![]() ![]() “That applies to both engines and fuel cells, and as we talk to customers, they like the idea that they can actually get started with hydrogen with the engine. “Service bays have to be retrofitted and upfitted to manage hydrogen indoors,” explains Nebergall. The case for hydrogen trucks | Grid limitations will make long-distance battery-electric haulage 'near impossible'Īs truck operators opting for either H 2 option would face upfront costs to fit specialist hydrogen storage tanks, sensors and non-sparking safety lights at their depots, adding expensive FCEVs on top of that capital investment is far from appealing. It’s just very familiar and the only thing they have to deal with is fuel.” That's why the engine resonates with them because at least their technicians know how to work on it. “When they realise they have to move away from diesel to something, it's really a risk equation,” Neberfall says, noting that this attitude among potential customers prevails across the world. Trucking firms - such as US giant Werner Enterprises, which recently pre-ordered 500 of Cummins’ 15-litre H 2 engines - are also enticed by the familiarity of an internal combustion engine, for which very little operator retraining is required. In terms of operational performance, combustion engines also have the advantage of versatility over H 2-FCEVs, the Cummins executive says, noting that the engine is less likely to be affected by dusty environments, or impurities in the hydrogen that would “poison” a fuel cell. An engine doesn’t really age in efficiency, but a fuel cell will age and it won't be as efficient. ![]() ![]() “You have to put more energy towards the cooling fans and they degrade over time. “Fuel cells have more heat generation, so they run hotter,” he explains. With such initial savings on the purchase price, it will take nearly half a new H 2-ICE truck’s operational life - five to seven years - before the vehicle starts losing money compared to an FCEV equivalent, and even longer if the latter’s fuel cell needs to be replaced. Hydrogen v battery trucks | UK launches $240m competition to find out which is best for zero-emissions haulage ![]()
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