Concept: US startup Hyzon Motor (Hyzon) has introduced hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks for commercial vehicle trials. It has signed a trial agreement with a port trucking company, Total Transport Services (TTSI) to provide Class 8 heavy-duty fuel cell electric trucks. The 30-day trial for the vehicles is agreed to take place in Q4 of 2021.
Nature of Disruption: The hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks are based on the 2022 Freightliner Cascadia chassis. The truck has a capacity of 600 HP and has a range of 643 KMs. It has battery energy of 110 kWh. The fuel cell power of the truck is 120 kW whereas the amount of hydrogen in the fuel cell is around 50–70 Kg. The trucks run at speeds up to 88.5 Kmph and can be extended up to 120 Kmph as per the customer’s requests. They come with vehicle intelligence such as backup alarm, collision avoidance, blind-spot detection, lane guidance, and electronic stability control. The trucks can carry or pull around 41 tons of gross combined vehicle weight (GCVW).
Outlook: The modern transportation fleet companies are focusing on reducing carbon emissions as various governments are also taking initiatives to support it. Hyzon is focussing on deploying transport trucks with a zero-emission goal. To pilot test the truck, Hyzon has collaborated with TTSI to run trials for its hydrogen fuel cell trucks in its fleet working towards a zero-emission goal. TTSI claims 13,000 to 14,000 trucks are operating at the Long Beach port every year that emits 2,600 tons of CO2. With transitioning to hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks, it will become a zero-emission transportation fleet, eventually. Moreover, TTSI aims to achieve its sustainability goals faster with the use of Hyzon’s trucks.