Verne completes heavy-duty Class 8 truck powered by CcH2

Source | Verne

Verne (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) and its industry partners announce the completion of a Class 8 heavy-duty truck powered by cryo-compressed hydrogen (CcH)₂). Verne’s CcH₂ fuel storage system maximizes hydrogen storage density, extends vehicle range, and reduces vehicle weight and storage system costs. Verne begins testing the truck ahead of multiple commercial pilots.

Verne’s CcH₂ technology involves cooling and compressing hydrogen to achieve the maximum hydrogen density of 73 gallons/liter, a 33% improvement over liquid hydrogen and an 87% improvement over traditional 700-bar compressed gas hydrogen. Heavy-duty transportation is responsible for 12% of global CO₂ emissions, and Verne reports that current zero-emission options do not meet the range and payload requirements of heavy-duty truck fleets. By increasing hydrogen density, heavy-duty vehicles can store more energy on board while using fewer heavy, expensive storage tanks.

The cryo-compressed hydrogen truck uses Diesel Tech Industries’ (DTI, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) Guardian hydrogen diesel system (HDS), which retrofits a traditional diesel engine to run the vehicle on a mixture of diesel and hydrogen. DTI’s Guardian HDS could serve as an important bridge technology for the trucking industry, allowing fleets to fuel and drive with hydrogen without having to invest in a new fleet.

Together, Verne and DTI demonstrate the range and payload improvements of high-density CcH₂ fuel with the Guardian. Verne will conduct demonstrations and commercial pilots with vehicle manufacturers and fleets in Canada and the U.S. using dual fuel engines, hydrogen combustion engines and hydrogen fuel cells.

“This collaboration allows us to maximize on-board hydrogen storage while maintaining the flexibility and reliability of the diesel engine,” said Rebecca Goldsack, COO of DTI, who led the vehicle integration. “The seamless adaptation of this dual-fuel solution — without changing the wheelbase of the truck — meets our customers’ needs for longer range and fewer tanks, while enabling the use of sleeper cabs.”

Verne previously obtained a CcH₂ storage record during a stationary demonstration of a 29-kilogram storage system at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and completed a drive test of a fuel cell electric vehicle powered by CcH₂. Verne is also applying its technology to hydrogen compaction and distribution, with the aim of reducing the cost of delivering hydrogen by up to 40%. This distribution platform should accelerate the use of hydrogen in several sectors that currently rely on diesel, including heavy-duty trucks and off-highway vehicles.

“Demonstrating the first Class 8 truck powered by cryo-compressed hydrogen will be a significant milestone for the hydrogen industry and a major step toward decarbonizing trucking at scale,” said Ted McKlveen, Verne co-founder and CEO.

Verne’s CcH₂ truck adds to the momentum behind the 5,000 Hydrogen Vehicle Challenge presented by Edmonton Global (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), which aims to deploy 5,000 hydrogen or dual-free vehicles in Western Canada over the next 5 years. Verne is also supported in this project by Alberta Innovates (Edmonton) through the Hydrogen Centre of Excellence program.