Ferguson Enterprises is collaborating with Ford Motor Company to place a first-of-its-kind F550 Fuel Cell Prototype Chassis Work Truck in service within Ferguson’s daily fleet operations for six months. Participation in Ford’s F550 Fuel Cell Prototype Work Truck, a DOE SuperTruck 3 Initiative, complements Ferguson’s overall sustainability strategy to reduce a sizable proportion of Scope 1 emissions from its fleet.

This is an image for Ferguson’s current fleet. An image of the prototype is not yet available.

This pilot program aims to evaluate how fuel cell technology will operate within the Ferguson fleet while providing real-world usage data to Ford. Ferguson will provide Ford with vehicle data and feedback about the technology to help Ford better define the engineering requirements for commercial vehicle duty cycles. This data will be used to address ongoing industry challenges within the medium-duty and heavy-duty segments, such as battery range and payload capacity, that have prevented faster conversion to environmentally friendlier options.

As part of this collaboration, Ferguson will also prepare a location in Charlotte, NC for the installation of temporary infrastructure equipment for the duration of the pilot.

This pilot program with Ford complements Ferguson’s previously announced pilot program to launch 30 class 6 through 8 all-electric delivery trucks in its fleet in collaboration with Holman and Electrada. The turnkey fleet management and electrification solutions enable Ferguson to deploy medium- and heavy-duty all-electric vehicles throughout California while streamlining the development of the necessary charging and energy management infrastructure. Together, these investments in new technologies will help inform Ferguson’s strategy for a more environmentally friendly fleet.

Ford’s strategy to reduce carbon emissions across the globe includes investigating multiple technologies that will help us achieve these goals across a broad spectrum of applications. This collaboration with Ferguson is a strong example of where our Ford Pro business and the potential of fuel cell propulsion systems might address the application gaps that battery electric vehicles just can’t fulfill. The potential of hydrogen, the most plentiful element on the planet, coupled with fuel cell technology has tremendous potential to power larger, heavier commercial vehicles while still delivering zero tailpipe emissions.

—Jim Buczkowski, executive director, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering

Ferguson plc is a leading value-added distributor in North America providing expertise, solutions and products from infrastructure, plumbing and appliances to HVAC, fire, fabrication and more.

SuperTruck 3 is an initiative jointly funded by the DOE Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Technologies Office and the Vehicle Technologies Office within the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office, and under DOE Cooperative Agreement No. DE-EE0009858.