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Fountaine Pajot will be the first shipyard to integrate hydrogen as an alternative energy solution on its catamarans. The French builder said that, as part of its Odyssea 2024 plan, it has chosen EODev’s hydrogen generator, REXH2, to power its Samana 59 sailing multihull. Equipped with the latest-generation Toyota fuel cells, the generator is designed to perform in harsh maritime environments.

Bill Elrick, Executive Director at California Fuel Cell Partnership, said, “Hydrogen has a unique role to play in the energy transition as a unifier of renewables and technologies like fuel cells. “Energy Observer is a real-world working laboratory and showcases some of hydrogen’s best attributes.”

The entire plan involves an investment of EUR 1.5 billion by 2025. It will enable ENGIE to reduce CO2 emissions by 80% from its energy production activities in Chile by 2026.

The first two stations will be constructed at existing TA-Petro locations in California and are targeted to be commercially operational by Q1 2023. These stations are expected to accelerate adoption of hydrogen fuel-cell-powered commercial electric trucks. Paired with the expected 500-mile range of the previously-announced Nikola Tre fuel-cell electric vehicle, the launch stations will enable operations of zero-emission heavy-duty commercial vehicles in and around the greater Los Angeles region and north through California’s Central Valley. The two hydrogen fueling stations under consideration for development by Nikola and TA-Petro will provide for an open fueling network available to any truck customer and will follow a common industry standard for heavy-duty fueling protocols, ensuring compatibility across all hydrogen fuel-cell truck manufacturers.

The research project, called “H2 SilverSTARS,” will produce renewable hydrogen to fuel SunLine’s fleet of 17 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses and support further expansion. The combination of new technologies will make it possible to provide renewable hydrogen made from RNG at natural gas fueling stations—or any location near a natural gas pipeline. The goal is to produce emissions-free renewable hydrogen for fuel cell electric cars and other vehicles at a price competitive with gasoline.

Portland-based NW Natural has been on the frontiers of this movement. The company has experimented with blends of hydrogen in pipelines, cooktops, water heaters and appliances. Then last October, the utility announced a partnership with Eugene Water & Electric Board to operate a 5-megawatt electrolyzer that will produce green hydrogen. Some of it then will be combined with carbon dioxide in a thermal process to create the chemical equivalent of natural gas. “We’re focused on getting as much low-cost renewable gas to our customers as possible,” said Chris Kroeker, emerging technology manager at NW Natural. “And we’re preparing for that future.”

The city of Beijing aims to have over 10,000 fuel cell vehicles on the road and build 74 hydrogen filling stations by 2025, as the Chinese capital maps out an ambitious plan to develop the low-carbon fuel, state media reported on Thursday.