H2X wants to build its hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in Gippsland

H2X Global is progressing its goal of building a hydrogen economy in Australia with plans to build hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in Gippsland, Victoria.

Under the agreement with the Gippsland Circular Economy Precinct (GCEP), the company will seek to manufacture hydrogen fuel cells, electrolysers, hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles and a range of hydrogen power units including generators and emergency power supplies in the region.

GCEP is a consortium of Gippsland-based businesses who recognised the need to transition the local economy from brown coal power generation to renewables.

The support of H2X, which developed its own highly efficient hydrogen fuel cell technology and hydrogen power trains for vehicles and machinery, is expected to help fast-track these transition plans.

“This is a great opportunity for Gippsland to engage with hydrogen technology and provide new enterprises, new jobs and training in support,” H2X founder and chief executive officer Brendan Norman said.

“We aim to assist in establishing Gippsland as the world’s preeminent location of green hydrogen excellence.

“We are now investigating a number of manufacturing options including fuel cell production and some vehicles.”

GCEP executive director Brett Singh added that the region’s high level of engineering, power generation and manufacturing expertise was a major factor in the decision to establish the centre of excellence and renewables precinct in the area.

The agreement has also drawn strong community support.

H2X Global

H2X recently formed a strategic partnership with hydrogen developer Pure Hydrogen (ASX:PH2), which saw the latter issue 8.62 million shares to acquire a 24% stake in the company.

This could increase to 48% if the attached share options are exercised.

The company also secured more than $50m in pre-orders for its Warrego FCEV ute.

Source: This article has originally appeared on Stockhead.

Pure Hydrogen acquires strategic stake in fuel cell play H2X Global

Pure Hydrogen is advancing its ambition to be a leader in the hydrogen sector by acquiring a 24% stake in fuel cell pioneer H2X Global.

The agreement recognises the value of H2X’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrid technology, which powers its Warrego ute that is expected to be on sale in the first half of 2022, and will see the two companies establish a joint venture company, Pure X Mobility, that will develop and sell hydrogen fuel cell trucks and buses such as waste disposal trucks and concrete agitators.

Pure Hydrogen (ASX:PH2) is acquiring the stake in H2X through the issue of 8.2 million shares with some escrow conditions and will receive share options that will take its interest up to 48% if exercised.

It will also become the preferred supplier of hydrogen to H2X.

Pure Hydrogen managing director Scott Brown noted that H2X is at the forefront of the ground-breaking innovation that hydrogen represents in the automotive sector given its potential to cut fuel costs by up to 30% compared to diesel.

“Partnering with H2X not only makes good commercial sense but it also puts Pure Hydrogen in the driver’s seat to capitalise on new and evolving hydrogen technology,” he added.

“We believe this will be a good investment opportunity for Pure Hydrogen, we have achieved it with very minimal dilution and we can bring our strong balance sheet and funding channels as a public company to more aggressively fast-track H2X’s commercialisation plans.

“We are also very excited about the prospects for the Pure X Mobility and its planned focus on developing hydrogen fuel cell powered heavy vehicles such as cement mixers and garbage trucks.

“These industries are logical ‘starters’ for Pure X Mobility as they are short run operators where refuelling can be managed at back-to-base locations. Targeting sectors where we can rapidly bring heavy vehicles to market will be Pure X’s focus and makes logical commercial sense.”

H2X chief executive Brendan Norman added that working with an early mover like Pure Hydrogen would not only provide a solid foundation to build its network of customers, it would also align it with a significantly skilled scientific and technical partner to build a solid platform in Australia as a leading force in the rapidly growing global hydrogen economy.

“As technology leaders and innovators with a track record of bringing hydrogen-powered vehicles to market in what is a new and emerging global industry aligns well with Pure Hydrogen’s growth strategy,” Norman noted.

“We have an excellent platform in place to rapidly bring a range of vehicles to market in relatively short order.”

Hydrogen Initiatives

Pure Hydrogen’s investment in H2X is timely given its discussions with a range of large industrial users for back to base operations that are considering using hydrogen trucks.


It has also been working closely with well-known truck and bus manufacturers and is building a hydrogen ecosystem that can provide hydrogen solutions including trucks, buses and work vehicles together with the hydrogen fuel to power these vehicles.


The company noted that its agreement with H2X fast-tracked these negotiations and developments.


It added that it would shortly announce off-take and supply arrangements together with some additional partners to assist in the development and commercialisation of its multifaceted solution.


This comes as hydrogen demand is forecast to increase tenfold to more than 500 million tonnes by 2050.


Transportation is of special interest given that it is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions globally and has been identified as one of the primary early adopters of hydrogen.


Source: This article has originally appeared on Stockhead.

H2X Global plans major exchange listing

H2X Global is plotting its course to a major exchange listing and is pushing into new markets in a bid to establish itself as a global premium hydrogen vehicle manufacturer. 

The company, which is undertaking a small initial capital raising, is planning to roll out a series of products in the coming months that will show new ways of working with hydrogen and bring clean energy to many different applications in cities.

One of H2X’s products is a light duty (30-75 kilowatts) optimised hydrogen fuel cell hybrid powertrain aimed at drastically reducing the refuelling time, improving efficiency and increasing the driving range of a vehicle.

A hydrogen fuel cell is a device that generates electrical power by a chemical reaction via conversion of fuel (hydrogen) into electricity.

Fuel cells allow a vehicle to be refuelled in a similar way and speed to traditional petrol-run vehicles.

H2X’s initial target market is high-use vehicles for commercial and sharing purposes where the availability of the vehicle is key.

The company says a fuel cell vehicle is more convenient and effective than a battery electric vehicle because it significantly reduces the time a vehicle is off the road for refuelling, which is crucial for commercial vehicles.

Explaining H2X’s approach to market, CEO Brendan Norman said the company worked with hydrogen infrastructure providers to establish ecosystems that were cost effective from the start.

“We look to offer multiple applications of vehicles to make it easy to reach a critical mass in one location,” he said. “This supports not only the refuelling exercise, but also allows us to establish high-quality after sales operations in all locations that our customers will be using hydrogen.

“Hydrogen ecosystems require a minimum volume to hit the market – our products focus on this market.”

H2X is also developing multiple light vehicles using the H2X powertrain system – a common chassis using sophisticated localised and renewable biocomposite materials.

The company has developed a modular power concept that enables the fitting of H2X power systems to existing and new heavy equipment, allowing for faster development of the hydrogen economy.

Hydrogen fuel cells in the spotlight

Hydrogen fuel cells have become a more mainstream focus for those in the industry, given the technology advancements that have enabled fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) to refuel more quickly and travel longer distances.

Market researcher Research and Markets predicts the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle market will grow from around $US16bn in 2020 to nearly $US27bn by the end of 2025 at a compound annual growth rate of 11.23%.

Hydrogen technology is attracting significant investment from not only those developing the tech but retail and institutional investors as well.

Case in point is the recent strong investor support Pilot Energy (ASX:PGY) received for its capital raising, which attracted firm commitments from sophisticated, institutional and professional investors totalling $8m.

Pilot recently announced its expansion into the hydrogen and renewables space.

Decades of automotive experience

The team behind H2X has decades of experience in vehicle development, starting with CEO Brendan Norman who has spent nearly 30 years in top management with major car makers predominantly BMW and Audi/Volkswagen.

During his time at Volkswagen Group, including leading Asia Pacific regional strategy saw the growth of the Group in the region grow into 4-digit percentage territory over a 10-year period.

H2X head of design vice president Chris Reitz has 27 years of design experience, including as head of design for, Fiat and Nissan Europe and significant roles with Audi/Volkswagen.

“Our approach on the vehicles is a complete redesign of the concept of how we build it,” Reitz said.

“The production of vehicles can be optimised significantly with clean energy powertrains because of the shape and integration of the powertrains.

“We have exciting developments for efficiency, performance and to a very large extent in terms of use of renewable materials and clean manufacturing process.”

H2X’s Fuel Cell Team has more than 20 years’ experience, several different models of passenger cars, trucks and buses developed for other manufacturers, of which thousands of units have been delivered.

The company’s chief technology officer, Ian Thompson, also has an impressive CV that details a long career working on projects for big names like Tesla, Bentley, Aston Martin, Volvo and Maserati.

“One of our city focused vehicles will have a different hybrid battery solution to a city vehicle, where we are working with more dynamic technologies to maximise retention of Kinetic Energy, which is our focus,” Norman said.

Source: This article has originally published on Stockhead.

Aviation H2 on runway for global green energy take-off

In an industry contributing a significant amount of CO2 to global emissions, green hydrogen-powered aircraft and associated technologies have seen increasing global demand.

Aviation H2 will focus on the rapidly expanding demand for hydrogen applications in the aviation industry.

Owned and funded by Liberty Energy Capital, Aviation H2 aims to create green hydrogen technology solutions to serve aviation applications.

Liberty Energy Capital and its nominees has investments in emerging green businesses including H2X Global, Sweetman Renewables Limited, Port Anthony Renewables Limited, Titan Hydrogen Limited, Infinite Blue Energy and Verdant Earth Technologies.

An Aviation H2 spokesman said as the world turns to green energy, the company is backing state-of-the-art technical solutions that will play a pivotal role in decarbonising the aviation industry.

“Aviation H2’s mission is to empower companies, both domestically and internationally, by leveraging the latest in renewable hydrogen technology, helping the industry transition to a sustainable energy strategy,” he said.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic grounded most planes, commercial flights accounted about 2.5% of global emissions of carbon dioxide.

The spokesman said hydrogen was the fuel of the future and could be used across commercial airlines, defence forces, cargo industry, and freight services.

“Hydrogen is viewed as one of the most viable options for decarbonising the transport industry, which accounts for over one-fifth of global CO2 emissions,” he said.

As net-zero becomes the universal standard among western governments, the spokesman said hydrogen is estimated to grow into a global market worth US$201 billion by 2025.

“Aviation H2 has been founded on a shared vision to harness the power of renewable energy to take the aviation sector — which makes up 2% of global emissions — into industry 5.0.” he said.

While hydrogen is increasingly considered as one of the most promising zero-emissions fuels for future aircraft, there are still many challenges to overcome. Hydrogen has an energy-density-per-unit mass three times higher than traditional jet fuel.

Aeronautical engineers must work out how to bring the weight and cost of hydrogen down, while the best solution for storing the fuel on board also needs to be determined.

Today, liquid hydrogen storage is seen as the best solution with storing hydrogen as compressed gas presenting challenges with aircraft weight and volume requirements.

According to Airbus VP Glenn Llewellyn: “Cost-competitive green hydrogen and cross-industry partnerships are being considered as mandatory to bring zero emission flying to reality.”

Aviation H2 may be just what the industry needs to achieve that reality.

Source: This article has originally appeared on PV Magazine.

Fuel cell pioneer H2X is raising funds ahead of 2022 IPO

Fresh off debuting its first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle for pre-orders, hydrogen pioneer H2X Global is now seeking millions in pre-initial public offering funding.

The company’s Warrego Ute, which combines its unique light duty optimised hydrogen with the chassis of the popular Ford Ranger, has already generated over $50m in pre-order interest.

It has now appointed Barclay Pearce Capital, which was behind the successful pre-IPO raisings for Verdant Earth Technologies and green hydrogen pioneer Infinite Blue Energy, as the lead manager for its multi-million dollar pre-IPO raising.

This comes ahead of its planned IPO and as governments around the world commit billions of dollars in incentives to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and meet their net zero emissions targets.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have gained significant interest in this environment, offering the potential to provide zero emissions transportation while enjoying quick refuelling, traits that are valuable for commercial vehicles that cannot be off the road for long periods.

H2X noted that recent market research indicates that the global fuel cell market could grow to more than US$14.6 billion by 2027.

H2X fuel cell tech

H2X is keen to capitalise on this interest in fuel cells with its Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrid technology, which is designed to drastically reduce refuelling time and increase driving range and hydrogen efficiency.

Its modular platform allows the hybrid energy system and fuel cell to be customised to maximise the efficiency and performance according to the user.

“One of our city focused vehicles will have a different hybrid battery solution to a vehicle, where we are working with more dynamic technologies to maximise retention of kinetic energy, which is our speciality to improve efficiency of the vehicles,” chief executive officer Brendan Norman said.

“H2X works with hydrogen infrastructure providers and forward-thinking industries to establish ecosystems which are cost effective from the start, where we look to offer multiple applications of vehicles to make it easy to reach a critical mass in one location.

“This supports not only the refuelling exercise, but also allows us to establish high-quality after sales operations in all locations that our customers will be using hydrogen.”

The company is currently developing multiple light vehicles using its powertrain system, which will involve a common chassis using sophisticated localised and renewable biocomposite materials and a modular power concept that enables the fitting of H2X power systems to existing and new heavy equipment.

“Our approach on the vehicles is a complete redesign of the concept of how we build it. The production of vehicles can be optimised significantly with clean energy powertrains because of the shape and integration of the powertrains,” head of design vice president Chris Reitz said.

This diverse range of products using a common platform allows H2X to quickly support financially sound business cases for hydrogen rather than battery-electric for commercial vehicles.

This article originally appeared in the Stockhead.