Celebratory Day for Hydrogen Fuel Cells: Collaboration between Hyzon, Toyota, and Nikola on October 8th
Today marks the tenth annual National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day, and companies like Hyzon, Toyota, and Nikola are leading the charge in the progression of hydrogen fuel cell technology in heavy-duty transportation.
Hyzon, a NASDAQ-listed company, has started production of its single-stack 200kW Fuel Cell System and aims to achieve formal ISO 9001 certification for its fuel cell manufacturing and design/R&D activities in Q4 2024. The company has deployed hydrogen-powered vehicles, including refuse trucks, and targets heavy-duty markets, but faces financial pressures as of early 2025.
Toyota, in partnership with Kenworth, is actively developing hydrogen fuel cell trucks for North America. The Japanese automaker is exhibiting portable hydrogen cartridges for the first time in Japan, designed to be small and easy to carry. Toyota is also working towards creating a hydrogen society and has strategic tie-ups to improve fuel cell systems and infrastructure.
Nikola, another key player, delivered roughly 200 Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell trucks in 2024 before filing for bankruptcy in early 2025. One Nikola truck avoids an average of 97 metric tons of CO2 tailpipe emissions per year.
Recent technology breakthroughs are promising, such as UCLA’s development of fuel cells with lifespans exceeding 200,000 hours, a key factor for long-haul trucking viability. This enables fast refueling, million-mile durability, and steep emission reductions. Industry conferences highlight advancements in hydrogen fuel cell systems with ranges over 1,000 km and eight-minute refueling, indicating wider commercial rollouts expected from 2026 onward.
While the hydrogen fuel cell heavy-duty truck market is still emerging, major global OEMs including Hyundai, Toyota, Daimler, and Volvo are ramping up efforts to launch competitively viable hydrogen-powered trucks in the next few years. This signals a significant expected growth in infrastructure and fleet adoption by the 2030s.
Hyzon's Bolingbrook facility is one of the largest fully-integrated fuel cell systems production facilities in the United States. The company is integrated down to the design and production of its proprietary Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA), the core component of a fuel cell and Fuel Cell System (FCS). The single-stack 200kW FCS enables Hyzon to manufacture standardized FCSs at volume for commercial sale.
Toyota aims to find matches with technologies and ideas of various companies and startups for portable hydrogen cartridges. The company is also collaborating with Rinnai Corporation to exhibit a hydrogen-powered cooker. Purina is transporting its products using a hydrogen fuel cell electric semi-truck, but no specific information about this was provided in the context of this article.
In summary, hydrogen fuel cell technology in heavy-duty transportation is transitioning from demonstration and pilot phases towards early commercial deployment, particularly for long-haul and demanding fleet applications, supported by technological breakthroughs and strategic partnerships. Although some companies like Nikola face financial hurdles, the outlook through the 2020s into the 2030s is for rapid growth as infrastructure and durability challenges are resolved.
Read also:
- Airbus readies for maiden flight test of hydrogen fuel-cell engine of megawatt class
- Japan's distinctive journey towards carbon neutrality, outlined at the G7 summit in Hiroshima.
- Raw shift in vehicle dominance approaching: electric cars poised to take over the market as funds dwindle
- European clean technology start-up Aira receives funding of 150 million euros
