Hyzon Motors, Chart Industries to develop 1,000-mile range hydrogen truck

Hyzon Motors and Chart Industries have teamed up to use liquid hydrogen to revolutionize long-haul trucking.

Hyzon, a leading independent global manufacturer of highly engineered equipment serving multiple applications in the energy and industrial gas markets, and Chart, a leading independent global manufacturer of highly engineered equipment servicing multiple applications in the energy and industrial gas markets, have announced a partnership to develop and produce a liquid hydrogen-powered heavy-duty commercial vehicle with a range of up to 1,000 miles.

There are numerous advantages to using liquid hydrogen instead of gaseous hydrogen in heavy transport. Because liquid hydrogen storage is twice as dense as current gaseous storage at 700 bar, a tank of liquid hydrogen can fuel a vehicle for nearly twice the distance. Because the storage tanks are lighter than 700 bar tanks, liquid hydrogen improves a truck’s payload capacity.

Integration of mobile tanks that store liquid hydrogen, which requires temperatures of –423 °F, with a vehicle’s fuel cell, which requires ambient temperature hydrogen gas, is one of the challenges. By combining Chart’s market-leading liquid hydrogen equipment expertise with Hyzon’s experience manufacturing heavy-duty hydrogen vehicles, the partnership creates a unique opportunity to address this challenge.

By overcoming challenges along the hydrogen value chain, the revolutionary range extension will make the transition to a hydrogen-based transportation industry possible. Because the driving range of these trucks can easily match that of heavy-duty diesel trucks, the number of heavy-duty refueling stations required for these trucks will be significantly less than that required for trucks using gas storage tank systems under the model to be developed. In addition, by eliminating the compression and refrigeration equipment required for 700 bar vehicles, the capital and operating costs of refueling infrastructure are reduced.

Fewer stations would cut down on the time and money spent transporting hydrogen to refilling stations. Instead, large-scale, low-cost green hydrogen production facilities near the stations could be built, utilizing locally abundant resources such as solar, wind, and hydropower. The 1,000-mile range could allow coast-to-coast routes with only four mega-hubs in the early stages of hydrogen adoption.