On October 8, FCHEA, the fuel cell and hydrogen industry, its supporters, and friends celebrated the seventh annual National Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Day.

The date of October 8 (10/08) was chosen in recognition of the atomic weight of hydrogen (1.008). National Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Day provides a platform for a nation-wide campaign to raise broader awareness of fuel cell and hydrogen energy technologies.

This year's National Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Day received wide support from federal and state governments, and notable international events such as a celebration in Australia! Check out our posts on each government event or announcement below:

As always, FCHEA, its members, and supporting organizations celebrated National Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Day in a variety of ways. Here are some of the events and announcements from this year:

The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) is excited to announce our new Tier 1 member, Southern Company, and our new Tier 3 member, Monolith.

Southern Company is a leading energy company serving 9 million customers through its subsidiaries. Through industry-leading research, Southern Company is advancing solutions for a net-zero future, including the opportunity for clean hydrogen technologies to enable economywide decarbonization.

Monolith is the only company in the world using methane pyrolysis on a commercial scale to create clean hydrogen and high-value carbon black. Monolith's first commercial-scale facility is operating just outside of Hallam, Nebraska, and the company is actively scaling to meet global demand.

Click here to visit Southern Company's website and click here to visit Monolith's website.

On October 14, FCHEA member Air Products and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards jointly announced a new blue hydrogen production complex in Ascension Parish, Louisiana in Air Products' largest investment in the United States to date. The facility will cost $4.5 billion to construct and will provide over 750 million cubic feet of hydrogen per day, with carbon capture technology integrated at the facility, which is expected to be operational in 2026.

Click here for the full press release from Air Products and here for the press release from Governor Edwards.

On October 20, FCHEA member Plug Power and Governor Kathy Hochul announced the beginning of construction at Plug Power's new hydrogen production facility in Western New York. When completed, the facility will be the largest green hydrogen plant in North America producing 45 tons of liquid hydrogen per day.

Click here for the full press release from Governor Hochul.

On October 12, FCHEA members Air Liquide and Faurecia announced a joint agreement to develop on-board liquid hydrogen storage systems for heavy-duty vehicles. The companies will focus initially on long-haul applications where liquid hydrogen can double the amount stored compared to gaseous hydrogen.

Click here for the full press release from Air Liquide.

On October 14, FCHEA members PDC Machines and Nel Hydrogen announced the opening of a new hydrogen fueling station in Urbana, Illinois. This station will allow the refueling of two new fuel cell electric buses being operated by the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District, providing zero emission as the hydrogen will be produced using solar energy on site. Nel provided the electrolyzer for the site and PDC Machines provided the refueling station.

Click here for the release from PDC Machines and here for the release from Nel Hydrogen.

On October 14, Plug Power hosted its annual Symposium, this year titled "Here Comes Green Hydrogen", with several major announcements during the week. Click here to view the Symposium summary videos.

Plug Power unveiled a new hydrogen-powered HYVIA Renault Master Van prototype. The vans have a range of over 300 miles and should be commercially available in 2022. Click here for the full press release from Plug Power.

Plug Power signed an agreement with Phillips 66, an international refiner using hydrogen to manufacture fuels, to advance green hydrogen. The partners will integrate and advance clean hydrogen production and fueling technologies, while developing further infrastructure for the hydrogen value chain. Click here for the full press release.

Plug Power announced a joint venture with Fortescue Future Industries, an Australian advanced manufacturer, to construct a factory in Queensland, Australia. The facility will produce large-scale electrolyzers for Fortescue to use in decarbonizing its operations and provide to other companies in Australia. Click here for the full press release.

Plug Power has reached agreement to acquire Applied Cryo Technologies, a cryogenic gas storage and distribution provider. The acquisition expands Plug Power's capacity in liquid hydrogen delivery, storage, and vehicle fueling. Click here for the full press release.

Plug Power announced a joint study with international aviation manufacturer Airbus to research the feasibility of bringing green hydrogen to aircraft and airports. The project will include selecting a US airport to serve as a "Hydrogen Hub" pilot location, which will serve as a case study. Click here for the full press release.

On October 14, FCHEA member Nikola Motors announced a collaborative lease agreement with PGT Trucking, a flatbed transportation company, to provide 100 heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles. The delivery of these vehicles will begin in 2023 when production begins at Nikola's Arizona manufacturing facility.

Click here for the full press release from Nikola.

On September 29, FCHEA member Bloom Energy announced the commercial availability of its Hydrogen Energy Servers, modular hydrogen-powered fuel cells that deliver on-site, 24/7, zero-carbon electricity. Bloom announced that orders for this unit are being accepted with commercial shipments expected to begin in 2022.

Click here for the full press release from Bloom Energy.

On October 8, FCHEA member Electric Hydrogen announced an agreement with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to develop high performance electrolyzer components. The three year collaboration will diagnose sources of degradation in existing commercial cells and validate advanced designs.

Click here for the announcement from NREL.

Click here for the full press release from Plug Power.

On September 30, Nikola Corporation announced it had entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with OPAL Fuels LLC, a renewable natural gas and renewable fueling infrastructure company focused on heavy-duty truck fleets, to focus on the development, construction, and operation of hydrogen fueling stations in North America and the use of renewable natural gas (RNG) in hydrogen production. Under this strategic engagement, Nikola and OPAL Fuels intend to co-develop and co-market hydrogen refueling infrastructure to accelerate the adoption of heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles.

The collaboration will develop infrastructure required to more safely and reliably serve the needs of large private fleets that utilize their own dedicated property fueling infrastructure “Behind the Fence.” Nikola and OPAL Fuels will also identify and evaluate opportunities to establish public access hydrogen stations.

Click here for the full press release from Nikola Corporation.

On September 23, PDC Machines announced a massive expansion its existing 90,000 square feet of production space with an additional 148,000 square foot facility in Lower Salford, Pennsylvania. This new purpose-built facility will enable PDC Machines to scale production of its diaphragm compressors and other products, ramping up its production to thousands of units per year.

Click here for more details in gasworld magazine.

On September 29, at the IWCE21 in Las Vegas, Nevada, FCHEA member GenCell Energy launched its latest long-duration backup power solution, the GenCell Backup Operations eXtender (BOX)™, a 5 kW alkaline fuel cell system designed specifically to meet the challenging backup power requirements of telecom and critical communications operation.

Click here for the full press release from GenCell Energy.

On October 7, Nikola announced a strategic collaboration with TC Energy, an energy infrastructure company, to jointly develop, construct, and operate large-scale hydrogen production hubs across the United States and Canada. The companies aim to establish production of 150 tonnes of hydrogen per day to serve the heavy-duty trucking industries within five years.

Click here for the full press release from Nikola.

On September 29, FCHEA member Bosch announced a long-term partnership with Dana, a design and manufacturing company for mobility components, to mass produce metallic bipolar plates for fuel cell stacks. These components will be used to support fuel cell powertrains for commercial vehicle applications. The two companies plan to produce more than 100 million plates across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and North America through the partnership.

Click here for the full press release from Dana Corporation.

On October 7, Air Products announced that its liquid hydrogen production facility in La Porte, Texas is onstream and supplying customers. This facility draws on hydrogen supply already in Air Products' system and liquefies 30 tons of hydrogen daily for use by customers and the company's own fleet of distribution vehicles.

Click here for the full press release from Air Products.

On October 5, FCHEA member Ballard Power Systems announced that the company's proton exchange membrane technology has now powered fuel cell electric vehicles in commercial heavy- and medium-duty applications for a cumulative total of more than 100 million kilometers worldwide. This total has doubled in less than twelve months as the company's technology powers approximately 3,500 buses and trucks around the globe.

Click here for the full press release from Ballard Power Systems.

On October 8, Nikola announced the Hydrogen Heavy Duty Vehicle Industry Group of industry leaders had signed multiple agreements aiming to standardize and industrialize fuel hardware components for heavy-duty trucks. The agreements, with two equipment manufacturers, will cover fueling hoses, vehicle fuel receptacles, and dispenser nozzles and breakaway components.

Click here for the full press release from Nikola.

On October 7, FCHEA member Clean Energy Fuels announced that the company had been awarded a contract to construct a hydrogen bus station for Foothill Transit, a bus service in Southern California. The station will support twenty fuel cell buses that the service has ordered, with capacity to grow in the future, and will be located in Pomona, California.

Click here for the full press release from Clean Energy Fuels.

On September 17, Supermicro announced the opening of its new command center in San Jose, California, that will be powered by Bloom Energy fuel cell systems.

The new construction at Supermicro’s Green Computing Park is over 200,000 square feet in size and will include two megawatts (MW) of fuel cell power from Bloom Energy. Supermicro has previously installed 3 MW of Bloom servers at its Automated Rack Integration Facility in 2018 and 1 MW at its Server and Storage Manufacturing Facilities in 2017.

Click here for the full press release from Supermicro.

On October 13, FCHEA member Intelligent Energy announced it had been awarded a grant with its partner BWR Innovations from the North Dakota Industrial Commission. This grant will fund the installation of Intelligent Energy's fuel cells to provide green electricity, when needed, from hydrogen produced from surplus wind and solar generation.

Click here for the full press release from Intelligent Energy.

On October 6, FCHEA member Hexagon Purus announced an order for hydrogen fuel-cell yard trucks from a North American customer. The order for port vehicles is valued at ~$2.1 million.

Click here for the full press release from Hexagon.

On September 30, FCHEA member BayoTech announced a multiyear strategic framework agreement with industrial software and technology company Emerson.

Emerson will deliver advanced automation technologies, software and products to enable BayoTech to build hundreds of hydrogen units that will be placed in BayoGaaS™ hydrogen hubs and at customer sites throughout the United States and other global locations. From the hubs, locally produced hydrogen will be distributed to nearby consumers via BayoTech high-pressure gas transport and storage equipment.

Click here for the full press release from BayoTech.

On October 7, the Department of Energy announced $20 million in funding for a project to demonstrate technology for production of clean hydrogen energy from nuclear power. The project, based at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Phoenix, Arizona, willl provide insights about integrating nuclear energy and hydrogen production to inform future clean hydrogen projects.

Click here for the full announcement from the Department of Energy.

On October 6, the Department of Energy announced nine cooperative projects totaling nearly $8 million in funding that complement existing H2@Scale efforts. These projects are collaborations between national laboratory facilities and other researchers to test key hydrogen systems and safety components and provide real-world data.

Click here for the full announcement from the Department of Energy.

On October 19, FCHEA members Hyundai and Air Products announced a joint agreement to speed up the development of a liquefied hydrogen supply chain. The companies aim to establish a supply network for hydrogen shipping, alongside joint projects to build new production facilities.

Click here for more information from the Korea Herald.

On September 29, FCHEA member ZeroAvia hosted the the UK Department for Transport’s Aviation Minister at its Cotswold Airport site in Kemble, Gloucestershire. During the visit, ZeroAvia learned it was awarded a new transport research and innovation grant as part of the the Zero Emission Flight Infrastructure (ZEFI) program. ZEFI will be managed by the Connected Places Catapult and funded by the Department for Transport.

ZeroAvia’s ZEFI project, LHARE, is a concept study for liquid hydrogen mobile refuellng vehicles. The company’s R&D roadmap is targeting 50-90 seat aircraft with a range in excess of 1,000 nautical miles by 2026. ZeroAvia discussed how this will require a move to liquid hydrogen fuel for more efficient storage. The Government’s FlyZero program identifies liquid hydrogen as the fuel of the future in its first output document.

Click here for the full press release from ZeroAvia.

On October 1, Air Liquide, energy company TotalEnergies, and construction company Vinci announced the launch of a new clean hydrogen infrastructure fund. The companies announced that this is the world's largest fund developed exclusively for clean hydrogen infrastructure, with a goal to reach 1.5 billion euros. The companies announced initial commitments to date of 800 million euros. The fund is intended to invest across the renewable and low carbon hydrogen value chain, with a focus on the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Click here for the full press release from Air Liquide.

On October 7, Hyundai Mobis announced two new hydrogen fuel cell manufacturing plants under construction in South Korea. The company will invest $1.09 billion in the two facilities, located in Ulsan and Incheon, South Korea, with production of 100,000 fuel cells annually between the plants upon completion in 2023.

Click here for the full article from The Korea Herald.

On September 23, FCHEA member Cummins announced that it had received an award from the UK government for its hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine (H2-ICE) program to begin development of a medium-duty 6.7-liter and a heavy-duty 15-liter engine.

Cummins' 6.7-liter hydrogen engine will be for medium-duty truck, buses, and construction applications, such as excavators and wheel loaders, and the new 15-liter platform for heavy duty long-haul trucks.

Click here for full press release from Cummins.

On October 20, FCHEA member BMW announced an agreement with H2 Green Steel, a Swedish manufacturer, to utilize fossil-free steel produced using hydrogen by 2025. This partnership will reduce lifecycle emissions for BMW's vehicles and includes recycling waste steel from the automotive manufacturing process.

Click here for more information from edie.

On October 6, Plug Power announced the formation of a joint venture with SK E&S, a South Korean company, to accelerate the use of hydrogen in Asian markets. The two companies plan to provide fuel cell systems, hydrogen fueling stations, electrolyzers, and hydrogen to those markets, including the construction of a factory in South Korea by 2024.

Click here for the full press release from Plug Power.

On October 20, Air Liquide announced that it would be increasing its stake and accelerating its project building a large-scale electrolyzer in Port-Jerome, France. The company aims for an electrolyzer of at least 200 megawatts that will produce hydrogen for use across the company's pipeline network in the region of Normandy.

Click here for the full release from Air Liquide.

On October 21, Plug Power announced a joint partnership with HevenDrones, an Israeli drone manufacturer, to develop and commercialize fuel cell drone platforms with heavy-lift capabilities. The companies aim to produce varying-sized drones that are capable of extended flight time while porting different weights and loads.

Click here for the full press release from HevenDrones.

On October 12, Ballard Power Systems announced that it would be supplying 8 fuel cell modules to Talgo, a Spanish light-rail manufacturer. The fuel cells will be used initially in trials for the Vittal-One commuter and regional passenger train in 2022, with the trains planned for operations in 2023.

Click here for the full press release from Ballard Power Systems.

On September 24, Nel Hydrogen announced it had received a purchase order from SGN (previously known as Scotia Gas Networks), a UK gas distribution company, for a 5 MW alkaline water electrolyzer that will be part of the H100 Fife project in Levenmouth, Scotland.

H100 Fife is the first ever 100% hydrogen network of scale supplying green hydrogen from electrolysis to customers for the purposes of heating and cooking. The electrolyzer will be powered by a nearby offshore wind turbine and grid electricity and the newly built hydrogen gas distribution network will supply up to 300 households initially. The project has been sized to expand capacity to supply up to 900 homes as part of the planned future expansion of the H100 Fife project.

Click here for the full press release from Nel Hydrogen.

On October 13, FCHEA member Monolith Materials announced a memorandum of understanding with SK Group, a South Korean manufacturing conglomerate, to produce hydrogen in South Korea. The companies will collaborate to construct and operate a facility using Monolith's process to produce clean hydrogen from natural gas.

Click here for the full press release from Monolith Materials.

On October 14, FCHEA member Technip Energies announced it had been awarded a contract for a hydrogen generation project in Vindhyachal, India. The contract will cover the delivery of a 5 megawatt hydrogen electrolyzer that will be used in combination with other technologies to produce green methanol.

Click here for the full press release from Technip Energies.

On October 20, FCHEA member Advent Technologies announced the first successful installation of its fuel cell systems in the Philippines, with partner Smart Communications. The fuel cells are used in the telecom sector to provide sustainable power on rooftops and in challenged-grid areas for IT infrastructure.

Click here for the full press release from Advent Technologies.

On October 18, Ballard Power Systems announced a partnership with Forsee Power, a French battery system manufacturer. The companies will develop an integrated fuel cell and battery solution targeted at medium and heavy-duty hydrogen mobility sectors, including buses, trucks, rail transit, and marine activities.

Click here for the full press release from Ballard Power Systems.

On October 14, FCHEA member Ionomr was announced as one of the winning companies in the first edition of the Molymet Rhenium Challenge. The challenge was to incorporate the element rhenium into novel catalyst formulations for hydrogen production. Ionomr won in the category "Most Efficient and Cost-Effective Green Hydrogen Production by Alkaline AEM Electrolysis" and will receive a $20,000 prize.

Click here for the announcement from the Molymet Rhenium Challenge.

On October 18, Hexagon Purus announced that it had agreed to join the ZeroCoaster project study of hydrogen cargo shipping in Norway. The study combines a number of companies with the aim of establishing zero emission maritime applications.

Click here for the full press release from Hexagon Purus.

On October 7, Ballard Power Systems announced that the company had begun construction on a multi-megawatt-scale, baseline hydrogen power plant in French Guiana. The plant, developed in partnership with a French renewable power producer, will utilize two 1.5 megawatt fuel cells to produce electricity from stored green hydrogen and will be capable of powering 10,000 households when complete.

Click here for the full press release from Ballard Power Systems.

Hexagon Purus Acquires Wystrach GmbH 

On September 30, Hexagon Purus ASA announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of Wystrach GmbH, a leading European systems and solutions provider for storage and transport of compressed gases. Wystrach specializes in the design, manufacturing and assembly of hydrogen systems including steel system structures and high-pressure piping.

Hexagon and Wystrach have been partners since 2008, and this acquisition complements Hexagon’s capabilities and increases scale, organizational bandwidth and system manufacturing and assembly of the company’s hydrogen storage solutions.

Click here for the full press release from Hexagon Purus.

On September 20, FCHEA member Next Hydrogen Solutions Inc. announced the opening of its new electrolyzer assembly facility in Mississauga, Ontario.

The new 27,000 square foot facility will provide initial capacity for 20 MW of annual product assembly, as well as testing, product development and engineering, which can be significantly expanded as needed for company growth.

Click here for the full press release from Next Hydrogen.

On September 28, Nel Hydrogen announced it had received a purchase order from the Community of cities “Touraine Vallée de l’Indre" for one H2Station™ hydrogen fueling station to be used for light- and heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles in region of Tours, France.

The station is partly funded by the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking in the COSMHYC-DEMO project and is scheduled to be operational by the third quarter of 2022.

On September 30, Nel announced it had received another purchase order for a H2Station™ from MaserFrakt AB to be used for a fleet of heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles in Borlänge, Sweden.

Click here and here for the full press releases from Nel Hydrogen.

On October 7, Advent Technologies announced an order for its 5 kilowatt fuel cells for use in the Asian telecom market. The initial order will be used to support internal testing setups to evaluate performance in backup power and microgrid scenarios in Thailand.

Click here for the full press release from Advent Technologies.

On September 21, Technip Energies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), a subsidiary of National Marine Dredging company, to advance the energy transition in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The strategic partnership will focus on capturing opportunities in energy transition and on fostering the best engineering practices. It will also enhance cooperation in blue and green hydrogen and related decarbonization projects, CO2 capture in addition to industrial projects in the fields of waste-to-energy, biorefining, biochemistry, ammonia as well as other energy areas.

Click here for the full press release from Technip Energies.

On September 28, Intelligent Energy announced it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Powerzone H2 Technologies Pte Ltd, a manufacturer of power generator sets and provider of power-plant solutions based in Singapore.

As part of the MoU, Powerzone H2 will explore potential opportunities for hydrogen technologies in Southeast Asia, with particular focus on locations close to Powerzone H2’s facilities in Singapore and China.

Click here for the full press release from Intelligent Energy.

On October 1, FCHEA member PowerCell Sweden announced it had launched a new Transition Service business area to help customers transition to hydrogen-electric solutions. This Transition Services business will offer consultancy services, application projects, training, and turnkey solutions for its customers.

Click here for the full press release from PowerCell.

On September 18, FCHEA member Toyota Motor Corporation announced it was entering a hydrogen-powered Corolla at the five-hour-long Super Taikyu Series 2021 Powered by Hankook Round 5 Suzuka S-tai, which was held September 18-19, 2021.

For the vehicle, Toyota utilized two types of hydrogen: lignite-derived hydrogen transported from Australia, and renewable hydrogen produced by Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R) in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture. The Australian hydrogen was transported to the Suzuka Circuit by small fuel cell electric trucks, while the FH2R hydrogen was transported by a Toyota truck powered by bio-fuel.

Click here for the full press release from Toyota.

The industry-leading event for exploring the adoption, advances, and potential of hydrogen aviation. A forum for discussion to drive consensus and rapid deployment of the only long-term, scalable, solution to effectively decarbonize the aviation industry.

Senior figures from the full spectrum of aerospace and hydrogen industries, finance, regulators, and government will join sessions to share insights into how hydrogen is poised to enter service within a few years. There will also be discussions on how the industry can best prepare to lead aviation into a new era of zero-emission flight.

Click here to register for the summit and see the list of speakers.

Countries across the world are looking to hydrogen to help decarbonise energy systems. There’s already broad agreement that hydrogen has a key role to play in reaching net zero. There’s also technical and engineering understanding and know-how. So what are the next steps that need to be taken to deploy hydrogen with urgency? How can different countries and projects learn from each other without repeating work and research already done? And how can developing nations skip over heavy-carbon energy and move to cost effective hydrogen from renewables?

This Hydrogen Transition Summit is a full-day of presentations and discussions on hydrogen: from industry, transport, policy and finance through to energy decarbonisation and carbon capture. Sessions will share innovations, ideas and case studies.

Click here to register for the summit.

This three-day hybrid in-person/livestream event organized by the U.S. Commercial Service, the U.S. Embassy in France, and Business France brings together key government and business leaders from the United States, France, and Europe, to highlight real-world technology-driven solutions to tackle the climate change crisis and showcase how green energy and technologies will help shape the future.

The Summit will open with a plenary session, followed by panel discussions focusing on key green energy sectors including hydrogen and pre-arranged B2B in-person and virtual matchmaking meetings for U.S. companies and U.S. economic development organizations with French and European buyers and investors.

Click here to register for the event.

Hydrogen North America will connect the dots between all production, distribution, and application businesses, alongside policy makers and financiers. Now more than ever, we need to think big. That means large-scale projects, off-taker agreements and global trade to advance the hydrogen economy in North America.

Click here to register.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Agency provides funding to reduce costs of adding new energy storage technologies through the Retail Energy Storage Incentives Program. This program focuses on commercial energy storage through on-site technologies like fuel cells and solar generation.

Click here for complete details about the program and how to apply.

If you meet these criteria and are interested in participating, please contact Jim Rose at RTI International, the O*NET data collection contractor ( jrose@onet.rti.org or 877-233-7348 ext. 121).

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is pleased to announce that the application period for the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Zero Emission Transit, School, and Shuttle Bus program is open. This solicitation is open to eligible bus owners throughout California, and funding is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is administering $130 million statewide in two equal installments of $65 million each for replacing internal combustion engine buses with zero emission buses.

If you have any questions regarding this announcement, please contact the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District at (833) 287-6663.

Click here for more information on the funding.