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California Fuel Cell Partnership envisions 70,000 heavy-duty fuel cell electric trucks supported by 200 hydrogen stations in-state by 2035

The California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP) released a new foundational document for heavy-duty class 8 fuel cell electric trucks (FCETs), “Fuel Cell Electric Trucks: A Vision for Freight Movement in California and Beyond,” that envisions 70,000 trucks supported by 200 heavy-duty truck stations by 2035.

The vision emphasizes the need for policies that unlock and accelerate private investment to achieve this interim step towards a larger goal of 100% zero-emission trucks by 2045.

Getting to a zero-emission future requires the partnership of government and industry, and the utilization of every tool at our disposal. At Hyundai-Kia, we know that battery and fuel cell electric technologies are needed to meet the diverse needs of our customers.

—Jerome Gregeois, Director Commercial Vehicles Development at Hyundai-Kia and chair of the CaFCP board of directors

The vision emphasizes the need for both battery and fuel cell electric vehicle technologies, and that “to truly realize a successful 100% zero-emission transition requires the unique capabilities of FCETs.”

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Heavy-duty trucks represent only 2% of vehicles on California roads, yet these hundreds of thousands of trucks generate more than 9% of the State’s greenhouse gas emissions, 32% of its nitrogen oxides, and 3% of its particulate emissions.

The successful rollout of heavy-duty, zero-emission trucks requires the interplay of several key elements. In the case of FCETs, that includes synchronizing vehicle rollout with hydrogen fueling infrastructure, and renewable and zero-carbon hydrogen production.

—Joe Cappello, CEO of Iwatani Corporation of America and vice chair of CaFCP

With the right policy mechanisms in place, the vision foresees a self-sustaining market by 2035. The draft of a California Air Resources Board report concludes that a self-sufficient light-duty fuel cell passenger car fueling network is possible, suggesting the same can happen for heavy-duty fuel cell trucks.

The release of the vision document comes on the heels of the California Air Resources Board’s Advanced Clean Truck rule, the world’s first rule requiring truck manufacturers to transition from diesel trucks and vans to electric zero-emission trucks beginning in 2024.

The California Fuel Cell Partnership is a collaboration of organizations, including car, bus, and truck manufacturers, infrastructure developers, energy providers, government agencies, fuel cell technology companies, and others that work together to promote the commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell electric vehicles.

Comments

Lad

The idea behind clean energy is to eliminate the pollution caused by fossil fuels at all points in the process; Hydrogen trucks don't do that if the Hydrogen fuel is based on reforming fossil fuel at giant refineries(reformers). Oil companies have little incentive to not use the reform process instead of producing clean hydrogen using electrolysis. They have huge stocks of natural gas and oil; so, what do you think they will use to produce hydrogen?
I thought by now that Tesla would have launched their Semi; to compete with these "illusions of clean energy" conjured up by the oil giants...not yet!

SJC

Renewable methane

sd

You could make hydrogen from natural gas using pyrolysis which yields solid carbon which could then sequestered (use it to back fill coal mines?). However, hydrogen is a real pain to deal with and is much more expensive than charging batteries so I would expect that faster charging batteries will eventually win.

electric-car-insider.com

Fleet managers always do the math.

The vast majority of trucks travel less than 300 miles per day.

Until hydrogen can compete with electricity on a cost competitive basis, FCVs are a technological cul-de-sac.

H2 is not just competing with $ per kWh. It’s competing with off-peak $ per kWh.

Battery electric semis will pay for their acquisition cost vs FCVs in fuel cost savings. Lower maintenance cost and downtime will be another strong argument.

I’d love to see a zero emission liquid fuel. But if it can’t compete on price, it can’t compete in fleet.

SJC

Batteries take time to charge lots of charging shortens life

Davemart

@electric-car-insider

Oddly enough, the truck producers have done their sums, and are not simply chucking billions are hydrogen trucks without any calculation.

Outside of the VAG group, where the current party line is that they can rely on a magic battery, yet to be developed, much like their triumphs with clean diesel where slight technical hitches also upset their cunning plans, hydrogen is the universal choice of the manufacturers for long distance and heavy loads .

I could link their studies on costs including fuel, but since you have made the claims that it ain't gonna work, you can do the work and show where their calculations are wrong in detail

I am going to stick with the opinions of Daimler, Volvo, Cummins, Renault, Toyota, Kenworth, Hyundai and Hyzon rather than yours, thanks.

electric-car-insider.com

Someone is going to have to explain to a fleet manager why they would want to purchase vehicles whose fuel cost is $16.51 per kilogram vs $0.04 to $0.12 per kWh.

That is going to be a very tough sell.

SJC

Trucking companies can make hydrogen for less than the price you stated.

Davemart

@electric car insider

The prices you quote are for low volume retail in California, not prices for much higher volume trucking, initially in Europe and China.

Either you are deeply ignorant of the subject, or you are deliberately trying to mislead.

Davemart

The price of hydrogen even at the low current volumes is 9.50 Euros, around $11.17kg

Hundreds of fuel cell trucks are going in in Germany and the rest of Europe prior to sales in the US.

electric-car-insider.com

An argument could be made that retail H2 will be cheaper in the future, but we’ve been hearing that argument for two decades and it is still expensive. The distribution infrastructure and dispensing are much more expensive than equivalent BEV charging infrastructure, so it isn’t simply a matter of some technical breakthrough in catalysts. Fundamentally, the conversion inefficiency and pressurization will always make liquid or high pressure H2 far more expensive than electrons, even if you were able to produce H2 at the point of sale.

As battery energy densities improve, it becomes ever harder for H2 to compete. There isn’t any equivalent performance curve for H2. There will be incremental improvements no doubt, but it will be like a Toyota Mirai racing a Tesla Model S Plaid.

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