The hydrogen stream: Tata Cummins arm inaugurates hydrogen-based internal combustion engine manufacturing facility

TCPL Green Energy Solutions (TCPL GES), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Cummins Pvt Ltd (TCPL), has inaugurated a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility to produce hydrogen-based internal combustion engines for medium and heavy commercial vehicles and other low to zero-emission technology products in India. The facility, situated in Jamshedpur, spans almost seven acres.

TCPL is a 50:50 joint venture of Tata Motors Ltd and power solutions provider Cummins Inc. USA. TCPL GES was formed in March 2023 to collaborate on the design and development of low and zero-emission propulsion technology solutions for commercial vehicles in India. These technologies and solutions will be deployed in a variety of applications and will play a pivotal role in developing sustainable powertrain solutions that will help to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and support India’s net-zero ambitions.

Erisha Hydrogen is in the process to launch its 40 MT/ 20 MT GVW long-haul green hydrogen trucks in India and Europe. The company had completed its design and is now in the phase of first prototype testing.

Time Technoplast Ltd announced it has received approval from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) for the manufacturing of high-pressure type-IV composite cylinder prototype for green hydrogen. It will manufacture the first lot of cylinders for joint testing and inspection by the authority. The testing of the first lot of cylinders will be completed in around six months’ time.

“We are the first company in India to have received this manufacturing approval & this milestone marks a significant step forward in our efforts towards Sustainable Green Energy Solutions. With this approval, we are poised to contribute to the advancement of Green hydrogen technology and its role in shaping a greener future,” stated Time Technoplast Ltd.

Canada and Germany have agreed to establish a “first-of-its-kind” transatlantic hydrogen corridor. The Canadian government said the deal positions the nation as a priority market for Germany to source hydrogen, granting Canadian producers a first-mover advantage and solidifying Canada’s leadership in globally supplying clean hydrogen. Germany’s H2Global Foundation will oversee coordinated auctions to connect Canadian hydrogen exporters with German buyers, aiming to secure commercially binding contracts and displace European imports of Russian oil and gas.

Germany has launched the first bidding process for the €4 billion ($4.3 billion) Climate Protection Contracts funding program. “Companies in the energy-intensive industry that successfully participated in the preparatory process in summer 2023 can apply for 15-year funding for their major transformation projects within the next four months,” said the German government. Climate protection contracts are intended to initiate climate-friendly production processes in energy-intensive industrial sectors, offsetting the additional costs compared to conventional processes in areas where climate-friendly production processes cannot compete.

Gascade and Repco have agreed to connect Germany’s Baltic Sea ports of Rostock and Lubmin and link them to the Berlin/Brandenburg and Halle/Leipzig/Leuna consumption regions. “Repco’s HyTechHafen Rostock hydrogen production project and the Rostock region as well as the industrial port of Lubmin are to be connected to the greater Berlin/Brandenburg area and the Halle/Leipzig/Leuna industrial area via Gascade’s hydrogen pipelines Rostock-Wrangelsburg and Flow – making hydrogen happen,” said the two German companies.

Lhyfe will secure a grant of up to €149 million from the French government to build a green hydrogen production plant with a 100 MW of electrolysis capacity near Le Havre, France. The company said the production site in Gonfreville-l’Orcher is scheduled to be operational by 2028.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced more than $16 million of funding to advance innovation in clean hydrogen through the Hydrogen and Clean Fuel Program. “This funding will support research, development, and demonstration projects and also help leverage federal hydrogen funding opportunities, promoting the use of clean hydrogen in industrial processes, clean transportation, energy storage, and for grid support,” said Hochul.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) has announced an AUD 1.7 million ($1.1 million) grant to Aboriginal Clean Energy Partnership (Acer) to support the first phase of a feasibility study for the East Kimberley Clean Energy and Hydrogen Project. ARENA said that the first phase of the feasibility study will begin promptly and is expected to conclude within five months. If successful, the planned facility will include around 1,000 MW of solar generation combined with 850 MW of electrolysis capacity.

DNV is executing hydrogen blending feasibility studies for Enbridge and FortisBC. The two studies will determine the percentage of hydrogen that can be safely transported through existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure, including Enbridge’s transmission system and FortisBC’s distribution system, in British Columbia, Canada. According to DNV, the studies are the “largest” blending studies undertaken in North America. They “will be used to develop the codes and standards required to safely transport hydrogen as the first step in forming a sustainable commercial hydrogen market,” said the Norwegian classification society.The US Department of Energy has announced $750 million of funding for 52 projects across 24 states to “dramatically reduce the cost of clean hydrogen and reinforce America’s global leadership in the growing clean hydrogen industry.” The government said it aims to build 14 GW of fuel cell manufacturing capacity per year and 10 GW of annual electrolyzer manufacturing capacity. Several of the selected projects are run by well-known companies, such as Ballard Power Systems, Cummins, General Motors, Nel Hydrogen, Plug Power, Robert Bosch, and thyssenkrupp nucera.Vattenfall said it will conclude its hydrogen production project for offshore wind farms. It started the project almost two years ago. “Having tested the development phase for decentralized offshore hydrogen production, and in light of other industry advances, Vattenfall has now taken the decision to conclude the project,” it said. It claimed that the project, designed around its European offshore wind hub off the coast of Scotland, “aided the creation of a new regulatory and consenting regime by the UK government for offshore hydrogen transportation and storage.”Heidelberg Materials UK, Stopford and Cranfield University said they are working to establish the feasibility of using ammonia as a source of hydrogen for use as a fuel in cement kilns. “We have already proved the success of using hydrogen as part of a lower carbon fuel mix, but its storage and transportation are technically challenging and, at present, costs are prohibitive,” said Heidelberg Materials UK Sustainability Director Marian Garfield. The company said the new research, which builds on a demonstration using hydrogen as part of a net zero fuel mix to power a cement kiln, “will explore the potential use of ammonia as a low-cost, low carbon hydrogen carrier, evaluating the most efficient method of ‘cracking’ the ammonia on-site to release the hydrogen for use as a fuel in the kiln.”

Sasol and Topsoe have launched a 50:50 joint venture, Zaffra, to develop and supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Topsoe said the venture aims to build a “global presence.”Eletrobras and Paul Wurth do Brasil have agreed to collaborate on the production of renewable hydrogen and synthetic fuels. “The partnership includes the construction and operation of a 10 MW plant for the production of renewable hydrogen (H2R) and oxygen,” said Eletrobras. “Feasibility studies are expected to be completed in around a year.”

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