Hyzon to collaborate with Transform Materials; Ballard, CP expands contract

Hyzon Motors Inc. announced a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Transform Materials (a provider of renewable hydrogen through its innovative proprietary microwave reactor technology).

Both parties will evaluate proposals to develop facilities to produce low-to-negative carbon intensity hydrogen from various forms of methane, prioritising biogas and renewable natural gas.

Using Transform Material’s proprietary technology, the facilities can be built to produce hydrogen efficiently—even at small scales of 1-5 tonnes/day—offering modular construction that allows capacity to grow as customer demand increases. Transform’s technology in these projects produces hydrogen as a co-product with acetylene, providing significantly advantaged hydrogen cost structures.

Transform’s technology can generate carbon solids such as acetylene black or graphene, providing useful carbon capture while yielding significantly negative carbon-intensity products, particularly when utilising biogas as the feedstock.

Hyzon and Transform will seek to align hydrogen production with the accelerating demand created by Hyzon’s heavy-duty vehicles. Hubs would be located and sized to fulfil existing, and potential customer needs, leading to high utilisation by Hyzon’s back-to-base vehicle deployments. Transform Materials’ clean plasma technology can convert methane into hydrogen and acetylene without the CO2 emissions that result from traditional processes for generating hydrogen and acetylene.

Under the MoU, the companies plan to explore sites in the US, Canada, Europe and potentially China for facilities incorporating the Transform technology, with initial evaluations expected to begin early this year.

Ballard Power Systems and Canadian Pacific

Ballard Power Systems has received an order for eight additional 200 kW fuel cell modules to support the expansion of Canadian Pacific’s Hydrogen Locomotive Program from one to three locomotives, with expected delivery in 2022.

In addition to its previous order, Ballard will provide a total of 14 fuel cell modules, each module with a rated power output of 200 kW, to support this program. CP, an industry leader in the North American rail sector, significantly expanded its Hydrogen Locomotive Program from one to three hydrogen locomotives. The expansion is partially supported by C$15 million in funding from Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) as part of its Shovel-Ready Challenge announced late last year. CP intends to refine the process of converting diesel-electric powertrains to hydrogen-electric powertrains over a series of three categories of locomotives which collectively represent the majority of locomotives in use throughout North America.