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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If you want to ditch snow blowing and shoveling forever, Yarbo’s got just the solution. The robotics company that took home a 2023 CES Innovation Award is redefining what it means to have a “smart yard” in all four seasons. Yarbo’s autonomous outdoor robots use advanced sensors, cameras, and algorithms to do the heavy lifting – literally. From snow blowing to mowing to leaf clearing, these machines handle tough jobs with precision, safety, and zero supervision.
Yarbo’s innovative “1+N” design is centered around one core unit (“1”) that can be expanded with multiple modular attachments (“N”) to meet a variety of yard care needs. This design allows users to save space and cost by owning a single core robot instead of multiple separate machines. Customize functionality by adding modules such as Lawn Mower, Snow Blower, Plow Blade, Cutting Disc, and more. Easily upgrade or adapt to different seasons and tasks without replacing the entire system.
And right now, you can snag a fantastic discount of up to $1,200 at Yarbo’s biggest sale of the year. Check out the official Black Friday launch deals below – you won’t want to miss these!
❄️ Yarbo Snow Blower: The robot that eats snow for breakfast
Yarbo has you covered this winter with the only fully autonomous, 24/7 snow blower on the market, featuring smart scheduling that clears your driveway and sidewalks automatically – with zero human intervention. Once you’ve drawn the areas you want cleared in the app, it requires zero human intervention. The Yarbo 2-stage Snow Blower remembers your layout, wakes up on its own as soon as the flakes fall, and tackles dry, wet, and packed snow with ease.
Its 38.4 Ah lithium battery clears up to 6,000 square feet of light snow (or 2,000 square feet of heavy snow) per charge. When the battery drops below 20%, the snow blower robot automatically returns to the charging dock to recharge in just over an hour, and then picks up where it left off. This prevents snow buildup with 24/7 autonomous clearing and recharging.
This robot is rugged. With a 12-inch intake, 24-inch clearing width, 40-foot throwing distance, and a rugged 200+ lb track drive with traction spikes, deep-bite tread, and anti-slip control, the Yarbo Snow Blower clears deep snow in layers and grips icy slopes and gravel like a pro. It can even raise its intake to glide over uneven terrain. With a Q355 steel frame, it’s tough enough for -13°F winters and has an IPX5 waterproof rating for use in wet conditions. It can also clear some serious footage – 6,000 square feet, to be exact.
If heavy, wet snow falls, attach the snow blade to push through it. If the snow is packed, then the two-stage intake breaks it up and clears it in passes. And if powder is coming down, then a 6- to 40-foot throw keeps the drive clear.
In short: You stay inside with cocoa, while the Yarbo Snow Blower clears the storm.
And here’s the good news: From November 20 to December 1, the Yarbo Snow Blower is $700 off.
🌿 Yarbo Lawn Mower: A perfectly cut lawn, hands-free
When spring and summer roll around, the Yarbo Lawn Mower makes traditional mowing look like ancient history. With dual 20-inch cutting discs and up to 210 minutes of runtime per charge, it covers up to six acres.
It uses binocular cameras, ultrasonic radar, and bumper sensors to dodge obstacles and mow right to the edge. Define up to 150 zones in the app to customize cutting heights and schedules for each part of your yard. The Yarbo Lawn Mower Pro glides smoothly over various terrains while maintaining a consistent cut. Set it once, and it takes care of your lawn for the season.
If you purchase a Yarbo Snow Blower, you get a free Yarbo Lawn Mower during the Black Friday sale!
🍂 Yarbo Blower: Meet your all-season cleanup crew
The Yarbo Blower isn’t just for autumn leaves; it’s for all-around yard cleanup. Its 21-newton blowing force means this robot can clear driveways, yard waste piles, help with post-project cleanup, and can even remove light snow.
Powered by RTK-GPS, Stereo Vision, and ODOM navigation tech via app activation or remote control, it moves precisely even under trees or around tricky terrain. You can track the Yarbo Blower in real time with GPS, set geofences, and control it from the Yarbo app. It’s as close to a self-thinking yard assistant as it gets.
From November 20 to December 1, the Yarbo Blower is $1,000 off.
A smarter winter starts with Yarbo on Black Friday
Yarbo’s lineup isn’t just about robots – it’s about giving you your precious time back. Whether clearing snow before your morning commute, mowing a picture-perfect lawn, or keeping your property spotless, Yarbo’s robots handle it all without supervision.
Ready to give your yard an upgrade? Visit Yarbo’s website and take advantage of Yarbo’s Black Friday discounts before they melt away!
Yarbo offers free and fast shipping, a warranty of up to five years, and 0% financing is available.
Follow Yarbo on Facebook and X/Twitter.
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Hyundai’s electric vehicles, like the IONIQ 5, are among the fastest charging EVs, but the company says it’s still not quick enough. To match a typical gas fill-up, Hyundai believes 3 minutes is the magic number for EV charging times.
Hyundai aims for 3-minute EV charging
Built on the E-GMP platform, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 can recharge from 10% to 80% in as little as 18 minutes using a 350 kW DC fast charger and 800V system.
Although that’s already among the best in the industry, Hyundai is pushing for even faster charging. According to Tyrone Johnson, head of Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center, drivers are looking for EV charging times of around 3 minutes.
“The expectation from customers is that it will take three minutes to fill a car, the same as it does with an internal-combustion engine,” Johnson told Auto Express, even if it’s only for their own reassurance.
Hyundai’s exec explained that “It’s maybe perception rather than reality, but they worry about range anxiety and whether they will suddenly need to drive 200 miles,” adding the ultimate goal “is to get to the same speed as ICE.”
Drivers who can’t charge at home need to know how quickly they can recharge at public fast charge stations, Johnson said. The biggest hurdle is to deliver faster charging speeds, without just plugging in bigger batteries.
To achieve 3-minute charging times, Hyundai is working to bring 400 kW charging to market. By doing so, Hyundai will not only cut EV charging times to match the time it takes to fill up a gas tank, but also provide a longer driving range without using a bigger, more expensive battery.
Although Hyundai promotes 350 kW charging, actual charging rates are typically closer to 250 kW, depending on factors such as battery temperature and charging station speed.
The Porsche Taycan is currently the fastest-charging EV, capable of up to 320 kW. Several new EVs, including the Lucid Gravity and Porsche Cayenne Electric, are rolling with peak charging power of 400 kW as charge times continue to improve.
Interested in testing one out for yourself? With leases starting at just $189 per month, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 is hard to pass up right now. Check out our links below to find Hyundai’s EVs in your area.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the automaker’s next-generation self-driving computer, known as AI5, will not be available in volume until mid-2027.
The new timeline confirms that Tesla’s upcoming Cybercab, scheduled for 2026, will launch on current-generation AI4 hardware – raising more questions about the capability of the vehicle, which isn’t supposed to have pedals or a steering wheel.
As usual with Tesla timelines, we are seeing a significant slip from the previously promised timeline.
For the past year, Musk has been hyping “AI5” (formerly known as Hardware 5, or HW5) as the key to unlocking the next phase of Tesla’s self-driving capabilities. The new computer is expected to be significantly more powerful than the current Hardware 4 (AI4) in Tesla vehicles today and produced since 2024.
Back in June 2024, Musk officially renamed HW5 to AI5 and gave a specific timeline for its release, stating it would be “applied to autos in the second half of next year [2025].”
He also claimed at the time that the new system would be “10x” the power of the current hardware, creating the impression that the current computers might soon be obsolete for the true “unsupervised” autonomy Tesla has been promising for a decade, but as yet to achieve.
However, Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) this weekend to provide a “clarification” that effectively pushes that timeline back by nearly two years.
When discussing the production ramp of the new chip, Musk stated:
“AI5 will not be available in sufficient volume to switch over Tesla production lines until mid 2027, as we need several hundred thousand completed AI5 boards line side.”
This is a massive delay from the “second half of 2025” timeline provided just last year.
Perhaps more importantly, this delay creates a conflict with Tesla’s product roadmap. Tesla has scheduled the production of its dedicated robotaxi, the Cybercab, for 2026 (Musk recently cited Q2 2026 as the target).
Suppose the Cybercab enters production in 2026 and AI5 isn’t ready until mid-2027. In that case, the purpose-built robotaxi will have to launch on AI4 hardware, the same computer currently in the cars Tesla is selling today, which can’t achieve an unsupervised level of autonomy.
Musk seemed to confirm this implementation path, noting that while “samples” of AI5 might exist earlier, the volume needed for a vehicle launch won’t be there.
Recently, Tesla chairwoman opened the door to the automaker adding a steering wheel and pedals to the Cybercab if unsupervised autonomy is not ready by the time it launches.
Musk shut down this idea, which came from his board chair, just days later – claiming that Cybercab won’t have pedals or a steering wheel.
Electrek’s Take
There’s good news and bad news here.
The good news is that AI4 will remain on top for an extended period of time, which means that Tesla will have to keep working the software to fit the computer rather than take advantage of the higher compute power of AI5.
However, it’s also bad news because Tesla is delaying another tech improvement, and Tesla is still not capable of delivering unsupervised self-driving on the hardware.
I have a feeling that Cybercab is going to have a steering wheel and pedals. It’s too big a risk otherwise to launch a vehicle program that would be virtually worthless beyond a very limited use case in some geo-fenced area.
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