#hydrogen fuel infrastructure

[discoverhydrogenfuels]

Why Hydrogen Liquefaction Equipment Is Important for the Development of a Hydrogen Economy

Hydrogen is a clean, versatile energy carrier that holds immense promise for the future of sustainable energy. As the world transitions away from fossil fuels, hydrogen is poised to play a significant role in powering our homes, businesses, and transportation systems. However, hydrogen is a lightweight gas, making it challenging to store and transport in large quantities. This is where hydrogen liquefaction equipment comes into play.

Hydrogen liquefaction is the process of cooling hydrogen to its boiling point (-252.8°C), at which point it turns into a liquid. Liquid hydrogen, or LH2, has a volumetric energy density that is 800 times higher than gaseous hydrogen. This means that LH2 can store and transport significantly more hydrogen per unit volume, making it a much more efficient way to move hydrogen long distances.

Here are five reasons why hydrogen liquefaction equipment is important for the development of a hydrogen economy:

1) Increased Storage Capacity

LH2 can store up to 800 times more hydrogen per unit volume than gaseous hydrogen, making it possible to store large quantities of hydrogen in a compact space. This is crucial for establishing a robust hydrogen infrastructure, including hydrogen production facilities, storage tanks, and transportation vehicles.

2) Efficient Transportation

LH2 can be transported over long distances with minimal loss of energy, making it a viable option for moving hydrogen from production sites to end-users. This is particularly important for applications such as long-haul trucking and aviation, where traditional hydrogen storage methods are impractical.

3) Reduced Emissions

Hydrogen liquefaction processes are becoming increasingly energy efficient, leading to lower emissions during hydrogen production and transportation. This aligns with the goals of a sustainable hydrogen economy, which aims to minimize the environmental impact of hydrogen production and utilization.

4) Versatility in Applications

 LH2 can be used in a wide range of applications, including fuel cell vehicles, power generation, and industrial processes. This versatility makes hydrogen a valuable energy source for various sectors, contributing to a more diverse and resilient energy system.

5) Economic Viability

As the demand for hydrogen increases, the cost of hydrogen liquefaction is expected to decrease, making it more economically feasible to produce and transport LH2. This will further accelerate the adoption of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier.

Therefore, I can conclude that hydrogen liquefaction equipment, exemplified by innovative companies such as GenH2hydrogen, plays a pivotal role in enabling the development of a thriving hydrogen economy. By getting an efficient storage, transportation, and utilization of hydrogen, this technology is paving the way for a cleaner, more sustainable energy future.

[artisticdivasworld]

Navigating the Financial Impact of EPA Emission Standards: Strategic Insights for Trucking Companies

Renee Williams, CEO & PresidentFreightRevCon, a Freight Revenue Consultants, LLC. company The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new emission standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks represent a landmark move toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving public health. With these standards set to roll out from 2027 through 2032, they are projected to cut greenhouse gas…

[techdriveplay]

The Rise of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

In the ever-evolving landscape of automotive technology, one innovation stands out as a beacon of hope for a sustainable future: hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). As the world grapples with the pressing need to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change, the rise of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles offers a promising solution. These vehicles, which run on one of the universe’s most abundant…

[techninja]

Revolutionizing Public Transport: The Future of Fuel Cell Buses

Introduction

The fuel cell buses market is rapidly gaining traction worldwide. As cities seek sustainable and efficient public transport solutions, fuel cell technology offers a promising alternative to traditional diesel-powered buses. This article explores the benefits, technological advancements, and market trends in the fuel cell bus industry.

Benefits of Fuel Cell Buses

Fuel cell buses present numerous advantages over their diesel counterparts. Firstly, they produce zero emissions, significantly reducing urban air pollution. This contributes to healthier cities and mitigates the impact of climate change. Moreover, these buses are quieter, enhancing the urban environment by reducing noise pollution.

Secondly, fuel cell buses have a longer range compared to battery electric buses. This makes them ideal for long routes and minimizes the need for frequent recharging. Consequently, cities can maintain their public transport schedules more effectively.

Technological Advancements in Fuel Cell Buses

Recent years have seen significant technological advancements in the fuel cell buses market. Improvements in hydrogen storage and fuel cell efficiency have made these buses more viable. Enhanced fuel cells now provide higher energy density, translating to better performance and longer operational ranges.

Additionally, innovations in hydrogen production and distribution have lowered costs. Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy sources, has become more accessible. This not only makes fuel cell buses more economically feasible but also ensures the entire process remains environmentally friendly.

Market Trends and Growth

The global market for fuel cell buses is on an upward trajectory. Governments worldwide are implementing policies to promote clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Subsidies, grants, and favorable regulations are driving the adoption of fuel cell buses. For instance, several European countries have launched initiatives to replace old diesel buses with fuel cell alternatives.

Asia-Pacific is emerging as a key player in this market. Countries like China, Japan, and South Korea are investing heavily in hydrogen infrastructure. These nations aim to lead the world in hydrogen technology and fuel cell bus deployment. Their investments are likely to spur market growth and technological advancements globally.

Challenges and Opportunities

Despite the promising outlook, the fuel cell bus market faces several challenges. High initial costs and limited hydrogen refueling infrastructure are significant barriers. However, ongoing research and development efforts aim to overcome these hurdles. As technology advances and production scales up, costs are expected to decrease.

On the other hand, there are ample opportunities for growth. The increasing focus on sustainability and the push for greener urban mobility create a favorable environment for fuel cell buses. Collaborations between governments, manufacturers, and energy providers can accelerate market expansion and infrastructure development.

Conclusion

The fuel cell buses market represents a transformative shift in public transportation. With their environmental benefits, technological advancements, and supportive market trends, fuel cell buses are poised to revolutionize urban mobility. Overcoming current challenges will be crucial, but the future looks promising for this innovative mode of transport. As cities and nations strive for sustainable solutions, fuel cell buses will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in shaping the future of public transit.

[entertainment-and-you]

Hydrogen vs. Batteries: Why Lithium Reigns Supreme (for Now) in Electric Vehicles

The dream of clean transportation powered by hydrogen fuel cells seems straightforward: burn clean fuel made from water. However, a closer look reveals significant energy losses throughout the hydrogen life cycle, making it less efficient than lithium-ion batteries, the current leader in electric vehicles (EVs). The Energy Drain of Hydrogen Production: Separating hydrogen from water…

[coldpenguintaco]

Investing in Hydrogen: Trends in Technology, Infrastructure, and Policy

As the world races to combat climate change and transition towards cleaner energy sources, hydrogen has emerged as a promising contender in reshaping the energy landscape. The concept of a hydrogen economy, driven by the production and utilization of hydrogen gas, has gained momentum, with a focus on both its potential benefits and the challenges that lie ahead. This article delves into various…

[electronalytics]

Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Vehicles Market Demand, Overview Analysis Opportunities, Segmentation, Assessment and Competitive Strategies by 2032

Market Overview:

The automotive industry sector that focuses on automobiles with hydrogen fuel cells is known as the hydrogen fuel cells for vehicles market. Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) burn hydrogen gas as their fuel source, which is then transformed into electricity in the fuel cell stack via a chemical reaction. The only byproduct of this electricity's use, which is to power the vehicle, is water vapour.

The global market size and share for hydrogen fuel cells for vehicles (HFCV) was estimated at USD 1.51 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 45.2% to reach USD 62.88 billion by 2032, according to Stringent Datalytics.

Key Factors: Several key factors are driving the growth of the hydrogen fuel cells for vehicles market:

Environmental issues and emission controls: As worries about climate change and air pollution continue to grow, there is an increasing need to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. Vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells are more environmentally friendly than conventional internal combustion engines since they produce no emissions.

Governments and energy corporations all around the world are actively looking for methods to diversify their energy sources and lessen their dependency on fossil fuels. Renewable hydrogen can be produced from sources like electrolysis of water using renewable energy. This hydrogen can be used to power hydrogen fuel cells. This encourages the transportation sector's decarbonization.

Improvements in fuel cell technology: The performance, durability, and efficiency of fuel cells have all seen significant improvements. These developments have led to increased driving range, shorter refuelling times, and improvedoverall vehicle performance, making hydrogen fuel cell vehicles a more viable option for consumers.

Demand:

As the technology improves and public awareness rises, there is a progressive rise in the demand for hydrogen fuel cells for automobiles.

In addition, sectors with a strong focus on sustainability, like public transport, delivery services, and commercial fleets, are showing interest in adopting hydrogen fuel cell vehicles due to their long driving range and minimal environmental impact.

While the market is still in its early stages, several nations, including Japan, South Korea, Germany, and China, have made significant investments and set targets for the deployment of FCVs.

To satisfy the expanding demand and realise the promise of hydrogen fuel cells for automobiles, manufacturers, infrastructure builders, and other market participants should continue to invest in research and development, collaborate on creating hydrogen infrastructure, and strive towards cost reductions.

Referrals to our Stringent datalytics company, trade journals, and websites that focus on market reports are encouraged. These sources frequently include thorough research, market trends, growth projections, competition analysis, and other insightful information about this market.

You can investigate the availability of particular reports linked to this market by going to our website or getting in touch with us directly. We offer thorough and in-depth information that might be helpful for businesses, investors, and individuals interested in this industry, but these reports frequently need a purchase or membership.

“Remember to look for recent reports to ensure you have the most current and relevant information.”

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Market Segmentations:

Global Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Vehicles Market: By Company

• Plug Power

• Ballard

• Sunrise Power

• Panasonic

• Vision Group

• Nedstack PEM Fuel Cells

• Shenli Hi-Tech

• Altergy Systems

• Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies

• Foresight

• SerEnergy

• SFC Energy

• Beijing Sinohytec Co.,Ltd.

• Stellantis

• Cummins

• Guangdong Liyuan Technology Co., Ltd

Global Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Vehicles Market: By Power

• Below 80KW

• 80-120KW

• 120-150KW

• 150-240KW

• Above 240KW

Global Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Vehicles Market: By Application

• Passenger Cars

• Commercial Vehicles

Global Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Vehicles Market: Regional Analysis

The regional analysis of the global Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Vehicles market provides insights into the market's performance across different regions of the world. The analysis is based on recent and future trends and includes market forecast for the prediction period. The countries covered in the regional analysis of the Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Vehicles market report are as follows:

North America: The North America region includes the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The U.S. is the largest market for Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Vehicles in this region, followed by Canada and Mexico. The market growth in this region is primarily driven by the presence of key market players and the increasing demand for the product.

Europe: The Europe region includes Germany, France, U.K., Russia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Rest of Europe. Germany is the largest market for Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Vehicles in this region, followed by the U.K. and France. The market growth in this region is driven by the increasing demand for the product in the automotive and aerospace sectors.

Asia-Pacific: The Asia-Pacific region includes Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, China, Japan, India, South Korea, and Rest of Asia-Pacific. China is the largest market for Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Vehicles in this region, followed by Japan and India. The market growth in this region is driven by the increasing adoption of the product in various end-use industries, such as automotive, aerospace, and construction.

Middle East and Africa: The Middle East and Africa region includes Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, and Rest of Middle East and Africa. The market growth in this region is driven by the increasing demand for the product in the aerospace and defense sectors.

South America: The South America region includes Argentina, Brazil, and Rest of South America. Brazil is the largest market for Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Vehicles in this region, followed by Argentina. The market growth in this region is primarily driven by the increasing demand for the product in the automotive sector.

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• To understand consumer behavior: this research reports can provide valuable insights into consumer behavior, including their preferences, purchasing habits, and demographics.

• To evaluate market opportunities: this research reports can help businesses evaluate market opportunities, including potential new products or services, new markets, and emerging trends.

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[pebblegalaxy]

Exploring Green Hydrogen: Production, Benefits, and Applications

Introduction: As the world shifts towards renewable energy, the role of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source is gaining increasing attention. Hydrogen is a clean and abundant source of energy, which can be used to power vehicles, homes, and industries. Green hydrogen, which is produced from renewable energy sources, is a promising solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate…

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Electrons, not molecules

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TUCSON (Mar 9-10), then SAN FRANCISCO (Mar 13), Anaheim, and more!

When hydrocarbon barons do their damndest to torch the Earth with fossil fuels, they call us dreamers. They insist that there's a hard-nosed reality – humanity needs energy – and they're the ones who live in it, while we live in the fairy land where the world can run on sunshine and virtuous thoughts. Without them making the tough decisions, we'd all be starving in the frigid dark.

Here's the thing: they're full of shit.

Mostly.

Humanity does need energy if we're going to avoid starving in the frigid dark, but that energy doesn't have to come from fossil fuels. Indeed, in the long-term, it can't. Even if you're a rootin' tootin, coal-rollin' climate denier, there's a hard-nosed reality you can't deny: if we keep using fossil fuels, they will someday run out. Remember "peak oil" panic? Fossil fuels are finite, and the future of the human race needn't be. We need more.

Thankfully, we have it. Despite what you may have heard, renewables are more than up to the task. Indeed, it's hard to overstate just how much renewable energy is available to us, here at the bottom of our gravity well. I failed to properly appreciate it until I read Deb Chachra's brilliant 2023 book, How Infrastructure Works:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/17/care-work/#charismatic-megaprojects

Chachra, an engineering prof and materials scientist, offers a mind-altering reframing of the question of energy: we have a material problem, not an energy problem. If we could capture a mere 0.4% of the sun's rays that strike the Earth, we could give every person on the planet the energy budget of a Canadian (like an American, only colder).

Energy isn't just wildly abundant, though: it's also continuously replenished. For most of human history, we've treated energy as scarce, eking out marginal gains in energy efficiency – even as we treated materials as disposable, using them once and consigning them to a midden or a landfill. That's completely backwards. We get a fresh shipment of energy every time the sun (or the moon) comes up over the horizon. By contrast, new consignments of material are almost unheard of – the few odd ounces of meteoric ore that survive entry through Earth's atmosphere.

A soi-dissant adult concerned with the very serious business of ensuring our species isn't doomed to the freezing, starving darkness of an energy-deprived future would think about nothing save for this fact and its implications. They'd be trying to figure out how to humanely and responsibly gather the materials needed for the harvest, storage and distribution of this nearly limitless and absolutely free energy.

In other words, that Very Serious, Hard-Nosed Grown-Up should be concerned with using as few molecules as possible to harvest as many electrons as possible. They'd be working on things like turning disused coal-mines into giant gravity batteries:

https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/02/06/this-disused-mine-in-finland-is-being-turned-into-a-gravity-battery-to-store-renewable-ene

Not figuring out how to dig or flush more long-dead corpses out of the Earth's mantle to feed them into a furnace. That is a profoundly unserious response to the human need for energy. It's caveman shit: "Ugh, me burn black sticky gunk, make cave warm, cough cough cough."

Enter Exxon CEO Darren Woods, whose interview with Fortune's Michal Lev-Ram and editor Alan Murray contains this telling quote: "we basically focus our technology on transforming molecules and they happen to be hydrogen and carbon molecules":

https://fortune.com/2024/02/28/leadership-next-exxonmobil-ceo-darren-woods/

As Bill McKibben writes, this is a tell. A company that's in the molecule business is not in the electron business. For all that Woods postures about being a clear-eyed realist beating back the fantasies of solarpunk-addled greenies, Woods does not want a future where we have all our energy needs met:

https://billmckibben.substack.com/p/the-most-epic-and-literal-gaslighting

That's because the only way to get that future is to shift from molecules – whose supply can be owned and therefore sold by Exxon – to electrons, which that commie bastard sun just hands out for free to every person on our planet's surface, despite the obvious moral hazard of all those free lunches. As Woods told Fortune, when it comes to renewables, "we don’t see the ability to generate above-average returns for our shareholders."

Woods dresses this up in high-minded seriousness kabuki, saying that Exxon is continuing to invest in burning rotting corpses because our feckless species "waited too long to open the aperture on the solution sets terms of what we need as a society." In other words, it's just too late for solar. Keep shoveling those corpses into the furnace, they're all that stands between you and the freezing, starving dark.

Now, this is self-serving nonsense. The problem of renewables isn't that it's too late – it's that they don't "generate above-average returns for our shareholders" (that part, however, is gospel truth).

But let's stipulate that Woods sincerely believes that it is too late. It's pretty goddamned rich of this genocidal, eminently guillotineable monster to just drop that in the conversation without mentioning the role his company played in getting us to this juncture. After all, #ExxonKnew. 40 years ago, Exxon's internal research predicted climate change, connected climate change to its own profits, and predicted how bad it would be today.

Those predictions were spookily accurate and the company took them to heart, leaping into action. For 40 years, the company has been building its offshore drilling platforms higher and higher in anticipation of rising seas and superstorms – and over that same period, Exxon has spent millions lobbying and sowing disinformation to make sure that the rest of us don't take the emergency as seriously as they are, lest we switch from molecules to electrons.

Exxon knew, and Exxon lied. McKibben quotes Woods' predecessor Lee Raymond, speaking in the runup to the Kyoto Treaty negotiations: "It is highly unlikely that the temperature in the middle of the next century will be significantly affected whether policies are enacted now or 20 years from now."

When Woods says we need to keep shoveling corpses into the furnace because we "waited too long to open the aperture on the solution sets terms of what we need as a society," he means that his company lied to us in order to convince us to wait too long.

When Woods – and his fellow enemies of humanity in the C-suites of Chevron and other corpse-torching giants – was sending the arson billions to his shareholders, he held back a healthy share to fund this deceit. He colluded with the likes of Joe Manchin ("[D-POLLUTION]" -McKibben) to fill the Inflation Reduction Act with gifts for molecules. The point of fantasies like "direct air carbon-capture" is to extend the economic life of molecule businesses, by tricking us into thinking that we can keep sending billions to Exxon without suffocating in its waste-product.

These lies aren't up for debate. Back in 2021, Greenpeace tricked Exxon's top DC lobbyist Keith McCoy into thinking that he was on a Zoom call with a corporate recruiter and asked him about his work for Exxon, and McCoy spilled the beans:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/01/basilisk-tamers/#exxonknew

He confessed to everything: funding fake grassroots groups and falsifying the science – he even names the senators who took his bribes. McCoy singled out Manchin for special praise, calling him "a kingmaker" and boasting about the "standing weekly calls" Exxon had with Manchin's office.

Exxon's response to this nine-minute confession was to insist that their most senior American lobbyist "wasn't involved at all in forming policy positions."

McKibben points to the forthcoming book The Price Is Wrong, by Brett Christophers, which explains how the neoclassical economics establishment's beloved "price signals" will continue to lead us into the furnace:

https://www.versobooks.com/products/3069-the-price-is-wrong

The crux of that book is:

We cannot expect markets and the private sector to solve the climate crisis while the profits that are their lifeblood remain unappetizing.

Nearly 100 years ago, Upton Sinclair wrote, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it." Today, we can say that it's impossible to get an oil executive to understand that humanity needs electrons, not molecules, because his shareholders' obscene wealth depends on it.

Name your price for 18 of my DRM-free ebooks and support the Electronic Frontier Foundation with the Humble Cory Doctorow Bundle.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

July 6, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUL 7, 2023

The payroll processing firm ADP said today that private sector jobs jumped by 497,000 in June, far higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate predicted. The big gains were in leisure and hospitality, which added 232,000 new hires; construction with 97,000; and trade, transportation and utilities with 90,000. Annual pay rose at a rate of 6.4%. Most of the jobs came from companies with fewer than 50 employees. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is a way to measure the stock market by aggregating certain stocks, dropped 372 points as the strong labor market made traders afraid that the Fed would raise interest rates again to cool the economy. Higher interest rates make borrowing more expensive, slowing investment. 

Today, as the Washington Post’s climate reporter Scott Dance warned that the sudden surge of broken heat records around the globe is raising alarm among scientists, Bloomberg’s Cailley LaPara reported that the incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act for emerging technologies to address climate change have long-term as well as short-term benefits. 

Dance noted that temperatures in the North Atlantic are already close to their typical annual peak although we are early in the season, sea ice levels around Antarctica are terribly low, and Monday was the Earth’s hottest day in at least 125,000 years and Tuesday was hotter. LaPara noted that while much attention has been paid to the short-term solar, EV, and wind industries in the U.S., emerging technologies for industries that can’t be electrified—technologies like sustainable aviation fuel, clean hydrogen, and direct air capture, which pulls carbon dioxide out of the air—offer huge potential to reduce emissions by 2030. 

This news was the backdrop today as President Biden was in South Carolina to talk about Bidenomics. After touting the huge investments of both public and private capital that are bringing new businesses and repaired infrastructure to that state, Biden noted that analysts have said that the new laws Democrats have passed will do more for Republican-dominated states than for Democratic ones. “Well, that’s okay with me,” Biden said, “because we’re all Americans. Because my view is: Wherever the need is most, that’s the place we should be helping. And that’s what we’re doing. Because the way I look at it, the progress we’re making is good for all Americans, all of America.”

On Air Force One on the way to the event, deputy press secretary Andrew Bates began his remarks to the press: “President Biden promised that he would be a president for all Americans, regardless of where they live and regardless of whether they voted for him or not. He also promised to rebuild the middle class. The fact that Bidenomics has now galvanized over $500 billion in job-creating private sector investment is the newest testament to how seriously he takes fulfilling those promises.”

Bates listed all the economic accomplishments of the administration and then added: “the most powerful endorsement of Bidenomics is this: Every signature economic law this President has signed, congressional Republicans who voted “no” and attacked it on Fox News then went home to their district and hailed its benefits.” He noted that “Senator Lindsey Graham called the Inflation Reduction Act ‘a nightmare for South Carolina,’” then, “[j]ust two months later, he called BMW’s electric vehicles announcement ‘one of the most consequential announcements in the history of the state of South Carolina.’” “Representative Joe Wilson blasted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law but later announced, ‘I welcome Scout Motors’ plans to invest $2 billion and create up to 4,000 jobs in South Carolina.’ Nancy Mace called Bidenomics legislation a…‘disaster,’ then welcomed a RAISE grant to Charleston.” 

“[W]hat could speak to the effectiveness of Bidenomics more than these conversions?” Bates asked.

While Biden is trying to sell Americans on an economic vision for the future, the Republican leadership is doubling down on dislike of President Biden and the Democrats. Early on the morning of July 2, Trump, who remains the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, shared a meme of President Biden that included a flag reading: “F*CK BIDEN AND F*CK YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM!” The next morning, in all caps, he railed against what he called “massive prosecutorial conduct” and “the weaponization of law enforcement,” asking: “Do the people of this once great nation even have a choice but to protest the potential doom of the United States of America??? 2024!!!”

Prosecutors have told U.S. district judge Aileen Cannon that they want to begin Trump’s trial on 37 federal charges for keeping and hiding classified national security documents, and as his legal trouble heats up, Trump appears to be calling for violence against Democrats. On June 29 he posted what he claimed was the address of former president Barack Obama, inspiring a man who had been at the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol to repost the address and to warn, “We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell,…Obama’s [sic].” Taylor Tarranto then headed there with firearms and ammunition, as well as a machete, in his van. Secret Service agents arrested him. 

Indeed, those crossing the law for the former president are not faring well. More than 1,000 people have been arrested for their participation in the events of January 6, and those higher up the ladder are starting to feel the heat as well. Trump lawyer Lin Wood, who pushed Trump’s 2020 election lies, was permitted to “retire” his law license on Tuesday rather than be disbarred. Trump lawyer John Eastman is facing disbarment in California for trying to overturn the 2020 election with his “fake elector” scheme, a ploy whose legitimacy the Supreme Court rejected last week. And today, Trump aide Walt Nauta pleaded not guilty to federal charges of withholding documents and conspiring to obstruct justice for allegedly helping Trump hide the classified documents he had at Mar-a-Lago. 

Trump Republicans—MAGA Republicans—are cementing their identity by fanning fears based on cultural issues, but it is becoming clear those are no longer as powerful as they used to be as the reality of Republican extremism becomes clear. 

Yesterday the man who raped and impregnated a then-9-year-old Ohio girl was sentenced to at least 25 years in prison. Last year, after the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision recognizing the constitutional right to abortion, President Biden used her case to argue for the need for abortion access. Republican lawmakers, who had criminalized all abortions after 6 weeks, before most people know they’re pregnant, publicly doubted that the case was real (Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told the Fox News Channel there was “not a damn scintilla of evidence” to support the story). Unable to receive an abortion in Ohio, the girl, who had since turned 10, had to travel to Indiana, where Dr. Caitlin Bernard performed the procedure.

Republican Indiana attorney general Todd Rokita complained—inaccurately—that Bernard had not reported child abuse and that she had violated privacy laws by talking to a reporter, although she did not identify the patient and her employer said she acted properly. Bernard was nonetheless reprimanded for her handling of privacy issues and fined by the Indiana licensing board. Her employer disagreed.

As Republican-dominated states have dramatically restricted abortion, they have fueled such a backlash that party members are either trying to avoid talking about it or are now replacing the phrase “national ban” with “national consensus” or “national standard,” although as feminist writer Jessica Valenti, who studies this language, notes, they still mean strict antiabortion measures. In the House, some newly-elected and swing-district Republicans have blocked abortion measures from coming to a vote out of concern they will lose their seats in 2024. 

But it is not at all clear the issue will go away. Yesterday, those committed to protecting abortion rights in Ohio turned in 70% more signatures than they needed to get a measure amending the constitution to protect that access on the ballot this November. In August, though, antiabortion forces will use a special election to try to change the threshold for constitutional amendments, requiring 60% of voters rather than a majority.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[mariacallous]

A California court has advanced a civil fraud case against a Norwegian company at the center of the state’s failure to build workable hydrogen fueling infrastructure, which has already left thousands of car owners in the lurch.

A case involving allegations of fraud against Oslo-based Nel ASA is moving toward a trial in October 2026, after a California judge left intact the core claims brought by a major player in the rollout of hydrogen infrastructure in the state, Iwatani Corporation of America, a subsidiary of one of Japan’s largest industrial gas companies.

The allegations center on a lesser-known aspect of the blundered roll-out: Iwatani is claiming that Nel duped it into buying faulty hydrogen fueling stations. And the case has provided a window into the extent to which these same stations were provided to and promoted by major players including Toyota and Shell—stations that have since been abandoned or shut down.

The judge’s ruling last month leaves Nel and its top executives—including current and former CEOs Robert Borin and Håkon Volldal—in the crosshairs. Iwatani’s central claim is that Nel, under pressure to sell a money-losing product, knowingly induced Iwatani into purchasing untested hydrogen fueling stations with false assurances of the technology’s real-world readiness.

Nel denies the allegations, and has put forward procedural arguments to get the case thrown out, saying that California does not have jurisdiction over the company or its executives.

In separate rulings, Judge James Selna of the Central District of California sided with Iwatani on the core claims while dismissing several others, finding that California does in fact have jurisdiction and that the allegations go beyond a simple breach of contract and into the realm of fraud in selling the equipment, known as H2Stations.

The judge ruled that there was “active concealment,” citing examples, including that Nel did not disclose the fact it had never built a working model of the H2Station nor sufficiently tested it in real-world conditions, and had no actual data to support their H2Stations’ performance claims.

After the lawsuit was filed in January, Nel abandoned the seven Iwatani hydrogen fueling stations and executed a corporate spinout of its fueling division—which Iwatani claims is a means of shielding those assets from a potential court judgment.

“The deliveries you are referring to were from a company now called Cavendish Hydrogen,” says Lars Nermoen, Nel’s spokesperson, in response to an email seeking comment, referring to the spun-off entity. “Nel no longer has any business in hydrogen fueling.”

The failure of novel technology in real-world settings is not unheard of. But for the hydrogen car industry, it came at one of the worst times: In 2019, California was investing heavily in hydrogen refueling infrastructure, attracting global automakers and oil and gas majors to the state.

At the time, Toyota was pushing for more fueling infrastructure to support the uptake of the Toyota Mirai, one of the earliest light-duty consumer hydrogen fuel-cell cars to hit the market.

So Toyota partnered with both Iwatani and oil major Shell to build more fueling stations. Shell brought on Nel as the station provider, and both Iwatani and Chevron partnered with Nel soon after. Representatives from Shell and Iwatani did not respond to requests for comment.

Lewis Fulton, director of the Energy Futures Program at the University of California, Davis, says the equipment failures in the passenger segment have led to a “near collapse of the system” in California. In addition to the abandoned Iwatani stations, Shell in February completely shut down its seven California hydrogen refueling stations and canceled plans to build 48 stations in the state.

Chevron had contracted Nel to create 16 stations, but did not provide a response on the status of those stations. The extent to which Nel provided the technology for these major players has not been previously reported on.

Meanwhile, Toyota, which has since deprioritized the California market for the Mirai, is facing a class action lawsuit from many drivers who already bought the hydrogen-powered vehicle. The lawsuit claims that, contrary to Toyota’s promises, hydrogen fuel for their cars is becoming more difficult to obtain, making the Mirai “unsafe, unreliable, and inoperable.” Toyota did not respond to a request for comment.

According to the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership, there are 55 hydrogen fueling stations in California, but many of them experience frequent downtime. None of the hydrogen fueling stations provided by Nel are currently operating. Iwatani’s only functioning refueling stations were built by Linde, a large industrial gas company.

In the meantime, Fulton says California has pivoted to building infrastructure for heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and buses, with the hope that the passenger market can reboot with the help of a growing freight market.

By focusing on the heavy-duty market, California can, in theory, create a stronger supply of clean hydrogen that brings costs down and increases availability, says Fulton, who is also an adviser to Arches, the California hydrogen hub that has won $1.2 billion of conditional funding from the US Department of Energy.

“Arches is targeting 50 to 60 truck-oriented stations around the state by 2030, and with different fueling islands and pressure systems, those could also service light-duty vehicles,” he says.

California’s difficulties with hydrogen vehicle infrastructure have driven home some stark lessons about the wider use of the technology.

“The problem is, they’re expensive, and they require enormous amounts of maintenance,” says Jim Bowe, a Washington, DC–based partner at King & Spalding, an international law firm. “Fleets that have been looking at the possibility of hydrogen buses often balk when they realize how much more maintenance—not only for the refueling facilities, but also for the vehicles themselves—is required relative to internal combustion engines or batteries.”

California-based FirstElement Fuel, another hydrogen fueling station provider, is positioned as a potential winner amid the crisis for the sector. Operating under the name True Zero, it currently has the most operating hydrogen fueling stations in California, but is still working to become profitable, according to sources familiar with the company. (FirstElement executives did not respond to requests for an interview.)

According to Iwatani’s lawsuit, Nel was able to hide the fact that the stations it installed were not operational until early 2023, when continual failures led Iwatani to launch its own investigation.

Nel achieved this subterfuge by requiring Iwatani to enter into an exclusive maintenance contract with Nel, essentially shifting the cost of testing the stations to Iwatani, the lawsuit claims.

Nel’s current CEO, Håkon Volldal, an individual defendant in the case, acknowledged the failings around the same time. In an earnings call last year, he said of the hydrogen fueling stations: “I think it’s fair to say that the technology that was installed was immature, and that the quality was not good enough, and we struggle with all the work we have to do in order to keep these stations running, to fix issues, to send personnel out on site.”

In its investigation, Iwatani workers claimed they found shrapnel inside the fueling stations, and concluded that parts of the fueling apparatus were routinely exploding, spraying debris inside the station box. (Nel blames outside companies for installation failures.) Iwatani also claimed it found valves from third-party manufacturers that were never intended for use in a hydrogen fueling station.

The lawsuit details a months-long back and forth between Iwatani and Nel, in which Iwatani attempts to get Nel to fix the broken stations. Nel won’t—or can’t—fix the stations, triggering the lawsuit.

These Iwatani allegations were echoed by Kasey Hawk, who worked as a technician for Nel in California starting in 2021. An Army veteran who drove an Abrams tank in combat, Hawk was one of several veterans hired by Nel to service the California fueling stations. Though he alleges he had a strong mechanical background stemming from his military experience, Hawk claims he received only minimal training on the particularities of hydrogen fueling stations. (Hawk is not involved in the ongoing lawsuit and Nel has not commented on his allegations.)

“It was a little strange because it’s actually dangerous work—working with high-pressure gases and the potential for explosions,” he says in an interview with WIRED.

Hawk claims when he showed up to conduct the first repairs at Shell-owned stations in the Sacramento area, it appeared they hadn’t been maintained since commissioning, and there was already a backlog of work to be done. “I saw that the stations weren’t set up right from the beginning,” he says. He noticed, for example, that the pipes weren’t properly insulated, which would cause ice buildup within the fueling nozzle, since liquid hydrogen is stored and pumped at cryogenic temperatures.

A team of Nel technicians arrived from South Korea to help. But those technicians didn’t speak English, limiting what Hawk could learn from them, he says. And since Nel’s hydrogen fueling subsidiary was based in Denmark, the schematics for the stations were available only in Danish. In addition, ordering new parts often took weeks, meaning similar amounts of station downtime, he explains. “We were in situations every day where we did not know what to do next.”

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Despite ongoing efforts to curb CO2 emissions with electric and hybrid vehicles, other forms of transportation remain significant contributors of greenhouse gases. To address this issue, old technologies are being revamped to make them greener, such as the reintroduction of sailing vessels in shipping and new uses for hydrogen in aviation. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering have used computer modeling to study the feasibility and challenges of hydrogen-powered aviation. "While there is a long way to go for hydrogen aviation to be realized at scale, we hope that our analysis of both onboard system design and enabling infrastructure will be used to prioritize development efforts," says Dharik Mallapragada, one of the study's coauthors.

Read more.

[wordsandrobots]

OK, putative Gjallarhorn planetary garrison/repurposed pre-Disaster space-station names (because the Greek convention links it to the Ariadne, which appears to predate Gjallarhorn's founding) would be as follows:

Mercury = Hermes

Venus = Aphrodite [CANON]

Earth = nil, the orbital station(s) are named Glaðsheimr [CANON]

Mars = Ares [CANON]

Jupiter = Zeus

Saturn = Cronus/Cronos/Kronos [or Chronus/Chronos but I'd rather we didn't]

Uranus = *record scratch* OK, so Uranus IS the Greek god here, or the Latinised spelling of one, so should it swap to the Roman version for the station, Caelus/Coelus? I guess that's the only option. Damn you, Bode! (Could be worse; Herschel wanted to call the planet 'George'.)

Neptune = Poseidon

Pluto would obviously get Hades but I genuinely don't see why you'd put anything near Pluto, seeing as there is sod-all out that far, whereas the rest potentially have some utility as places for human colonisation (I'm dubious about Mercury but we'll allow it for extra-canonical reasons).

The furthest confirmed point of human expansion in the Post Disaster timeline are the Saturn 'pioneer camps' mentioned in the Urdr Hunt game. The very use of the word 'pioneer' suggests this is the frontier for space-going civilisation in the setting. Whether that means that's as far as people have gotten or merely represents the extent to which infrastructure extends after the War is an open question. Certainly, Jupiter and Saturn offer greater possibilities as industrial bases given their abundance of moons. The UC Gundam timeline treats Jupiter as the main source for hydrogen fuel, and while the PD timeline has Ahab reactors, they still use propellant, so this might give us the basis for the corporate wealth represented by Teiwaz. Expanding on to Saturn would follow logically from that.

This is not to say Ahab reactors wouldn't allow exploration further out, simply that in terms of establishing colonies, Saturn represents a reasonable stopping point, and therefore likely the extent of Gjallarhorn's active presence. Its role is primarily peacekeeping and policing, recall, so why would it have a base somewhere there wasn't a large population to control?

Now, if the space stations they use once served some other purposes or represent a previous high-water mark for expansion from which civilisation has now retracted -- extrapolating from the Greek naming convention predating the War -- then it's possible the remaining outer planets would have stations assigned to them anyway. Perhaps there's a derelict or half-finished Poseidon station orbiting above Neptune, a lonely monument to what the mobile armours cut short. Or perhaps Cronos station is the work-in-progress, a putative outpost cannibalised from parts delivered before the crisis, finally put to use as corporations seek new ground to break and thus compete with the Jupiter-based giants.

There's lots of room to speculate.

For my next trick, I shall decide if any of it is relevant to what I'm currently writing . . .

[the-olympics-olympics]

The 1996 Olympics were going to occur 100 years after the very first Olympics were held in Athens in 1896. What could be more ideal and more symbolic than to have such a significant anniversary occur in the very country that inspired the creation of the modern Olympics? The centennial made Athens-1996 a juggernaut bid, the clear favorite, and its victory seemingly so inevitable, you might as well have written their name in pen. Unfortunately, Greece’s entire Olympic bid was rooted in historical symbolism and the country had done little to establish confidence that it had viable plans to handle infrastructure, facilities, security, and transportation. The centennial Olympic Games were awarded to Atlanta, instead.

“Well, there he is, Jetman, flying into the stadium, no wires, no tricks, just as you see it. … What a beginning!” A piece of futuristic tech took center stage during one of the most memorable moments from the opening of the 1984 Summer Games, when a man flew a jetpack into Los Angeles Coliseum. The pilot was Bill Suitor, a rocketeer at Bell Aircraft, which had developed the hydrogen peroxide-powered “rocket belt” for the Army. His flight fueled imaginations of a future when we would all be flying around. But gravity, it turns out, makes it extremely hard to lift a person more than a few seconds at a time.