At the opening of COP26 last month, Prince Charles told an audience of global leaders that a vast, military style campaign by the private sector would be the only real prospect we have of beating the clock on climate change.
By decarbonising industrial and domestic heating, I am convinced that hydrogen has a significant role towards achieving net zero. However, the role of hydrogen in the passenger car sector is much less clear. I find it difficult to see how a hydrogen powered fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) can compete with a battery electric vehicle (BEV). That conclusion was reinforced by two recent reports from BloombergNEF and Volkswagen.
Oil giant Shell has penned a deal with high-powered network operator IONITY to offer faster charging points to electric vehicle drivers (EVs) across ten European countries.
The British Government is being called on to take a tougher stance against Volkswagen over its emissions fraud.
Australia is taking legal action against its local arm of Volkswagen amid claims the company mislead customers by selling modified vehicles which covered up emissions fraud.
Volkswagen is expected to reveal the company’s progress on a fix to make nearly 600,000 diesel cars comply with clean air laws.
Volkswagen said it has cut £701million from its investment plan for the next year following on from the emissions scandal it has been embroiled in. The company said it would cap spending on property, plant and equipment at around $12.8billion, which is around 8% less than its previous estimate.
Volkswagen’s top US executive has apologised as the emissions-rigging scandal engulfing the world’s largest carmaker deepened and members of Congress said the company violated the public’s trust. “On behalf of our company, my colleagues in Germany and myself, I would like to offer a sincere apology for Volkswagen’s use of a software program that served to defeat the regular emissions testing regime,” Volkswagen of America chief executive Michael Horn told a House subcommittee. Calling the company’s admission “deeply troubling”, Mr Horn said: “We have broken the trust of our customers, dealerships and employees, as well as the public and regulators.”
Volkswagen was warned years ago about the use of illegal tricks to defeat emissions tests, according to reports in the German media.
Volkswagen executives in Germany controlled the key aspects of emissions tests whose results the carmaker now admits were faked, according to three people familiar with the company’s US operations.
Volkswagen is set to name Matthias Mueller as its new chief executive after the company was embroiled in a scandal over an alleged US vehicle emissions test rigging. The head of the Porsche sports car brand has been widely tipped to succeed Martin Winterkorn who stepped down from his role earlier this week. Officials in both Europe and the United States have stepped up their investigations into the scandal.