Focus: Truckers and subsidies rev up interest in fuel cell vehicles

Hydrotec Gesellschaft fuer Wassertechnik AG

16/02/2023 06:00

By Nick Carey and Christina Amann
       LONDON/BERLIN, Feb 16 (Reuters) - 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 (IRA).
    While most of the world's combustion engine cars and
short-distance vans and lorries should be replaced by battery
electric vehicles (BEVs) over the next two decades, fuel-cell
proponents and some long-haul fleet operators say batteries are
too heavy, take too long to charge and could overload power
grids.
    Vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells, in which hydrogen mixes
with oxygen to produce water and energy to power a battery, can
refuel in minutes and have a much longer range than BEVs.     
    "The fact is we need both BEVs and hydrogen," Daimler Truck
 DTGGe.DE  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."
    Daimler Truck will invest up to 15 billion euros ($16
billion) on fuel cells over the next decade, Daum said. 
    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. 
    "I'm not closing the door on batteries, but the benefit of
hydrogen is it doesn't need that dwell time (for charging) and
has better range," Asda fleet manager Sean Clifton said.        
    Like BEVs, hydrogen's main challenge is infrastructure,
which is too scant to support fleets today. But more governments
are offering subsidies, including for producing more hydrogen
from renewable power or rolling out fuelling stations.
    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. 
    In the United States, the IRA provides subsidies for cheap
hydrogen and fuelling infrastructure that industry executives
say will speed development of hydrogen semi-trucks and
heavy-duty pickup trucks. 
    The European Union is negotiating renewable energy targets,
including hydrogen.
    "Thanks to the IRA, things will move faster in the U.S.,"
said Philippe Rosier, CEO of French fuel cell maker Symbio, a
joint venture between Faurecia  EPED.PA  and Michelin  MICPA .
    Carmaker Stellantis  STLA.MI  is buying a stake in Symbio.
Rosier said that will accelerate plans, particularly in North
America where it aims to be ready for hydrogen pickup trucks by
2026.
    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% share.
    'NOT SUSTAINABLE'
    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 (1,243 miles) - four days driving - on one tank. 
    Fulvi Trasporti is considering hydrogen because heavy BEV
alternatives would cut its load capacity 15% and require daily
charging.
    "We would need to buy more lorries, more than one for every
10 we own," Fulvi said. "That is not sustainable."
    Ford  F.N  fleet customers run large diesel vans up to 600
miles (966 km) daily, often carrying refrigerated goods
requiring extra energy that would overwhelm a BEV. 
    "We need a plan B for those customers," Ford's UK head Tim
Slatter said. 
    Heavy-duty pickup trucks used for everything from delivery
trucks to ambulances in the United States could also switch to
hydrogen.
    With the notable exception of Tesla  TSLA.O , whose CEO Elon
Musk derides fuel cells as "fool cells," almost all automakers
have invested in hydrogen technology.     
    Both General Motors (GM)  GM.N  and Toyota  7203.T  are
testing fuel cells for larger vehicles including semi-trucks and
trains to build scale and lower costs. 
    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.
    GM has received a U.S. government grant to develop four
heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell pickups, which should become a
"sweet spot" for the technology, said Charlie Freese, executive
director of GM's Hydrotec business.
    Volkswagen  VOWG_p.DE  truck unit Traton  8TRA.DE  is not
currently investing in hydrogen, because it is so saddled with
debt from its acquisition of U.S. truckmaker Navistar it can
only afford BEV investments, CEO Christian Levin said.
    Traton will rely on others for hydrogen if needed, he said.
While Volkswagen is not currently investing in fuel cells, it
has hundreds of patents around the technology.
    ($1 = 0.9352 euros)
 (Reporting by Nick Carey and Christina Amann
Additional reporting by Giulio Piovaccari in Milan
Editing by Ben Klayman and Mark Potter)
 ((nick.carey@thomsonreuters.com; +44 7385 414 954;))