz Blain
August 25, 2021

Piasecki's PA-890 slowed-rotor compound helicopter is targeted for certification and commercial production by 2025 – a fuel cell-powered version aims to be the world's first manned hydrogen helicopter

Hydrogen fuel cell innovator HyPoint has teamed up with Piasecki Aircraft on a headline project to build the world's first manned hydrogen helicopter – but in the process, they plan to develop and certify a H2 system that can be integrated into any eVTOL aircraft, radically boosting its range capability.


The two companies have raised an initial US$6.5 million toward what could genuinely be a revolutionary powertrain for electric aircraft; a fully FAA-certified hydrogen system would instantly allow electric aircraft to carry several times more energy on board, vastly boosting flight endurance while also enabling fast refueling instead of slow charging.

HyPoint claims its "turbo air-cooled" fuel cell system" will be able to achieve up to 2,000 watts per kilogram (2.2 lb) of specific power, which is more than triple the power-to-weight ratio of traditional (liquid-cooled) hydrogen fuel cells systems. It will also boast up to 1,500 watt-hours per kilogram of energy density, enabling longer-distance journeys." For comparison, today's commercially available lithium battery packs rarely break the 300-Wh/kg mark.

HyPoint says its lightweight fuel cell system has already been validated in bench-testing of lab prototypes, and that it's capable of generating enough continuous power to handle the energy-hungry demands of vertical takeoff and landing without the need for a heavy buffer battery.


The initial agreement is a plan for five 650-kW hydrogen fuel cell systems, which will be integrated into Piasecki's PA-890 electric compound helicopter. This is a pretty wild design in its own right; an electric slowed-rotor five-seater with wide wings for efficient cruise and a tail rotor that tilts backward in forward flight to become a pusher prop. Oh, and the wings tilt 90 degrees upward to get out of the main rotor's way on takeoff and landing.

The PA-890 has large, tilting wings for efficient forward flight with a slowed top rotor, and a tail rotor that tilts backward to become a pusher prop in forward flight
Piasecki Aircraft

The PA-890 has been designed to meet existing FAA Part 27 standards for commercial certification, and Piasecki is already in discussions with the FAA to outline certification criteria. The hydrogen powertrain will add an extra wrinkle; the FAA has granted experimental certification to several fuel cell aircraft, but to the best of our knowledge nobody's fully type-certified a hydrogen aircraft for commercial use yet.


But whoever gets it done will be able to go around eVTOL companies offering a relatively simple, pre-approved, risk-sharing pathway to a massive boost in range and endurance – one that may look very attractive to many air taxi operators.

If urban air mobility takes off the way the eVTOL industry hopes, these things will be flying in and out of vertiports like taxis at a taxi rank. Now imagine the size of your taxi rank is limited to the top floor of a multi-story urban car park – maybe you've got enough room for four to eight landing pads. Now imagine the cabs need to plug in and charge for half an hour every time they land.

It's a nightmare; battery-powered eVTOLs may not have the endurance to hover, twiddle their thumbs and wait until a space clears out. And every minute these things sit on the ground is money lost in peak hour. A long-range, fast-fueling hydrogen system could be a game-changer in this scenario.

Piasecki has partnered with HyPoint to develop, certify and productize a 650-kW hydrogen fuel system for electric aircraft
Piasecki Aircraft

“We are laser-focused on the development and qualification of a 650-kW system for our PA-890 eVTOL Compound Helicopter, which would be the world’s first manned hydrogen-powered helicopter," says John Piasecki, President and CEO of Piasecki Aircraft. "Success will pave the way for collaboration with other eVTOL OEMs with different platform sizes to ensure broad application of this technology."

“Initial lab testing funded by Piasecki last winter demonstrated the technical viability of HyPoint’s hydrogen fuel cell system," he continues. "While we are benchmarking HyPoint’s technology against alternatives and continue to rigorously test and validate findings, we are very optimistic. Our objective is to develop full-scale systems within two years to support on-aircraft certification testing in 2024 and fulfill existing customer orders for up to 325 units starting in 2025.”

Radically New Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology to Transform Aviation, Backed by USAF
Home > News > Aviation
29 Aug 2021, 06:02 UTC ·
by Otilia Drăgan 

As exciting as green air mobility sounds, it’s largely dependent on the development of battery and hydrogen fuel cell technology. Without the continuous improvement of these technologies, innovative types of aircraft, such as vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (VTOLs), won’t be able to operate on a large scale.
 6 photos


According to research cited by HyPoint, a company that’s developing hydrogen fuel cell systems for aeronautics, the global hydrogen aircraft market is estimated to grow rapidly within the next decades, getting from $27 billion in 2030 to $174 billion by 2040. On the other hand, studies also show that the eVTOL market is growing just as fast, so it makes sense to predict that developing hydrogen fuel cells for eVTOLs is becoming increasingly important.

HyPoint has just taken an important step in this direction, by partnering with Piasecki Aircraft Corporation, a rotorcraft and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) platforms manufacturer, for the development of a certified hydrogen fuel cell system for eVTOLs. The $6.5 million agreement is focused on Piasecki’s PA-890 compound helicopter, which is set to become the world’s first hydrogen-powered manned helicopter.

HyPoint claims that its hydrogen system is revolutionary in terms of performance, providing four times more energy density than lithium-ion batteries on the market, and twice as much power as the current hydrogen systems that are available, while also cutting in half direct operating costs for turbine-powered rotorcraft.

This innovative fuel cell system was proven to deliver up to 2,000 watts per kilogram of specific power (three times more than liquid-cooled hydrogen), and an energy density of up to 1,500 watt-hours per kilogram, for a major increase in range.

Under this recent agreement with Piasecki, HyPoint will develop five 650kW hydrogen fuel cell systems for the PA-890 eVTOL. HyPoint will continue to own its hydrogen fuel cell technology, with Piasecki gaining exclusive license to it. However, the bigger goal is to eventually make this technology available to the entire eVTOL market, as a customizable solution.

The innovative approach of these two players in the aviation industry has already been recognized, which shows that they could be indeed headed towards a breakthrough. HyPoint won NASA’s iTech Initiative for its aviation applications, while Piasecki is working with the U.S. Air Force, through the AFWERX STTR/SBIR program that’s helping small companies commercialize groundbreaking technologies.

The two companies plan to develop the full-scale system within the next two years, and begin order deliveries by 2025.

H2 TRANSPORTATION LOGISTICS

Great Wall Motor delivers 100 hydrogen trucks in China


© FTXT Energy Technology

By Molly Burgesson Aug 23, 2021
 AVL List GmbH - Official Sponsors of H2 View's Mobility Content

A fleet of 100 hydrogen-powered trucks have been delivered for the Xiong’an New Area construction project in Hebei Province, China.

FTXT Energy Technology, a subsidiary of Great Wall Motor (GWM), along with partners Dayun, Dongfeng and Foton, today (August 23) handed over the fleet to help promote a green hydrogen transportation network nationwide.

Each of the trucks are fitted with 111kW hydrogen fuel cell engines, hydrogen stacks and hydrogen storage – all of which was boasted when the vehicles were unveiled the Great Wall Technology Centre.

Once operational the trucks will be refuelled at ten already developed service stations that are fitted with hydrogen stations.

It’s not just how green the vehicles are that is a bonus, however, the vehicles are thought to be approximately 28% cheaper than its diesel alternatives due to them featuring locally sourced components.

As H2 View heard earlier this year during an exclusive interview, GWM will roll out its first hydrogen-powered SUV this year, and deploy its hydrogen-powered cars during the Winter Olympics in China next year.


On this, Zhang Tianyu, Head of FTXT Energy, said “The technological breakthroughs we have achieved till now, in many ways have helped us to significantly reduce the costs of the final product, as well as ensure high performance, durability, and overall efficiency.”

Great Wall Motor wants to be among the top three hydrogen powertrain suppliers by 2025


© Great Wall Motor

Great Wall Motor (GWM) wants to become a major hydrogen fuel cell vehicle manufacturer globally. The Chinese automaker is planning to launch the world’s first hydrogen-powered sport utility vehicle and produce 100 hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks in 2021 – and it’s exactly these medium and large passenger vehicles where GWM sees the most potential for hydrogen fuel cell technology.

“It will be quite difficult for them [battery electric vehicles] to effectively tackle medium and heavy-duty commercial applications in the medium and long-term, and this is where hydrogen has its strong potential as a clean energy carrier,” Will Zhang, Chairman of FTXT Energy, GWM’s hydrogen subsidiary, told H2 View.

GWM, the first Chinese Hydrogen Council member, has already invested ¥2bn ($309m) in hydrogen product and business development, and intends to invest another ¥3bn ($463.6m) over the next three years. By 2025, GWM is aiming to be among the top three hydrogen powertrain suppliers in the world.

“Our intent to invest substantial amount of resources in the development of the hydrogen business vests on our belief that hydrogen energy will indeed occupy a significant share in certain application niches,” Zhang continued.

Continue reading here.

Hyzon Motors has begun shipping hydrogen fuel cell trucks to customers

Aria Alamalhodaei@breadfrom / August 11, 221

Image Credits: Hyzon Motors(opens in a new window)

Hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck company Hyzon Motors said Wednesday it is ramping up operations in the wake of its merger with blank-check firm Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corp., including shipping its first trucks to European customers.

The company, which reported second-quarter earnings Wednesday, said it is also preparing to start its first customer trials in the United States.

Like other transportation companies that have gone public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition fund, Hyzon doesn’t yet have any revenue to speak of. Instead, Hyzon is banking on the huge injection of capital from the transaction — more than $500 million — and growing customer orders to take it to positive cash flow.

As of now, the company reported a net loss for the quarter of $9.4 million, including $3.5 million in R&D expenses. It had a negative adjusted EBITDA of $9.1 million. The company has $517 million in cash on hand, enough to reach free cash flow by 2024 without having to sell additional equity, Hyzon CFO Mark Gordon said during a second-quarter earnings call.

In addition to manufacturing hydrogen fuel cell powertrains, Hyzon is also investing in hydrogen fuel production hubs, a key piece of infrastructure for technology uptake. In April, the company signed an MOU for a joint venture with renewable fuels company Raven SR for up to 100 hydrogen production hubs. Gordon confirmed the first two will be in the Bay Area.

He also said that the company is on track to deliver 85 fuel cell vehicles by the end of this year, with the company’s first revenue coming next quarter. Orders and memoranda of understanding under contract has grown to $83 million from $55 million as of April, but many of the MOUs are non-binding. An agreement with Austrian grocer MRPEIS for 70 trucks next year is one such example. Similarly, Hyzon faces a slightly uphill battle in terms of technological adoption, as many of their customers have never seen or used a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle.

“Many customers are getting their hands on the first fuel cell vehicles they’ve ever seen in the next six to 12 months,” CEO Craig Knight said during the call. That is a genuine kind of technology validation process and the customers need to feel comfortable the vehicles function well in their use case.”

While many of Hyzon’s sales are for a small number of trucks, Knight said he sees the purchasing timeline from initial sale to fleet conversion growing shorter — at least in Europe, where there is significantly more hydrogen availability. “Whereas, earlier I would have said, it’s a 12-to-18 month process to go from getting your first fuel cell truck and trying it out and then maybe getting a few more and figuring out what fleet conversion would look like over time, and then kicking off that fleet conversion process — I actually think that’s compressing,” Knight said.

The company is focused mostly on back-to-base operations rather than long-haul freight haulage, as the latter requires a more extensively built-out hydrogen refueling network. The U.S. customer trial with logistics company Total Transport Services Inc. is a high-utilization (trucks can run up to 18-20 hours per day) use case, but the truck will only ever need to access the single refueling station in Wilmington, California. “It’s a good application for hydrogen, and we’re not introducing the complication of having to find hydrogen stations across the country,” Knight said.

NFI receives its first order for ADL's H2.0 second-generation hydrogen bus with an order for 20 double deck buses from Liverpool City Region

Author of the article:

Publishing date:

Aug 27, 2021  •  

Article content

LARBERT, Scotland, Aug. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — (TSX: NFI, OTC: NFYEF) NFI Group Inc. (“NFI” or the “Company”), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in mobility solutions, today announced that NFI subsidiary Alexander Dennis Limited (“ADL”) has been selected by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority as supplier for 20 zero-emission hydrogen double deck buses following a competitive tendering process. This is the first order for ADL’s H2.0 second-generation hydrogen double deck bus, or ADL Enviro400FCEV.

The 20 ADL Enviro400FCEV buses are being directly purchased through the Liverpool City Region’s Transforming Cities Fund and will be owned by the people of the City Region. The buses will initially serve the City Region’s busiest route, the 10A between St Helens and Liverpool city centre.

The Enviro400FCEV has been developed on the next-generation H2.0 platform and will be powered by a Ballard fuel cell power module through the efficient Voith Electrical Drive System. With hydrogen tanks and key components intelligently packaged by the engineers that developed the market’s widest range of clean buses, the integral vehicle perfectly balances weight and maximises saloon space.

The hydrogen bus project is a key part of Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram’s ‘Vision for Bus’, which commits to using the powers available through devolution to build a better, more reliable and affordable bus network for the City Region. Broader plans also include the building of hydrogen refuelling facilities, which will be the first of their kind in the North West, due to begin later in the year.

With the Metro Mayor having set a target for the Liverpool City Region to become net zero carbon by 2040 at the latest – at least a decade before national targets – the hydrogen buses will be an important addition to the region’s existing fleet, which is already more than 70% low emissions.

“82% of all journeys on public transport in our region are taken by bus and this new fleet will give people a clean, green and comfortable way to get about. Reforming our bus network is a massive part of my plan for an integrated London-style transport network that makes traveling around our region quick, cheap and reliable,” said Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region. “We want to be doing our bit to tackle climate change and improve air quality across the region too. These buses will be a really important part of making that happen. Alongside the hydrogen refuelling facilities we’re building and some of the other exciting green projects we’re investing in, our region is leading the Green Industrial Revolution.”

“It is an honour to support the Liverpool City Region’s ‘Vision for Bus’ program and its evolution to net zero carbon,” said Paul Soubry, President & Chief Executive Officer, NFI. “NFI and ADL have a history of innovation, and the next generation H2.0 is a showcase of our continued focus on developing the world’s best buses that incorporate clean, connected technology to drive sustainable transportation.”

“With its investment in this new fleet of hydrogen buses, the Combined Authority has chosen the latest in clean technology for the Liverpool City Region. We are delighted they have put their confidence in ADL to deliver their green agenda,” said Paul Davies, ADL President & Managing Director. “Our next generation H2.0 platform builds on 25 years of experience in hydrogen fuel cell technology. Designed and built in Britain, these buses will help to secure skilled jobs and apprenticeships across the bus manufacturing industry which is hugely important as we continue the decarbonisation journey.”

NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 80 cities in five countries. Today, NFI supports growing North American cities with scalable, clean, and sustainable mobility solutions through a four-pillar approach that includes buses and coaches, technology, infrastructure, and workforce development. It also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (“VIC”), the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology and providing workforce development. Since opening late 2017, the VIC has hosted over 300 interactive events, welcoming 3,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training. For more information, visit newflyer.com/VIC.

About NFI

Leveraging 450 years of combined experience, NFI is leading the electrification of mass mobility around the world. With zero-emission buses and coaches, infrastructure, and technology, NFI meets today’s urban demands for scalable smart mobility solutions. Together, NFI is enabling more livable cities through connected, clean, and sustainable transportation.

With 8,000 team members in nine countries, NFI is a leading global bus manufacturer of mass mobility solutions under the brands New Flyer^® (heavy-duty transit buses), MCI^® (motor coaches), Alexander Dennis Limited (single and double-deck buses), Plaxton (motor coaches), ARBOC^® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty buses), and NFI Parts™. NFI currently offers the widest range of sustainable drive systems available, including zero-emission electric (trolley, battery, and fuel cell), natural gas, electric hybrid, and clean diesel. In total, NFI supports its installed base of over 105,000 buses and coaches around the world. NFI common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI. News and information is available at www.nfigroup.com, www.newflyer.com, www.mcicoach.com, www.arbocsv.com, www.alexander-dennis.com, and www.nfi.parts.

About Alexander Dennis

Alexander Dennis Limited (“ADL”) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of double deck buses and is also the UK’s largest bus and coach manufacturer. ADL offers single and double deck vehicles under the brands of Alexander Dennis and Plaxton, and has over 31,000 vehicles in service in the UK, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada and the United States. Further information is available at www.alexander-dennis.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to expected future events and financial and operating results of NFI that involve risks and uncertainties. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, investors cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be material. Actual results may differ materially from management expectations as projected in such forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons, including market and general economic conditions and economic conditions of and funding availability for customers to purchase buses and to purchase parts or services, customers may not exercise options to purchase additional buses, the ability of customers to suspend or terminate contracts for convenience and the other risks and uncertainties discussed in the materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Due to the potential impact of these factors, NFI disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law.