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Publish date: April 12, 2005
News
These grants are a part of American state program of hydrogen transport research. The USA allocated 1.2 billion dollars for this program. General Motors Corporation and Daimler Chrysler announced they have signed deals with the US Department of Energy to develop hydrogen fuel cell vehicles over the next five years.
GM and the Energy Department will pay half-and-half for their 88 million-US dollar deal. The world’s largest automaker will build 40 hydrogen fuel vehicles for demonstration in Washington, New York, California and Michigan. The German-American Daimler Chrysler, which has the world’s largest fleet of fuel cell vehicles, will spend more than 70 million dollars in its partnership with the Energy Department.
Under the deal, it will place fuel cell vehicles with consumers who will report on the vehicles’ performance. The company said it is already testing 100 fuel cell vehicles around the world. GM said Shell Hydrogen LLC would build five hydrogen-refueling stations in Washington, New York, California and on the East Coast. The fuel cell produces energy when hydrogen and oxygen are mixed, and its only byproduct is water. The environment-friendly technology has been used in experimental vehicles and in some buildings as a power source.
The US government plans to develop hydrogen as America’s next energy source. President George W. Bush envisioned hydrogen-powered vehicles on American roads within two decades. Hydrogen-powered vehicles are at present not popular at the market due to the high costs and a lack of fueling stations.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.