Hydrogen Central

Verne unveils world-first cryo-compressed hydrogen heavy-duty truck

cryo-compressed hydrogen

Verne unveils world-first cryo-compressed hydrogen heavy-duty truck

Verne and its industry partners announced the completion of the first heavy-duty Class 8 truck powered by cryo-compressed hydrogen (CcH2). Verne’s CcHfuel storage system maximizes hydrogen storage density, increasing vehicle range while decreasing vehicle weight and storage system cost. Verne showcased the truck at the Alberta Motor Transport Association Innovation Expo in Edmonton, where fleets had the chance to inspect the completed truck. Verne will soon begin drive testing of the truck in advance of multiple commercial pilots.

Verne’s cryo-compressed hydrogen technology involves cooling and compressing hydrogen to achieve the maximum hydrogen density of 73 g/L, 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 current zero emission options fail to meet the range and payload requirements of heavy-duty truck fleets. By increasing hydrogen density, CcH2 is the first zero-emission fuel to enable heavy-duty vehicles to meet diesel-parity range and payload.

The first-of-kind cryo-compressed hydrogen truck uses Diesel Tech Industries’ Guardian Hydrogen Diesel System, which is a retrofit of a traditional diesel engine to enable the vehicle to run on a blend of diesel and hydrogen. DTI’s Guardian Hydrogen Diesel System can serve as an important bridge technology for the trucking industry, as it allows fleets to trial hydrogen fueling and driving without requiring investment in a new fleet of trucks.

Verne and DTI will demonstrate the range and payload improvements of high-density CcHfuel with the Guardian Hydrogen Diesel System. Verne will conduct demonstrations and commercial pilots with leading vehicle manufacturers and fleets in Canada and the United States using dual-fuel engines, hydrogen combustion engines and hydrogen fuel cells, as it believes that all three technologies will play an important role in decarbonizing the heavy-duty transportation sector.

Verne previously achieved a CcHstorage record during a stationary demonstration of a 29 kg storage system at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and completed drive testing of a fuel cell electric vehicle powered by CcHwith a leading global vehicle manufacturer. Verne is also applying its unique CcHtechnology to hydrogen densification and distribution to bring down the cost of delivering hydrogen by as much as 40%. This novel distribution platform will accelerate the use of hydrogen in several sectors that currently rely on diesel, including heavy-duty trucks and off-road equipment.  

Ted McKlveen, Verne Co-founder & CEO said ,

“Demonstrating the first Class 8 truck powered by cryo-compressed hydrogen will be a major milestone for the hydrogen industry and a big step towards decarbonizing trucking at scale,”

Rebecca Goldsack, COO of Diesel Tech Industries, who led integration of the vehicle added,

“Diesel Tech Industries is thrilled to partner with Verne in integrating the Verne CcHsystem with our Guardian Hydrogen Diesel System. This collaboration allows us to maximize onboard hydrogen storage while maintaining the flexibility and reliability of the diesel engine.

The seamless retrofit of this dual-fuel solution—without altering the truck’s wheelbase—meets our customers’ demands for extended range and fewer tanks, all while enabling the use of sleeper cabs. This partnership underscores our commitment to driving the energy transition in heavy-duty trucking, setting new standards for sustainability and operational efficiency”

Verne was supported on this project by Alberta Innovates through their Hydrogen Centre of Excellence program.

David Van Den Assem, Director of the Hydrogen Centre of Excellence at Alberta Innovates said,

“Alberta Innovates positions Alberta as a world leader in the innovative production, deployment, and use of hydrogen across our economy.

The cryo-compressed hydrogen (CcH2) technology on this truck is an important step forward to broadening the use of hydrogen in the transportation industry and meeting the goals of the 5,000 hydrogen vehicle challenge,”

Edmonton Global introduced the 5,000 Hydrogen Vehicle Challenge, which aims to deploy 5,000 hydrogen or dual-fuel vehicles in Western Canada over the next five years.

Malcolm Bruce, CEO of Edmonton Global added,

“Verne’s innovative technology and partnership with Diesel Tech Industries is a clear demonstration of the coordinated and aggressive action taking place in the Edmonton Metro Region to drive hydrogen technology adoption in our commercial transportation sector.

This announcement adds to the growing momentum behind the 5,000 Hydrogen Vehicle Challenge and is another important piece to the infrastructure needed to support the transition. Congratulations to Verne and DTI on this exciting milestone,”

About Verne

Verne was founded in 2020 to develop high-density hydrogen storage solutions required for deep decarbonization. Verne’s platform unlocks zero-emission operations in sectors including trucking and hydrogen distribution. Verne is financially supported by leading commercial entities, including Trucks Venture Capital, Collaborative Fund, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, NextEra Energy Resources, United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund, Caterpillar VC, and Newlab. Verne is also supported by Breakthrough Energy Fellows, the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E, The U.S. Army, Alberta Innovates and other agencies. For more information, visit www.verneh2.com.

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Verne unveils world-first cryo-compressed hydrogen heavy-duty truck, source

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