LONDON/BERLIN : Interest in using hydrogen fuel cells to power trucks and vans is getting a boost from fleet operators looking for a more practical alternative to electric vehicles and rising government aid, particularly the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act .
"The fact is we need both BEVs and hydrogen," Daimler Truck Chief Executive Martin Daum told Reuters."The amount of energy BEVs need is so enormous that I see a strain on our grid that ultimately it can't fulfill."British supermarket chain Asda, with 1,000 large diesel vehicles hauling goods around the clock between hubs and stores, would be forced to add to its fleet if it turned to BEVs, and so is looking closely at fuel cells.
Asda, for instance, is part of a consortium including British fuel cell startup HVS that has received a UK government grant to develop a self-driving hydrogen heavy goods vehicle. Symbio, which supplies fuel cells for Stellantis vans, expects global fuel cell vehicle sales to reach 2 million units annually by 2030 and wants a 10 per cent share.Vittore Fulvi, owner of a trucking company based in Perugia, central Italy, runs a fleet of 60 diesel semi-trucks that manage 2,000 km - four days driving - on one tank.
Ford fleet customers run large diesel vans up to 600 miles daily, often carrying refrigerated goods requiring extra energy that would overwhelm a BEV.Heavy-duty pickup trucks used for everything from delivery trucks to ambulances in the United States could also switch to hydrogen. Toyota recently received UK government funding in partnership with insurance industry research group Thatcham Research to develop a hydrogen version of its Hilux pickup, with prototypes due this summer.
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