Cummins Accelera Delivers Hydrogen Fuel Cell Truck

CHINA REPORT
Jack Hao
Jack Hao

Accelera and Shaanxi Auto’s Dechuang Future have jointly developed a 31-ton Hydrogen fuel battery residue vehicle. Sixty Cummins Accelera Hydrogen fuel cell driven muck trucks were delivered and put into operation in Shanghai.

It is reported that this vehicle is matched with Cummins 125kW Hydrogen fuel battery engine system and 127kWh Lithium iron phosphate power battery, and uses the 410kW drive motor and AMT automatic transmission with ultra-low system energy consumption independently developed by Dechuang in the future to form a “new energy power chain,” so that the vehicle’s power performance indicators such as maximum speed, hill starting ability, climbing ability, loading capacity, etc. are higher than the industry average.

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Cummins Jumps On New Energy Storage Iron Salt Formula

Cummins $24 million stake in the startup VoltStorage gives them a foot in the door with new iron redox flow technology. There is nothing wrong with lithium-ion energy storage but global demand for energy storage has nowhere to go but up, and so are lithium prices. While lithium is relatively abundant in the ground, but current supply is falling behind demand. At the same time, lithium extraction is messy and has significant environmental impact, causing local opposition to new mines and other facilities which could stall development. Aside from accessing a recyclable supply chain that can avoid conflict issues, flow battery fans note a long list of advantages over lithium-ion technology including lower cost, longer duration, and ease of scalability

Source: CleanTechnica Read The Article

PSR Analysis: Cummins has been making investments into EVs (such as the purchase of Brammo in 2017 and Meritor in 2022) for some time and this low cost, long duration, grid scale energy storage battery is part of their plan. This diversifies their portfolio of alternative power systems and helps them in the gid scale storage market. One of the major advantages for flow batteries is that they aren’t lithium-based and are therefore not subject to the same massive and sustained price increases that lithium material is seeing. PSR

Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption Lead Analyst at Power Systems Research

Innovation Was the Name of the Game at Agritechnica 2019

HANNOVER, Germany–For many years, Agritechnica has been growing and strengthening its role as the top European agricultural trade show. Despite the struggles that the industry is facing, with declining order books and a less than enthusiastic outlook for 2020, Agritechnica 2019 held here Nov. 11-16, 2019, reaffirmed its position as the most important ag tech event in Europe.  The show reported 2,820 exhibitors and 450,000 visitors, more than 130,000 of them from outside Germany.

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Hyundai Doosan Infracore Plans Hydrogen Engine

FAR EAST: SOUTH KOREA REPORT

Hyundai Doosan Infracore announced that it has been selected as the lead company for the national project “Development of Hydrogen Engine System and Storage and Supply System for Construction Machinery and Commercial Vehicles” by the Industrial Technology Evaluation and Management Agency.

Through this project, the company plans to develop a 300kW, 11-liter class hydrogen engine and hydrogen tank system with zero carbon emissions, which will be installed in commercial vehicles such as trucks and large buses, and construction equipment such as excavators by 2024. After verification, the company aims to begin full-scale mass production in 2025.

“Although hydrogen engines have high energy density, they are expensive and require technological maturity to ensure durability under adverse operating conditions,” said a company official. “For this reason, the engine system is more suitable for construction machinery and medium- to large-sized commercial vehicles than for passenger cars.”

Source: Wow! Korea

PSR Analysis: Hydrogen products in Korea are still far from practical at this point. Hydrogen can be classified as green, blue, or gray depending on the cleanliness of the production process, and the hydrogen fuel cell power plant in Korea that began operating in June emits 10 tons of carbon for every ton of hydrogen it produces. At this point, Korea’s hydrogen industry is still in the gray stage, but I do not think it is time to discuss whether the technology is good or bad, as it will take time for the technology to become more advanced.

The idea that hydrogen is better suited for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles than for passenger cars makes a lot of sense. However, mass production of a commercial model by 2024 is certainly a very high goal. With the lithium-ion battery industry currently thriving in South Korea, I will keep a close eye on the future development of hydrogen in the country. PSR

Maruti Suzuki Plans India Market Expansion

INDIA REPORT
Aditya Kondejkar

Under Maruti’s 3.0 Strategy, the company proposes to expand annual capacity by 2 million units within nine years, and it plans to feature 28 distinct models by 2031. The automaker aims to reach an annual production volume of more than 4 million vehicles by 2031. Of this total, approximately 15% (about 600,000 units) will be electric vehicles (EVs), and about 1 million will be hybrid units.

This represents a substantial 75% surge from the current production capacity of 2.25 million units.

Foreseeing a threefold increase in export volume to 750,000 units by FY31, Maruti intends to allocate 3.2 million units for the domestic market. The company envisions hybrids and EVs comprising approximately 40% of this portion, translating to over 1.2 million units.

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VW Plans To Add €1 Billion for Electrics

Volkswagen’s commercial vehicle subsidiary Traton says its MAN, Scania and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus (VWCO) brands plans to invest more than one billion euros in e-mobility by 2025.

“Our goal is to become the leading provider of e-trucks and e-buses,” explained Traton CEO Andreas Renschler, mostly through research and development. Traton is developing a common modular electric powertrain to be used by all brands, much like Volkswagen’s MEB platform.

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Honda Plans Personal Electric Motorcycles

JAPAN REPORT

Honda said it plans to produce a motor-driven electric motorcycle for individuals in Japan by the end of 2023. This will be the first time Honda produces a product for the public in Japan.

Overall, Honda said it plans to launch more than 10 models of electric motorcycles worldwide by 2025. Their goal is to increase overall sales, including pedal-powered and electric bicycles, mainly in China and India. The company plans to increase its sales to 3.5 million units worldwide by 2030, more than 20 times the 2021 level.

The EM1e electric scooter was unveiled March 17, 2023, in Japan. It has a cruising range of approximately 40 km and uses replaceable batteries. The price is expected to be higher than gasoline-powered scooters with a displacement of about 50 liters. The company plans to launch the moped equipped with pedals that can be pedaled with the feet, and five other motorized bicycle models in China, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Japan by 2024.

Electric motorcycles face the problem that on-board batteries are expensive and production costs are more than 50% higher than those of internal combustion engine models. Honda plans to increase its global sales to 1 million units by 2026, and further to 3.5 million units by 2030. However, demand for internal combustion engines is strong in emerging countries, and Honda intends to maintain its annual production capacity of 20 million two-wheeled gasoline vehicles until 2030.

Source: The Nikkei

PSR Analysis: Honda is finally bringing an electric model to the consumer market. Yamaha already sells the E-Vino to individuals. Harley is spinning off its electric motorcycle division to attract investment, and India’s Hero will release its VIDA electric motorcycle in 2022 and is working with a U.S. company to develop new products.

All companies are very ambitious about electric motorcycles, but there are still many challenges to be overcome before they become widespread. As a first mover example, Taiwan’s Gogoro is doing well by developing a network of battery exchange stations. Honda’s EM1e is equipped with a single replaceable battery, and by taking the battery pack home after use and recharging it at a power outlet at home, the vehicle can start running the next day with a fully charged battery.

The handle makes the battery look easy to carry, but at 10.3 kg, it may be difficult for women to accept it. The spread of battery exchange station networks like those in Taiwan has just begun in Japan, and charging stations in urban areas are still in their infancy. PSR

Akihiro Komuro is Research Analyst, Far East and Southeast Asia for Power Systems Research

Hyundai Plans $14.7 Billion for Software Development

FAR EAST: SOUTH KOREA REPORT
Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

Hyundai Motor Company is getting serious about developing the software needed for automated driving, etc. It has decided to invest $14.7 billion by 2030 and has begun building a development structure and embarking on M&A.

Hyundai Motor Company has achieved record profits through a shift in strategy in conjunction with a generational change. The company plans to further improve profitability in the software field, where customers can add functions to their cars after purchase. But acquiring human resources will be an immediate challenge for Hyundai.

The “Over the Air (OTA)” function, which updates the latest software via the Internet, will be standard on all new models released in 2023 and after. The plan is to establish a system that allows users to be charged according to function updates. The company will first introduce content such as car navigation systems, audio, lighting, and remote-control functions, and then expand into peripheral areas such as auto insurance policies, to diversify and upgrade services in response to customer needs.

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