What a ‘real world’ hydrogen pickup looks like and why it should end the conversation
This hydrogen-powered GM commercial truck offers 300 miles of range and “generates enough electricity to power 250 typical American homes” (for a few minutes?). Just not at the same time.
GM is calling this latest fuel cell-powered truck concept the foundation of “a hydrogen-based worksite ecosystem,” and imagines a world where Chevrolet Silverado 5500 MD trucks like this one are fitted with HYDROTEC fuel cell systems capable of generating 300 kW of peak power. The trucks would then serve as generators for on-site tools, portable offices, and more.
Jacob Lozier, HYDROTEC’s program manager, told reporters last week that these trucks could, “power job sites or bring charging to EVs in areas where traditional charging is not available,” before adding that, “it has enough power and energy to provide power for up to 250 American homes.”
GM and its partners were able to get nearly 300 miles of range from the big MD Chevy (compared to 450 from the Silverado EV), which has a … let’s go with “unique” look. One that, according to a HYDROTEC spokesperson, was inspired by shipping containers.
“Our team was inspired by the efficiencies of shipping containers and how that could contribute further to the efficiencies of this breakthrough truck,” reports James Carter. “It was the perfect solution.”
“To achieve a 300 mile range, we had to investigate new packaging initiatives for the tanks to hold 40kg of hydrogen,” is another quote attributed to the GM/HYDROTEC team. “[Fortunately], we were able to achieve this and still leave a 3ft bed for customers.”
The vehicles were built with funding awarded from the Department of Energy’s SuperTruck 3 program and the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office as part of a pilot program to demonstrate the real-world capabilities of fuel cells for fleet and commercial customers.
Southern Company, one of the largest southern utility companies, will receive the HYDROTEC fuel cell-powered Chevy MD trucks and use them as shop vehicles at its worksites. Southern Company, together with GM and Nel ASA, will use also test out a hydrogen microgrid for fueling infrastructure that includes a stationary fuel cell-based mobile power generator.
Electrek’s Jo’s Take
Look, I am the first person to say that battery-electric power is not the answer for everything. I’m a “right tool for the right job” kind of person. I understand that certain jobs in certain fields require kilowatt hours of energy every hour. Batteries made with today’s technology would have to be so huge to provide that power that the vehicle they’re attached to would sink into asphalt, let alone dirt and mud. Hydrogen, when blended with diesel to cut carbon and NOx emissions and in a few other extremely limited combustion scenarios, has a (temporary) role.
“It’s just awful,” I wrote to Electrek chief Seth Weintraub. “I can’t believe it’s not an April Fools’ joke.”
“Dear lord,” he wrote back. “I guess the mobile power generators is something needed but only 300 miles is laughable … if it can go 300 miles and it’s a generator that puts out 1MWh,” he said, re-reading the release, “then, OK. This makes sense.”
I looked at it again and shook my head. “For what it’s worth, I’m almost certain that’s in total. Look at all the hydrogen it takes to get a Nikola to go 400-ish miles.”
Nikola hydrogen semi truck
Still, I didn’t want to call GM’s multimillion dollar hydrogen truck program a laughable monstrosity without some due diligence, so I reached out to GM’s press contact. I sent over the following email in a quest for clarity:
Reading this article, it’s not clear if the truck has 300 miles of range AND “can power 250 homes for a day” or has 300 miles of range OR “can power 250 homes for a day.” Can you help clarify if the range is tied to the output? Meaning: can it drive out 150 (ish) miles, provide that power, then drive 150 (ish) miles back?
My email to gm
Their response was professionally short.
The 250 homes portion is to put it into perspective the amount of power the truck has. Driving the trucks would reduce the available fuel storage for powering homes, etc.
GM press contact
So, what is it exactly that GM and HYDROTEC have shown us here? Because, from where I sit, what we have here is an enormous MD pickup with significantly reduced range when compared to its diesel counterparts, that’s limited to a nearly useless 3 ft. of bed space (which, one imagines, would drop to zero on even a Silverado 3500 dually) that can power a job site for about the same amount for time as a hybrid F-150 (as long as it’s not too far away from a hydrogen filling station) and for significantly less time than a conventional EV or solar-powered gen set. And it does all those things worse than existing technologies at a significantly higher cost than any, with a dubious environmental advantage to diesel and none to battery and solar.
When MAN Truck’s CEO Alexander Vlaskamp told reporters that it was “impossible for hydrogen to effectively compete with battery electric trucks,” I believed him. I just didn’t expect GM to prove his point.
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Volvo Penta will debut its latest modular and scalable battery energy storage system (BESS) platform for the off-grid construction and mining industries at the bauma equipment show – here’s what you can expect.
Best-known for its marine engines and gensets, Volvo Penta is the power production arm of the Volvo Group, specializing in putting energy to work. Operating under the tagline, ‘Made to Move You’, Volvo Penta is headed to bauma 2025 with a plan to keep construction, port shipping, and mining operations moving productively and competitively throughout their transitions to battery and (in theory, at least) hydrogen power.
To that end, the company will show off a job site ready version of the scalable and modular BESS subsystem concept shown last year.
Volvo says its new, modular BESS subsystem will enable other OEMs and third party system integrators to seamlessly deploy electric power to meet the ever-exceeding energy needs in construction and mining.
“Our modular and scalable battery-electric platform is designed to support the electrification ecosystem—combining high-performance drivelines with the crucial energy storage subsystems for efficient charging and operation in construction and mining,” says Hannes Norrgren, President of Volvo Penta Industrial. “We want to meaningfully collaborate with our customers on value-added customization that will enable them to stay productive, efficient, and future-ready.”
The Penta substation at bauma will be built around the company’s “Cube” battery pack, an energy-dense solution with a favorable C-rate designed to make it easy for BESS manufacturers to offer more compact job site solutions capable of charging and discharging energy with high levels of speed and efficiency, enabling both stationary and mobile BESS configurations that can change and grow to meet the evolving needs of a given asset fleet or project.
A Volvo Penta-developed DC/DC unit converts the voltage from the Cube battery packs (600 V) into lower voltage (24 V) for powering auxiliaries and portable offices.
Electrek’s Take
Volvo Penta has always provided power. Historically that’s been from combustion, but the company is looking ahead, developing products that will bring energy to job sites, tractors, and more long after the last ICE engine shuts down.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo Penta.
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Just days after Rivian announced that it would be making its iconic electric delivery vans available to anyone willing to pay for one, the company launched the new Rivian Upfit Program, offering a “one-stop shop” to help fleet managers put its EVs to work.
Launched in partnership with commercial vehicle heavyweights Ranger Design, Sortimo of North America, Bush Specialty Vehicles, Holman, LEGEND, and EV Sportline, the Rivian Upfit Program helps fleet buyers make the switch to electric by simplifying the ordering process and delivering an experience that more closely reflects the experience fleet managers get at dealerships.
Despite partnering with leading brands and launching into a well-establish market, however, the program’s web page seems largely aimed at people outside the space – even kicking off with an explanation of what upfitting is:
Upfitting is the process of customizing a vehicle in order to meet fleet, business, or individual consumer needs to tackle the job at hand. This work is done after the vehicle has been built and released from the factory, and can include everything from shelving modifications, flooring options, to sirens and flashers and much more.
The program was announced on LinkedIn with a number of photos indicating upfit options for Rivian’s R1T and R1S vehicles focused on lifeguard and roadside assistance duty, and Rivian’s van upfit with a HVAC/telecom style toolbox arrangement.
No word on pricing or turnaround time.
Electrek’s Take
The general consensus around the Electrek water cooler is that the direct-to-consumer model offered by Rivian, Tesla, and even CarMax deliver a superior customer experience, I’ve consistently drunk the franchise dealer Kool-Aid, arguing that the industry-leading margins enjoyed by these companies actually indicate they’re giving consumers an objectively worse deal than they’d get in a more competitive dealer landscape.
That same competitiveness has led to talented fleet managers at those franchise dealers putting in the effort to get to know the needs of the businesses and buyers in their regions, to understand what upfit options makes sense for their local markets, and – crucially – what to stock for quick turnaround when their customers need it.
Rivian is hoping its upfit partners will do a lot of that heavy lifting for them, but my two cents is that if building cars is hard, building relationships is harder, and Rivian isn’t going to make a good first impression by talking down to its customers. If you think differently, let me know how I got it wrong in the comments.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Rivian, via LinkedIn.
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For 2025, the Ram ProMaster EV commercial van gets up to 180 miles range from its 110 kWh battery pack, new 12- and 13-foot cargo configurations to meet more fleets’ needs, and a starting price of “just” $56,495. All of which sounds … kind of familiar, right?
When Ram rolled out its ProMaster EV electric cargo van last year, the company promised a huge range of customizable features, 12- and 13- configurations, a “super high roof” variant, and more – even touting a heated windshield. Which is almost exactly what you’ll find hyped up in the latest Stellantis press release for the “All-new 2025 Ram ProMaster EV Cargo Van.”
So, if it’s basically the same van, what’s the story here?
Glad you asked – see, the 2024 announcement for the ProMaster EV made lots of promises, but anecdotal conversations revealed that the vast majority of ProMaster EVs that made it customers last year were the step van version, with its “pocket” side door and roll-up rear door.
That makes sense, considering that’s how Stellantis’ prime customers for the Ram ProMaster EV, Merchants Fleet …
The Ram Truck brand has announced that Merchants Fleet will become a key commercial customer of the all-new Ram ProMaster electric van (EV) that debuts later this year. The agreement calls for the purchase of 12,500 Ram ProMaster EVs.
STELLANTIS; JUN2023.
… and Amazon …
Stellantis, with input from Amazon, designed the vehicle with unique last mile delivery features and Amazon will deploy the vehicles to routes across the United States. Building on the current relationship and as part of the long-term agreement, Stellantis and Amazon will be putting thousands of BEV ProMasters on the road every year.
STELLANTIS; JAN2022.
Spec’ed them out.
Co-developed with Amazon
The story here, then, is that the conventional cargo variants (sliding van door, split-opening rear doors, etc.) are finally available for smaller fleets and van-lifers to order, production capacity apparently having caught up to demand. It’s that van, when ordered in a 12-foot cargo/low roof spec, that pushes that range estimate up to 180 miles. The high-roof version gets a claimed 164 miles of range.
“Our freedom of choice approach with powertrain extends to the Ram Professional lineup with an appropriate solution for last-mile delivery in the Ram ProMaster EV,” says Tim Kuniskis, Ram brand CEO. “With front-wheel drive and a low step-in height, the ProMaster is a solid player and continues to perform well in a wide variety of business sectors, such as the growing home delivery environment, construction services wholesale and IT services among others.”
For 2025, Stellantis has “repositioned” the ProMaster EV step van with a new, lower starting price to match its improved availability. The van can now be had for $69,995 plus $1,995 destination fee. That’s down significantly from the $79,990 starting price for 2024 – proving once again that old adage: good things come to those who wait.
For that money, you get the “All-new” Ram that’s so All-new, in fact, that Stellantis issued almost the exact same press photos they used at the 2024 launch. The order books for the 2025 ProMaster EV officially opened last week.
Electrek’s Take
Commercial vans for regional fleets are a no-brainer. Why? Because fleet managers are focused on the bottom line costs of operating their fleets – and, regardless of their political leanings, EVs cost less to own and operate than comparable ICE models. Until that fact changes, converting whatever assets to they can to electric will remain a priority.
If the “All-new” 2025 model is so similar, the specs so close, the photos so indistinguishable from the 2024 model that it takes your humble author nearly a week to figure if there’s even a story here at all hardly matters for a $10,000 price cut.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Stellantis.
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