As head of Nikola’s energy division, Cappello will direct the company’s ‘Hyla’ brand, which is involved in the production and distribution of hydrogen for fuelling purposes.

The funding is to come from the Department for Transport (DfT), National Highways, HS2 Ltd, Network Rail and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Plans for this project first emerged in Haskel’s white paper published in 2022 where it outlined plans to provide Coregas with its turnkey GENO hydrogen refuelling station (HRS*), designed for highly demanding refuelling profiles that deliver back-to-back filling, with a capacity of 400kg of hydrogen per day.

Under the agreement, charging stations for Commercial Vehicles (CVs) will be placed every 120km along the EU’s main highways by 2028, whilst hydrogen refuelling stations will be installed at least every 200km by 2031.

The two firms hold an equal share in the new company, named ‘PO-Rein’, whose aim is to manufacture high-pressure hydrogen storage systems for the Chinese commercial vehicle market.

FFI is now acquiring the ‘Phoenix Hydrogen Hub’ project for an undisclosed sum and will draw up a supply agreement with Nikola for hydrogen produced at the site when it is up and running.

Spun out of the governmental Sandia National Laboratories, BayoTech began filing patents for its own steam methane reformation process for producing hydrogen back in 2020.

Hydrogenics’ fuel cell and electrolyser capabilities will be incorporated within Cummins’ new business unit for zero-emission technologies called ‘Accelera’.

Together with sponsor Caltrans, Nikola’s “Hyla” brand will build six stations across three air quality management districts which cover Los Angeles, San Diego, and the Mojave Desert.

June saw Hyundai sign a memorandum of understanding with the South Korean Ministry of Environment, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and others to convert more than 1,300 public transportation vehicles to hydrogen fuel cell power by 2026.

The European programme has partly been funded by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership (EUR 30 million for 150 hydrogen fuel cell trucks) and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the 8 hydrogen refuelling stations across France and the Netherlands.

Quantum Fuel Systems’ tanks are made from “Type 4” composite materials with a polymer lining, storing hydrogen at a pressure of 70 MPa, or 700 bar.