Heavy Duty Trucking, January 2021
found in a wide ranging guidance report on hydrogen fuel cell powered trucks just released by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency The report Making Sense of Heavy Duty Hydrogen Fuel Tractors highlights the challenges and benefits of making fuel cell powered trucks competitive with battery electric trucks as cleanenergy alternatives to diesel The report outlines the present state of fuel cell technology and acknowledges they are a viable alternative to diesel and would complement battery electric trucks in many applications However they are relatively new to trucking and need to be proven in different applications NACFE warns that fleets thinking about fuel cell deployment will need to optimize the specifications for the intended application and be prepared to make adjustments along the way While the technology is fairly mature the application is fairly new and there should be an expectation of a learning curve with any new technology said report co author ITS COMPLICATED he future of transportation is electric and hydrogen will be part of that future But its difficult to see a clear path to hydrogen powered transportation Too many variables still must fall into place before an accurate picture comes into view of the true cost of hydrogen and its practicality as a transportation energy source Thats one of the central conclusions HYDROGEN FUEL CELL TRUCKS The North American Council for Freight Efficiency digs into the potential and the challenges of hydrogen fuel cell powered trucks By Jim Park Equipment Editor jpark@ truckinginfo com HDT JANUARY 2021 42 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM T PHOTO TOYOTA There are very few fuel cell trucks on the roads yet Toyotas next generation fuel cell electric technology is now powering a pair of production intent prototype Kenworth T680 Class 8 trucks that will go to work at the Southern California ports
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