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HyFive hydrogen infrastructure gets $51M boost across Europe

"High five!" was one of the catch-phrases of Sacha Baron Cohen's Kazakh comedic alter ego Borat. A real-world HyFive is being announced by a power broker named Boris. And this is serious business. London Mayor Boris Johnson has announced a program called HyFive, which will see automakers and other entities invest 31 million British pounds ($51 million US) in a demonstration project for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. By next year, London will have three hydrogen refueling stations, while there will be one each in the Danish cities of Aarhus and Odense and one in Innsbruck, Austria. Leaders of the program are planning for other stations in Sweden, Germany and Italy. The five participating automakers are BMW, Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota, while other companies involved include Copenhagen Hydrogen Network, ITM Power and Linde. Those OEMs will make 110 fuel-cell vehicles available for deployment in Bolzano, Copenhagen, Innsbruck, London, Munich and Stuttgart. The program represents an effort to address the "chicken or egg?" challenge inherent to establishing a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle market. While the powertrain technology provides benefits by combining fossil-fuel-like refueling times with long driving ranges and zero emissions, establishing a refueling network and building fuel-cell vehicles is prohibitively expensive, especially in low volumes. The London mayor is no stranger to green transportation technology. Late last year, Johnson made himself available for a photo opportunity with Ecotive and Frazer-Nash, which had developed a six-passenger extended-range plug-in taxicab. The mayor got a test drive in the cabs this week. You can check out the HyFive press release below. Global leaders sign up to GBP31m plan to demonstrate viability of hydrogen vehicles International project HyFive pioneers hydrogen fuel cell technology A pioneering GBP31 million deal will be struck today (3 April) to make hydrogen vehicles a viable and environmentally friendly choice for motorists across Europe. Leading motor manufacturers, hydrogen fuel suppliers, the Mayor of London's Office and energy consultancies from around the globe are signing up to the HyFive project, the largest of its kind in Europe, at City Hall in London today.

US expands probe into ZF-TRW airbag failure-to-deploy to 12.3 million vehicles

DETROIT — U.S. auto safety regulators have expanded an investigation into malfunctioning airbag controls to include 12.3 million vehicles because the bags may not inflate in a crash. The problem could be responsible for as many as eight deaths. Vehicles made by Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Fiat Chrysler from the 2010 through 2019 model years are included in the probe, which was revealed Tuesday in documents posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It involves airbag control units made by ZF-TRW that were installed in the vehicles. The control units can fail in a crash, possibly because of unwanted electrical signals produced by the crash itself that can disable an air bag control circuit housed in the passenger compartment, according to NHTSA documents. The electrical signals can damage the control circuit, the documents say. ZF, a German auto parts maker which acquired TRW Automotive in 2015, said in a statement that it's committed to safety and is cooperating with NHTSA and automakers in the investigation. The case is another in a long list of problems with auto industry airbags, including faulty and potentially deadly Takata airbag inflators. At least 24 people have been killed worldwide and more than 200 injured by the inflators, which can explode with too much force and hurl dangerous shrapnel into the passenger cabin. The inflators touched off the largest series of automotive recalls in U.S. history involving with as many as 70 million inflators to be recalled by the end of next year. About 100 million inflators are to be recalled worldwide. On April 19, NHTSA upgraded the ZF-TRW probe from a preliminary evaluation to an engineering analysis, which is a step closer toward seeking recalls. So far, only Hyundai and Kia and Fiat Chrysler have issued recalls in the case. Four deaths that may have been caused by the problem were reported in Hyundai-Kia vehicles and three in Fiat Chrysler automobiles. NHTSA opened an investigation in March of 2017 involving the TRW parts in Hyundais and Kias. The upgrade came after investigators found two recent serious crashes involving 2018 and 2019 Toyota Corollas in which the airbags did not inflate. One person was killed. Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit consumer group, said the ZF-TRW case shows the auto industry thus far has learned very little from Takata.

Toyota makes $100M investment to boost Indiana Highlander production

Toyota has announced that it will be making a $100 million investment in its Princeton, IN factory in a bid to increase production of its popular Highlander CUV. The move will create 300 new jobs by 2016 and increase the total number of crossovers the plant can produce by 30,000.
Toyota currently builds the Highlander, alongside the fullsize Sequoia, at Toyota Indiana's West Plant. The additional capacity, though, will be sent to the East Plant, which is currently responsible for production of the recently refreshed Sienna minivan.
"The Highlander has been a great product for our plant," Toyota Indiana President Norm Bafunno said in a statement. "Establishing Highlander as the 'bridge vehicle,' as we call it, between the East and West plants increases our ability to meet customer needs for our outstanding products. This exciting news is a true testament to the capability of our hard-working and dedicated team members."