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Will methanol fuel cells see a comeback?

Will methanol fuel cells see a comeback?

Electric buggy powered by a methanol fuel cell, © Dino Eisele

Buggy powered by methanol fuell cell, © Dino Eisele

In the 1990s, methanol was seen as a possible new source of power for fuel cell electric vehicles. And yet, at the turn of the century, it nearly fell out of favor altogether, as the equipment needed to burn the fuel was much more complex than systems that used hydrogen only. Still, the past few years have seen renewed efforts to bring methanol fuel cells to market. Some weeks ago, Roland Gumpert, the engineer who spearheaded the development of Audi Quattro’s four-wheel drive, was back in the news, talking about his latest project, a sports car named after his daughter Nathalie (see H2-international, April 2019). (more…)

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Ballard – Bought deal rakes in USD 400 million

Ballard – Bought deal rakes in USD 400 million

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Former CFO Thomas Guglielmin © Ballard

In what is known as a bought deal, an underwriter syndicate co-led by investment bank Raymond James has offered Ballard Power [Nasdaq: BLDP] fresh capital for shares. The offer was so popular, the initial USD 250 million target was quickly raised to USD 402.5 million: In late November 2020, the companies agreed on USD 350 million in stock, with an option on another USD 52.5 million, all selling at USD 19.25 per share. Ballard has since exhausted those resources, though more could be on the way soon.

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Growth and strengthening

Growth and strengthening

A. Steinau, J. Starr, S. Beck (from left to right)
A. Steinau, J. Starr, S. Beck (from left to right), © CEP

At the annual meeting of the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) at the end of 2019, a new management trio came together. Jörg Starr of Audi, who was recently elected Chairman of the Board, was joined by two Co-Chairs: Stefanie Beck from Toyota and André Steinau from GP Joule.

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Ballard Sets Its Sights on China

Ballard Sets Its Sights on China

Gang

Minister Wan Gang in Berlin

One should never be too enthusiastic, but if the Chinese government really takes up the battle against the country’s dramatic pollution levels, fuel cells and hydrogen will become top priorities – domestically and globally. People will take note of the comments that Wan Gang, China’s minister of science and technology, made during this year’s industry conference H2Mobility in Berlin in early April. Gang – an engineer, who had a ten-year stint at Audi – considers the fuel cell‘s versatility and “green hydrogen” to be two key solutions for improving China’s environmental situation (more…)

Audi Gets the Fuel Cell

As predicted several times before, #dieselgate is the driver of upcoming changes at German carmaker Volkswagen. In March 2016, it was said that the Wolfsburg-based corporation would concentrate all fuel cell activities at its Audi subsidiary. This will necessitate a move of most of the fuel cell research, which has so far been conducted in the German city of Salzgitter. Stefan Knirsch, board member and head of development at Audi, told the magazine Automobilwoche: “This January, the task of corporate research on fuel cell engines was given to Audi.” And VW’s board of directors had supported the concentration of activities. (more…)