A 12m Caetano H2.City Gold, built by Caetano bus in Gaia and powered by a Toyota hydrogen fuel cell, is now operating on different routes for the regional public transport company, Regionalverkehr Köln GmbH in Cologne.

October saw two BYD electric city buses start research trials in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil’s oldest city, on a 13.2km route between Pirajá Metro Station and São João Island.

CV manufacturer, Scania AB, is investing EUR15.5m in a new battery laboratory at its research and development facilities in the grounds of its headquarters in Södertälje.

The Hankook Technodome, the new state-of-the-art R&D centre installed by Hankook Tire at its primary tyre manufacturing  plant in Daejeon, has received the “Certification of Exemplary Laboratories in Safety Management” award by the Ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology in South Korea.

Cummins Inc and Navistar International Corporation are to work together to develop a Class 8 truck powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

Westport Fuel Systems Inc has announced a follow-on contract for new product development work with its current European-based original equipment manufacturer partner to apply Westport HPDI 2.0 to an updated base engine platform.

Gainsborough-based emissions control specialist, Eminox Ltd is entering a project with Sheffield-based magnetic drive components manufacturer, Magnomatics to enable passenger transport vehicles to reduce their environmental impact when in operation.

Bus and coach builder, VDL Bus & Coach BV of Valkenswaard, and ElringKlinger AG, have agreed on a strategic partnership to develop and industrialise fuel cell stacks and systems for mobile and stationary applications.

Japanese truck manufacturers, Toyota Motors Corporation, and its subsidiary, Hino Trucks Ltd, have come together to develop jointly a hydrogen fuel cell powered tractor unit for the Class 8 market in North America in conjunction with Hino Trucks’ subsidiaries in the USA  and Toyota Motor North America.

ZF’s Commercial Vehicle Control Systems division has invested around EUR18m expanding the Erich Reinecke Test Track in Jeversen and adding to its commercial vehicle testing capabilities for trucks and buses.

BPW Group of Wiehl, Germany, a producer of trailer running gear and associated chassis technologies, is to lead a consortium in the development of an autonomous trailer.

MAN Truck & Bus SE, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, and Nuremberg Tech have signed a co-operation agreement on the research and development of hydrogen-based vehicle drive systems.