BorgWarner is using its in-house expertise to develop the hydrogen internal combustion engine for installation in on-highway commercial vehicles. Truck & Bus Builder follows up the ‘H2ICE’ demonstrator model, debuted at Cenex in the UK with an interview with Luc Beduneau, Engineering Director of the BorgWarner Centre for Innovation & Engineering Excellence (CIEE) in Blois, France, to gain more insight into the project and the hydrogen internal combustion engine.

At the AutoCar Expo, held in Lyon between 12 and 15 October, Safra launched its ‘H2-Pack’ fuel cell retrofit kit for coaches and released details of the first orders for its new ‘Hycity’ fuel-cell electric bus range. 

Equipmake has won a contract with First Bus to repower 12 Optare Versa electric buses with its Zero Emission Drivetrain (ZED). The cost of repowering the e-buses is less than half the cost of a new one, Equipmake claims.

Jakarta engages UK powertrain maker, Equipmake, to aid retrofitment of e-powertains in city fleet.

The German retrofit firm premiered the QHM FCEV range, which can cover a range of up to 1,500 kilometres before needing to refuel.

Škoda customers will have the option to convert their diesel buses to electric, using pepper motion’s electric powertrain ‘etrofit’ kit specifically designed for buses.

The new joint venture, called ElectroForge, will begin developing high-power, low-mass drivetrains for CVs (Classes 3-8) from Kalyani Powertrain's facility in Pune, Maharashtra.

The retrofit firm will be offering customers the option to electrify used models of the Actros MP5 range – launched in 2019 as an 18-tonne 4x2 tractor unit – and it will also be producing up to 2,500 units by 2030.

The German retrofit company will install driveblocks' autonomous technology in an electric truck which will begin pilot testing in the summer of 2023.

Rochester, New York-based Hyzon Motors Inc has announced its new ‘Repower’ program to convert used diesel trucks into hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The company states that it is responding to demand from customers affected by global supply chain issues. The launch of the program is expected in North America late in 2022.

Ian Foley, CEO of Equipmake Ltd, based in Norwich, UK, has welcomed the inclusion of electric buses in new UK operator grants, but calls for more incentives to encourage operators to transition to zero-emission vehicles.

The two companies plan to sell around 5,000 retrofitted trucks and buses in France by 2030, supported by over EUR1.5m raised earlier in the year by REV Mobilities.