DEFINITION: A device that converts chemical energy into electricity through a chemical reaction. Fuel cells can produce electricity for as long as fuel and oxygen are supplied, and produce very small amount of nitrogen dioxide or other emissions. The technology can be used to power commercial, industrial and residential buildings, in addition to fuel cell vehicles.
Fuel cells
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In what is claimed to be a first for England, a fleet of 20 new hydrogen double-decker buses are being launched in London this week.
JLR to begin first hydrogen car tests this year
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has unveiled plans to test a prototype hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) this year, as part of its vision to deliver zero tailpipe emissions by 2036.
Michelin to expand hydrogen focus on road to net-zero
Tyre giant Michelin has unveiled a new strategic vision that will see it scaling up its smart technology and hydrogen fuel cell businesses while halving emissions from operations and transport by 2030.
Roadmap developed to help Oxford reach net-zero emissions by 2040
A new science-based roadmap has been developed outlining how carbon budgets, rooftop solar and electric vehicles (EVs) can help Oxford reach net-zero emissions by 2040.
EU's green hydrogen plans hailed as 'true game-changer' by industry
The European Commission boosted regulatory support for green hydrogen in its proposed overhaul of climate legislation published last week, with the renewable hydrogen coalition calling it "a true game changer" for the nascent EU industry.
How the world can reach net-zero emissions by 2050, according to BloombergNEF
BloombergNEF has published its latest New Energy Outlook report, examining three progress pathways to reach net-zero globally by 2050. Here, edie summaries what will need to change to deliver this low-carbon trajectory.
Onsite renewables and EVs: Anglian Water outlines net-zero routemap for 2030
Anglian Water has published a detailed routemap outlining how onsite renewables, electric vehicles (EVs), hydrogen and biogas production will deliver its ambition to reach net-zero by 2030.
UK urged to level-up regions through CCUS supply chains
The trade body for the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) industry in the UK has noted that a successful rollout of the technology could create a thriving supply chain in the UK which would deliver job growth, provided enabling policies are introduced.
COP26 Action Tracker: China's ETS launches as UK's Cambo oilfield plans draw controversy
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2TWh of hydrogen and 37 million EVs: How can the UK reach net-zero emissions?
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East Coast Cluster: Teesside and Humber gear up to host CCS technologies
Energy giants and businesses operating in Teesside and Humberside look set to collaborate on the deployment of carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) technology in a bid to create net-zero industrial clusters.
Hydrogen: Shell opens Europe's largest electrolyser as Centrica eyes storage at Rough
Shell has opened a 10MW hydrogen electrolysis plant - believed to be Europe's biggest - near Cologne, Germany, in the same week that Centrica revealed that it would like to convert its Rough natural gas storage facility for hydrogen by 2026.
Equinor plans 1.8GW of low-carbon hydrogen production in UK, tripling previous target
Energy major Equinor has outlined plans to deliver 1.8GW of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity in the UK by 2030, primarily through its work on the Zero Carbon Humber industrial cluster.
General Motors to funnel $35bn into EVs by 2025
General Motors (GM) is increasing its funding for electric vehicles (EVs) and automated vehicles (AVs) by 75% over the next five years.
Johnson Matthey targets net-zero by 2040
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Businesses call on UK Government to deliver 'world-leading' hydrogen sector
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Plans unveiled for UK's second plastic-to-hydrogen recycling plant
After plans to build a plastic-to-hydrogen recycling facility near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, were approved last year, the developers have unveiled plans for a second UK site in Scotland.
Banking giants team up to accelerate net-zero transition for steel industry
Six leading lenders to the steel industry - ING, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Societe Generale, Standard Chartered and UniCredit - have created a new working group focusing on decarbonisation.
Domestic heat batteries and 'champagne' carbon capture: The best green innovations of May 2021
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Global hydrogen investment to grow 25-fold by 2040, Bloomberg predicts
Global annual investments in hydrogen totalled $1.5bn between 2018 and 2020, but the average could be $38bn by 2040, a new Bloomberg Intelligence report claims.
UK climbs energy investment rankings, but concerns persist over green finance availability
The UK has climbed one position to fourth in the rankings for EY's national attractiveness of renewable energy investment, but the organisation has warned that global green finance efforts need to improve considerably to meet clean energy demand for existing climate commitments.
UK's net-zero bill could be £16.7bn lower with flexible energy, new report reveals
The annual cost of the UK's net-zero transition could be billions of pounds cheaper if policymakers and the public and private sectors collaborate to scale up battery storage, hydrogen and other flexible energy innovations.
Report: UK must more than double onshore wind capacity by 2030 to meet climate targets
RenewableUK is urging Ministers to set specific, legally binding 2030 targets for renewable energy generation to help deliver its net-zero target, including growing the nation's onshore wind capacity to 30GW.
Electrified heat and hydrogen: Renewable energy deployment 'must grow fivefold by 2030'
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Hydrogen-fuelled steel manufacturing and China's greenest office: The sustainability success stories of the week
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Net-zero whisky production and a new hydrogen plant: The sustainability success stories of the week
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Gas grid operators outline plans for expanded EU 'hydrogen highway'
Gas network operators from 11 countries have joined the European hydrogen backbone initiative, presenting an updated vision for a pure hydrogen network of nearly 40,000km by 2040.
ScottishPower planning 'UK's largest' green hydrogen electrolyser near Glasgow
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Europe risks €87bn in stranded fossil gas assets, report reveals
Europe is already building or planning to build €87bn worth of fossil gas infrastructure in a continued expansion of pipelines and LNG terminals, despite the need to halve emissions by 2030, according to a new report published on Thursday (8 April).
#SustyTalk: ING's Ben Colegrave on financing the hydrogen revolution
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What does the UK's sustainable office of the future look like?
Many of the UK's biggest businesses are planning to downsize their office estates this year, while outlining plans to continue remote working post-lockdown. But are environmental considerations a driver, as well as Covid-19? And will the office of the future be truly sustainable?
'Outrageous hypocrisy': Government condemned over £16bn oil and gas sector 'bailout'
Green groups have expressed their anger at the Government's new £16bn sector deal that pledges to align the oil and gas sector with the national net-zero target, while also ending financing for overseas fossil fuel projects, with many frustrated by a refusal to end oil and gas licensing.
Northern Gas Networks launches green bond to support hydrogen transition
Northern Gas Networks has launched its first green bond, in a bid to raise capital to prepare for hydrogen heating. The move comes as Hitachi Capital UK prices its own debut green bond at $40m.
New blue hydrogen and captured carbon storage projects unveiled for the UK
BP has announced plans to build the UK's largest blue hydrogen production facility in Teesside, while the Government has committed new funding for carbon storage infrastructure off Aberdeenshire.
Is biodiversity being forgotten in sustainable corporate finance?
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'Another vital step to net-zero': Green economy reacts to the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy
The UK Government has unveiled a new Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy that will spur rapid decarbonisation across industry, the public sector, construction and manufacturing. But do green groups believe the strategy will put the nation on course for net-zero by 2050?
Government unveils new Industrial Strategy to spur decarbonisation and create green jobs
The UK Government has today (17 March) revamped the Industrial Strategy to align manufacturing and construction efforts to the national net-zero target, with more than £1bn to funnelled into industry, schools and hospitals.
IRENA: Existing solutions can spur progress to net-zero
Global power sourced from renewables is set to treble by 2050, with wind, solar and hydrogen all required to account for 90% of all decarbonisation solutions to push the global economy towards the 1.5C pathway, a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has found.
Mace Group to use hydrogen generators at construction sites
In what it claims is a first for the UK's construction sector, Mace Group has signed a deal that will see it deploy hydrogen generators to replace diesel generators at construction sites.
'Green bus revolution': UK to ban diesel bus sales and boost electric and hydrogen fleets
The UK Government has committed to ending the sale of new diesel buses and increasing sales of British-built, zero-emission models, in a move that should help tackle climate change and air pollution.
Plans unveiled for green hydrogen hub in the Scottish Highlands
The Port of Cromarty Firth and ScottishPower are among a consortium of businesses pushing for the development of green hydrogen hub in the Highlands, powered by offshore wind.
Hydrogen: Is UK policy and industry at a tipping point?
Recent weeks have seen influential bodies urging the Government to publish the Hydrogen Strategy sooner rather than later. In tandem, announcements have been made about hydrogen-powered homes and vehicles. So, is the UK's hydrogen revolution about to begin?
Global heavy industry failing to align with Paris climate goals
Only 14% of publicly listed companies in the steel, cement, aluminum, paper and mining sector are on track to meet the Paris Agreement's 2°C climate target, according to a report by the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI), a global investor group supported by the UN. Still, some European companies offer hope, EURACTIV Germany reports.
Major renewable hydrogen demo project comes online at Welsh cement plant
Building materials giant Hanson UK has installed a renewable hydrogen generation unit at one of its facilities near Swansea, Wales, to test the potential of replacing natural gas with lower-carbon alternatives.
Avantium targets net-zero operations and shoots for fossil-free chemicals sector
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Kering's fund for nature and a new green hydrogen plant: The sustainability success stories of the week
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Electric vehicles and heat pumps set for exponential growth on road to net-zero
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Major gas grid companies team up to outline hydrogen deployment plans
Britain's five major gas grid companies have launched a major collaborative plan to create the UK's first hydrogen town by 2030 as well as creating a network of hydrogen refuelling stations for transport and helping to decarbonise industrial clusters.
Plastic-free sachets and hydrogen-powered F1 cars: The best green innovations from CES 2021
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Total and Engie partner on France's largest green hydrogen production site
Energy majors Total and Engie have signed a cooperation agreement to bring France's largest renewable hydrogen production site online on the southern coast.
McKinsey: Global fossil fuel demand will peak in 2027
One of the world's largest consultancies has published analysis outlining how global fossil fuel demand could peak by 2027. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating trends in electrification and energy efficiency.
Bruichladdich distillery explores hydrogen heating
Bruichladdich Distillery is exploring how hydrogen combustion technology can reduce reliance on fuel oil to meet the island-based facility's heating demand.
Funding allocated to six projects aiming to develop world's first net-zero industrial cluster
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has selected six projects across the UK that will receive a share of £8m in funding to drive progress towards creating the world's first net-zero emissions industrial zone by 2040.
North of England homes to pilot hydrogen heating
More than 650 households and commercial properties in a village near Gateshead will trial the use of blended green hydrogen to be used for heating.
Five EU countries object to bloc's latest hydrogen 'manifesto'
Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain have issued a joint letter calling on the EU to clearly prioritise renewable energies under an EU-led project aiming to accelerate hydrogen deployment, research and infrastructure.
Energy White Paper: Government confirms £6.7bn warm homes package and UK ETS
The UK Government has finally released its Energy White Paper, detailing steps to deliver "overwhelmingly decarbonised power in the 2030s", with a new £6.7bn support scheme to be set up to tackle fuel poverty and a UK variant of the Emissions Trading Scheme to be introduced.
Five things you need to know about the Energy White Paper
After months of delays, the UK Government finally unveiled its Energy White Paper on Monday (14 December) detailing how an overhaul to transport, energy and infrastructure will deliver an "overwhelmingly decarbonised power in the 2030s" on the road to net-zero by 2050.
Hydrogen, nuclear and wind: UK's energy network operators chart course to net-zero
Energy Networks Association - the industry body representing all major energy network operators in the UK - has published a routemap outlining how they will align with net-zero and support the transition to green electricity, heat, transport and industry.
Energy giants team up to halve green hydrogen costs by 2026
Companies including Orsted and Iberdrola have teamed up in a bid to increase the world's green hydrogen production fifty-fold by 2026 - in a move they claim will halve costs.
Uniper targets carbon neutrality by 2050, outlines coal-free vision
German multinational energy giant Uniper has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality across its global business by 2050, outlining new goals around coal phase-outs and green hydrogen.
Renewable or 'low-carbon'? EU countries face off over hydrogen
EU member states are fighting over which type of hydrogen to support, with two opposing camps facing off: those backing green hydrogen produced exclusively from renewable electricity, and those in favour of a broader "low-carbon" definition, which also includes nuclear power and decarbonised gases.
UK climbs to fifth for global renewables market outlook
The UK has leapfrogged Germany to rise to fifth in the rankings for national attractiveness of renewable energy investment and deployment opportunities.
Renewable Hydrogen Coalition: trade bodies team up to grow Europe's green hydrogen sector
Trade bodies including WindEurope and SolarPowerEurope have received backing from Bill-Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy to form a new coalition aimed at growing renewable hydrogen production and use across the continent.
Boris Johnson unveils £12bn Ten Point Plan for net-zero transition
Clean hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS), zero-carbon transport and offshore wind are all key pillars of Boris Johnson's Ten Point Plan to push the UK towards net-zero emissions, which will be backed by £12bn in Government investment and aim to create 250,000 new green jobs.
McDonald's plant-based burger and Scotland's green hydrogen: The sustainability success stories of the week
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Gas denied 'transition' fuel status in draft EU green finance rules
Power plants fuelled by natural gas will not be classed as "sustainable" or "transition" investments in Europe unless they meet emission limits which are so low that none are currently able to comply, according to draft EU rules seen by EURACTIV.
Green hydrogen and retrofitted boats: Shipping giants plot course to net-zero
A coalition representing more than 120 large maritime, energy and infrastructure businesses has published a blueprint for bringing zero-emission shipping innovations to scale.
Emissions from energy sector likely to rebound from Covid-19, Capgemini warns
Emissions from the global energy sector will be 7-8% lower in 2020 than in 2019, but most nations are still failing to align their energy generation and consumption patterns with long-term climate targets, Capgemini is warning.
Energy giants launch Northern Endurance Partnership to explore carbon capture opportunities
A group of businesses including BP, Shell and the National Grid have formed the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), which is aiming to develop carbon transportation and storage infrastructure in the North Sea to assist with plans to decarbonise the UK's industrial clusters.
edie explains: Science-based targets
What makes emissions targets "science-based"? How can businesses go beyond 2C alignment and strive for 1.5C? And what role do these targets play in the net-zero movement? This free edie explains guide answers all of these questions and more.
Capgemini: EU must invest in high-impact climate technologies through green recovery funding
The EU must allocate portions of its €750bn Covid-19 recovery fund to emerging, innovative technologies which decarbonise energy, the built environment, industry, transport and the agri-food sector if it is to meet its net-zero goal by 2050, new analysis has found.
Birmingham's hydrogen buses and Levi's circular economy store: The sustainability success stories of the week
As part of our Mission Possible campaign, edie brings you this weekly round-up of five of the best sustainability success stories of the week from across the globe.
World's first hydrogen-powered double-decker bus hits Scottish streets
Real-world trials of the world's first hydrogen-powered double-decker bus have officially begun in Aberdeen - five years after the city unveiled a hydrogen production and bus refuelling facility.
Major businesses back North West's net-zero industrial cluster, say it can come online by 2030
Businesses including Siemens and Tata Europe's chemicals arm have agreed to back plans for a net-zero industrial cluster in North West England, which developers say will be completed by 2030 and create 33,000 new jobs.
Businesses pour £75m into Humber's zero-carbon industrial cluster
A host of organisations have submitted a public and private sector bid of £75m to build key infrastructure to create the world's first zero-carbon industrial cluster in the Humber region.
World's first commercial-grade hydrogen plane takes flight in UK, as government urged to grow 'green' hydrogen sector
The first flight of a hydrogen-powered, commercial-grade aircraft has been successfully completed in Bedford, while UK ministers face fresh calls to help scale up the domestic market for hydrogen produced using renewables.
Airbus unveils plans to debut zero-emission hydrogen planes by 2035
Aerospace manufacturing giant Airbus has revealed three futuristic concept designs for zero-emission aircraft with hydrogen as the primary power source, claiming that they could operate commercial flights by 2035.
UK slipping behind on build rate required for net-zero target
The UK is achieving less than half of the required build rate to deliver energy systems that will reach net-zero emissions by 2050, according to a new whitepaper from engineering consultancy Atkins.
BEIS eyes CfD model to help scale-up UK's green hydrogen economy
Large-scale hydrogen projects with renewables could soon be included in the UK's Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions, after a new government report identified the mechanism as a favoured option for scaling up 'green' hydrogen technologies.
National Grid kick-starts UK's first trials of grid-injected biomethane from cow manure
Biogas produced from straw and cow manure has been directly injected into the gas grid in Cambridgeshire, in what the National Grid is calling a UK first.
Hydrogen deployment could deliver 75,000 jobs and £18bn boon for UK economy
Utilising hydrogen production could generate £18bn for the UK economy and support more than 75,000 jobs over the next 15 years, according to a taskforce backed by the likes of Shell and BP.
Government urged to ramp up hydrogen spending through national strategy
The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) had called on the Government to implement a Hydrogen Strategy to assist in decarbonising carbon-intensive sectors, in the same week that the National Grid announced plans to build a new hydrogen testing facility.
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