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Last year, a truck undertook a series of journeys across the Brenner Pass, a high-altitude route linking Italy and Austria that plays an important role in the transportation of goods in Europe.

So far, so normal. This vehicle, however, was different: A hydrogen-powered prototype, it used fuel cells and, according to manufacturer Daimler Truck, emitted nothing but water vapor.

In a statement issued in November, the business said it was planning further tests of its Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck in mountainous areas.

“The development goal is a range of 1,000 kilometers [a little over 621 miles] and more,” the firm said, adding that it was targeting series production in the second half of the 2020s.

Daimler Truck’s tests, which are ongoing, represent just one example of how companies involved in the freight sector are looking at hydrogen.

Others include Volvo Trucks. In Sept. 2022, it said it would begin testing fuel cell electric trucks in what it called “commercial traffic” from 2025.

“Hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric trucks will be especially suitable for long distance and heavy, energy-demanding assignments,” the business, which is part of the larger Volvo Group, said.

“They could also be an option in countries where battery charging possibilities are limited,” it added.

In a sign of how collaboration could be key to the development of hydrogen powered mobility, Daimler Truck and the Volvo Group have also set up cellcentric, a joint venture focused on the manufacture of fuel cells.

The above moves come at a time when plans are being made to reduce overall transport-related emissions, including those from larger vehicles crucial to the freight industry.

The U.K., for example, has said it wants all new heavy goods vehicles there to be zero emission by 2040.

Over in the U.S., California is aiming for half of all heavy-duty truck sales in the state to be fully electric by 2035.

Elsewhere, the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, is looking to toughen up CO2 emissions standards for heavy duty vehicles like trucks.

It says this category of vehicle — which also includes long-distance and city buses — accounts for over 25% of greenhouse gas emissions from road transport within the bloc, and more than 6% of total GHG emissions there.

With major economies planning for a future centered around low and zero-emission technologies, efforts to decarbonize the freight sector will have to be ramped up.

It’s therefore no surprise that alongside hydrogen, battery electric vehicles are also being considered for trucking.

These include the Tesla Semi, Daimler Truck’s Mercedes-Benz eActros and the Volvo FH Electric. Other companies like Scania and DAF are also operating in the battery electric space.

A range of options

When it comes to the road based transportation of goods, the question of whether one technology will become dominant is an open one.  

Jonathan Walker is head of cities and infrastructure policy at trade body Logistics UK.

Citing the example of firms operating van fleets traveling “relatively limited ranges in their day to day operations,” he told CNBC that “quite a significant shift … towards electric vans” was being seen.

“Clearly, electric works very well for that sort of … urban operation,” he added, before noting that question marks still remained when it came to “the big, long distance routes.”

“We know battery technology is coming along, but hydrogen … offers the closest comparator to diesel currently, so we believe, at least in the short to medium term, it will be a mixture.”  

Other organizations trying to sketch out how the decarbonization of vehicles involved in the sector will develop include Brussels-based campaign group Transport & Environment.   

“For two-thirds of road freight activity under 400 km, battery electric trucks are the most-competitive technology and are soon going to reach cost parity with conventional diesel trucks from a total cost of ownership (TCO) perspective,” it says.

“Which zero-emission technology out of battery electric and hydrogen will prevail in the long-haul segment is less certain,” T&E adds.

“Battery electric long-haul trucks are likely to be more cost-effective and more energy efficient, whereas hydrogen fuel cell trucks may offer increased flexibility in terms of refuelling and may be better suited to certain niche applications.”

Hydrogen’s challenges

Described by the International Energy Agency as a “versatile energy carrier,” hydrogen has a diverse range of applications and can be used in a wide range of industries.

One method of producing hydrogen involves electrolysis, a process through which an electric current splits water into oxygen and hydrogen.

Some call the resulting hydrogen “green” or “renewable” if the electricity used in the process comes from renewable energy installations like wind or solar farms.

Today, the vast majority of hydrogen generation is still based on fossil fuels.

“If you look at hydrogen, for example, as a country we need to decide what it is we want to use hydrogen for,” Walker said.

He added that there were discussions “about using hydrogen for heating, using it for the railways, using it for road transport, obviously there’s a demand for hydrogen in the chemical sector.”  

“But that that needs to be determined as a country, because, you know, while hydrogen is plentiful, it’s also kind of costly, and not without its own environmental issues to produce it.”

Infrastructure key

Regardless of what technology comes out on top, one thing is certain: An extensive network for refueling and recharging hydrogen fuel cell or battery electric vehicles will be required if these vehicles are to gain any sort of foothold within the sector.

Logistics UK’s Walker told CNBC that this didn’t exist today, and stressed the importance of creating one.

“You need that resilience in the network to ensure that, actually, if a vehicle is suddenly … running out of range, through no fault of the driver, they are able to go and refuel quickly and continue their journey.”

Change on that front appears to be coming. Within the EU, for example, efforts are being made to create the conditions that would enable hydrogen trucks to travel long distances.

In March 2023, the European Commission welcomed a provisional agreement between the European Parliament and Council of the EU on the deployment of “sufficient alternative fuels infrastructure.”

The agreement contains targets related to charging stations for heavy-duty EVs and hydrogen cars and lorries.

Elsewhere, Element 2, which is based in the north of England, says it’s building a “national network of hydrogen refuelling stations … across the UK [which has left the EU] and Ireland.”

The future

As well as being used in road-based vehicles, hydrogen could also have a role to play in rail freight, with big businesses like Alstom and Engie working on fuel cell projects.

Looking ahead, Logistics UK’s Walker stressed the importance of pushing ahead with “trials of both battery electric and hydrogen HGVs for longer distance freight journeys.”

These trials, he added, needed to be “conducted swiftly, effectively and with regular reporting so the industry can … keep abreast of what is being learned.”

If trials showed a particular technology was proving “really promising” then this would in turn give industry “the confidence to work with manufacturers to invest in new technology.”

“And we will hopefully see a sort of virtuous circle of investment by the industry, [which] requires greater investment in infrastructure. And those two things go hand in hand.”

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ABB is bringing its new, 1.2 MW modular truck chargers to ACT Expo

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ABB is bringing its new, 1.2 MW modular truck chargers to ACT Expo

Capable of delivering up to 1,200 kW of power to get electric commercial trucks back on the road in minutes, the new ABB MCS1200 Megawatt Charging System is part of an ecosystem of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) that ABB’s bringing to this year’s ACT Expo.

ABB E-mobility is using the annual clean trucking conference to showcase the expansion of its EVSE portfolio with three all-new charger families: the field-upgradable A200/300 All-in-One chargers, the MCS1200 Megawatt Charging System for heavy-duty vehicles shown (above), and the ChargeDock Dispenser for flexible depot charging.

The company said its new product platform was built by applying a computer system-style domain separation to charger design, fundamentally improving subsystem development and creating a clear path forward for site and system expansion. In other words, ABB is selling a system with both future-proofing and enhanced dependability baked in.

“We have built a system by logically separating a charger into four distinct subsystems … each functioning as an independent subsystem,” explains Michael Halbherr, CEO of ABB E-mobility. “Unlike conventional chargers, where a user interface failure can disable the entire system, our architecture ensures charging continues even if the screen or payment system encounters issues. Moreover, we can improve each subsystem at its own pace without having to change the entire system.”

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The parts of ABB’s new EVSE portfolio that have been made public so far have already been recognized for design excellence, with the A400 winning the iF Gold Award and both the A400 and C50 receiving Red Dot Design Awards.

New ABB chargers seem pretty, good

ABB’s good-looking family; via ABB.

ABB says the systemic separation of its EVSE enhances both reliability and quality, while making deployed chargers easier to diagnose and repair, in less time. Each of the chargers’ subsystems can be tested, diagnosed, and replaced independently, allowing for quick on-site repairs and update cycles tailored to the speed of each systems’ innovation. The result is 99% uptime and a more future-proof product.

“The EV charging landscape is evolving beyond point products for specific use cases,” continued Halbherr. “By implementing this modular approach with the majority of our R&D focused on modular platforms rather than one-off products … it reduces supply chain risks, while accelerating development cycles and enabling deeper collaboration with critical suppliers.”

Key markets ABB is chasing

HVC 360 Charge Dock Dispenser depot deployment; via ABB.
  • PUBLIC CHARGING – with the award winning A400 being the optimal fit for high power charging from highway corridors to urban locations, the latest additions to the A-Series All-in-One chargers offer a field-upgradable architecture allowing operators to start with the A200 (200kW) with the option to upgrade to 300kW or 400kW as demand grows. This approach offers scalability and protects customer investment, leading to Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) savings over 10 years.
  • PUBLIC TRANSIT AND FLEET – the new Charge Dock Dispenser – in combination with the already in market available HVC 360 – simplifies depot charging with a versatile solution that supports pantograph-, roof-, and pedestal charging options with up to 360kW of shared power and 150m/490 ft installation flexibility between cabinet and dispensers. The dispenser maintains up to 500A output.
  • HEAVY TRUCKS – building the matching charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles and fleets represents a critical innovation frontier on our journey to electrify transportation. Following extensive collaboration with industry-leading truck OEMs, the MCS1200 Megawatt Charging System delivers up to 1,200kW of continuous power — 20% more energy transfer than 1MW systems — providing heavy-duty vehicles with purpose-built single-outlet design for the energy they need during mandatory driver breaks. To support other use cases, such as CCS truck charging, a dual CCS and MCS option will also be available.
  • RETAIL – the award winning C50 Compact Charger complements the family as the slimmest charger in its category at just 9.3 inches depth, optimized for convenient charging during typical one-hour retail experiences. With its large touch display, the C50 takes the award-winning A400 experience even further — setting a new standard for consumer experience and very neatly echoing our own take on that “Goldilocks” timing zone for commercial charging.

ABB says that the result of its new approach are chargers that offer 99% plus uptime — a crucial statistic for commercial charging operations and a key factor to ensuring customer satisfaction. The new ABB E-mobility EVSE product family will be on display for the first time at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo (ACT Expo) in Anaheim, California next week, then again at Power2Drive in Munich, Germany, from May 7-9.

Electrek’s Take

BEV trucks and buses at ACT Expo in Long Beach; image by the author.
ACT Expo test drives; by the author.

The ACT Expo is one of – if not the most important sustainable trucking event in North America, featuring all the big names in heavy trucks, construction equipment, material handling, infrastructure – even Tier 1 suppliers. Mostly, though, it’s many fleet buyers’ only chance to test drive these zero emission trucks before writing a big PO (which just makes it even more important).

Electrek will be there again this year, and we’ll be bringing you all the latest news from press events and product reveals as it happens.

SOURCE | IMAGES: ABB E-mobility.


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Whisper Aero ultralight aircraft scores $500K for “UltraQuiet” electric jet motor tests

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Whisper Aero ultralight aircraft scores 0K for

Along with Tennessee Tech, Tennessee-based ultralight aircraft company Whisper Aero has secured a $500,000 grant to help advance the company’s innovative electric jet motor concept off the drawing board and onto the testing phase.

Earlier this month, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) announced plans to award $500,000 to Tennessee Tech and Whisper Aero through the Transportation Network Growth Opportunity (TNGO) initiative.

“We look forward to using these award dollars to place students in internships working directly with Whisper Aero leaders,” said Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham. “By learning from an electric propulsion innovator like Whisper Aero, our students will gain invaluable perspective and can take what they have learned in the classroom and apply it right here in Tennessee.”

The grant will see a Whisper Aero glider fitted with a pair of the company’s eQ250 electric-powered jet “propulsors” for UltraQuiet flight. Tennessee Tech faculty and students will carry out copper-bird ground testing to ensure the safe integration of engines, batteries, and controllers, and kickstart Tennessee Tech’s new Crossville Mobility Incubator.

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Those propulsors, by the way, are super cool.

UnltraQuiet WhisperDrive; via Whisper Aero.

Whisper Aero’s main claim to fame is its innovative UltraQuiet WhisperDrive (above). It’s effectively an electrically spun ducted fan jet engine that uses a large number of stiff composite fan blades inside a lightweight, acoustically treated duct. With so many blades, the Whisper Aero propulsor can push more air than a conventional prop while spinning much more slowly. As such, the “blade passage frequency” moves up to more than 16,000 Hz – outside the range of most human hearing but not, supposedly, high enough to freak out the beagles.

The Whisper Aero ultralight is effectively an Aériane Swift3 glider fitted with a pair of Whisper’s eQ250 propulsors, each capable of up to 80 lbs. of thrust. The Ultralight has a wingspan of over 40 ft with a maximum L/D of 35:1 and can be stressed to a design loading of +6/-4g, making it capable of some pretty impressive acrobatic feats.

The Swift3 glider is designed for a low speed, low power cruising speed of 45–55 knots with “just” 6.5 hp. Power-off glides from a few hundred feet showed a low sink rate, and a climb rate of 1,250 ft/min with full self-launching power (in other words: the Whisper glider doesn’t have to be towed by a launch vehicle, like a conventional ultralight glider).

Quiet cool

Dual WhisperDrive fans deliver ~160 lbf of thrust; via Whisper Aero.

Range under full power is about 109 miles with current battery tech, but it’s expected that range under the latest EPiC 2.0 energy batteries would rise to nearly 170 miles.

Nathan Millecam, CEO of Electric Power System, said, “EPiC 2.0’s leap in energy density and thermal performance has enabled a significant increase in range, a clear validation of our next-gen cell technology. We are impressed by what the Whisper team continues to achieve in advancing electric aviation.”

The press release concludes explaining that flight tests are expected to show that the Whisper Aero glider can be flown, “a few hundred feet away from neighborhoods without any disturbances, while carrying a 220 lbs. payload with full range,” which is all kind of ominous in today’s political climate, but still pretty neat from a purely tech perspective.

The TNGO grant follows a separate grant from NASA awarded last year, though that grant aims to develop the eQ250s – not as a propulsion system, but as a key component in future spacecraft ventilation systems.

Tennessee Tech announces TNGO grant

With support from TNECD’s Transportation Network Growth Opportunity (TNGO) initiative, Tennessee Tech University and Whisper Aero are partnering to advance next-generation propulsion technology in the aerospace industry. This collaboration will enhance aerospace research and workforce development, ensuring Tennessee remains a leader in cutting-edge mobility solutions.

TNECD

SOURCE | IMAGES: TNECD; via eVTOL Insights, New Atlas.


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Tesla Cybertruck owner gets stuck after beliving Elon Musk’s ‘river crossing’ claim

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Tesla Cybertruck owner gets stuck after beliving Elon Musk's 'river crossing' claim

A Tesla Cybertruck owner believed Elon Musk’s claims that the Cybertruck would be able to “act as a boat” and “cross rivers”, and he got his $100,000 stuck because of it.

Elon Musk has often made claims about how Tesla vehicles could float and briefly serve as a boat in the past.

We have never been taken too seriously because Tesla’s warranty states something different about taking the vehicle into water.

However, the CEO doubled down on the claim specifically for the Cybertruck.

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Ahead of launching the production version of the Cybertruck, Musk claimed the vehicle would be “waterproof enough” to serve as a boat and cross rivers:

Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes and even seas that aren’t too choppy.

The CEO added that the goal is for a Cybertruck to be able to cross the water between SpaceX’s Starbase and South Padre Island in Texas, which is about 360 meters (1,100 feet).

We have been taking the Cybertruck more seriously with water because we learned that Tesla built a ‘wade mode’ for the truck to be able to go into the water. Tesla says the mode increases the ride height to the max and temporarily “pressurizes the battery pack.”

The problem is that it is activated through the off-roading mode, which is not covered under Tesla’s warranty – so we are taking everything with a grain of salt.

Whenever Tesla’s warranty contradicts what Musk says, it is better to follow to the warranty.

A Tesla Cybertruck owner in Truckee, California, appears not to have received this sage advice since they activated the wade mode and attempted to get into the water.

The Cybertruck owner quickly got stuck. The local California Highway Patrol (CHP) shared some pictures of the aftermath (via Facebook):

CHP Truckee helped with the recovery and commented on the incident:

Cybertruck activated “Wade Mode”… and waded a bit too far… We’re all for testing boundaries… but maybe not the waterline. Remember folks, “Wade Mode” isn’t “Submarine Mode.” If your plans include exploring the great outdoors, make sure to know your limits and the terrain.

There’s no detail on the damage to the Cybertruck, if any.

As we recently reported, repair costs for the stainless steel electric pickup truck can increase rapidly.

This Cybertruck owner is also not the first one to get stuck in water. We previously reported on a Tesla Cybertruck sinking into the water when launching a jet ski.

Electrek’s Take

At the risk of stating the obvious, this is clearly more of a user error than a Cybertruck problem.

I think the verdict is clear: Cybertruck is far from the best electric pickup truck for off-roading.

However, in general, you shouldn’t expect a truck to get out of water on a muddy bank.

I think a lot of Cybertruck owners are new to trucking and off-roading, and they are making the truck look worse than it is at off-roading.

If you want to take your Cybertruck off-road, I recommend to first go with an off-roading guide that can help avoid some simple mistakes like this.

Also, in general, don’t take Elon Musk’s claims at face value when he says that Tesla vehicles can do something that sounds like an exaggeration. It probably is an exaggeration.

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