A Volkswagen factory in Zwickau, Germany, is now solely producing EVs for the automotive market, stating the last model with a combustion engine left the assembly line on Friday.

Operating since 1904, and producing more than 6 million Volkswagen cars since 1990, the Zwickau factory marks the first instance of transitioning to a completely electric vehicle production line.

A conversion phase and qualification program for all 8,000 of the plant’s employees will see them complete around 20,500 days of training over the coming weeks.

EV Volkswagen and Audi vehicles will be produced at the Zwickau factory by the end of the year.

https://thedriven.io/2020/06/29/volkswagen-factory-produces-last-ever-combustion-engine-car-shifts-to-evs-only/

https://plugboats.com/60m-pound-75m-dollar-fund-new-zero-emission-ferries/

The UK Prime Minister claims global leadership on hydrogen technology. But does it represent a panacea for our current fossil fuel dependence?

Ranging in application from construction equipment to micro-taxis, trucks, boats, vans, buses, and now aircraft, reacting hydrogen with oxygen in a fuel cell to generate electricity emits only water.

While at first glance, it sounds like a viable alternative to current technology for the range of needed applications, hydrogen requires new infrastructure, and competition from electric vehicles left hydrogen appearing less attractive as a replacement for conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. 

JCB has developed a prototype excavator, and says it would need a battery weighing five tonnes to generate the same power electrically, taking hours to refuel.

Hydrogen on the other hand, is lighter than air and takes minutes to fill a tank. Similar applications are being trialed with buses, and orders for 80 double-deck buses from the JCB Wrightbus factory at Ballymena in Northern Ireland are now being filled.

Addressing charging infrastructure requires provision of hydrogen pumps on motorways and the same network could fuel hybrid battery and hydrogen cars of the future.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53238512