Hydra Energy signs new hydrogen refuelling deal for commercial truck fleets
Hydrogen-as-a-Service™ (HaaS™) trucking pioneer, Hydra Energy, achieved another significant milestone in its Prince George, British Columbia project rollout by signing detailed MOUs with eight new commercial truck fleets in the region.
This represents 82 Class 8 trucks to be retrofitted using Hydra’s proprietary hydrogen-diesel, co-combustion conversion technology. Once converted by Hydra installation partner, First Truck Centre, these trucks will refuel at the world’s largest hydrogen refuelling station Hydra is currently building in Prince George to be operational in 2024 which leverages green hydrogen produced on-site by two 5-megawatt electrolysers powered with hydroelectricity.
These new fleet commitments and supporting hydrogen infrastructure from Hydra will make this the largest commercial deployment of hydrogen-diesel co-combustion transportation vehicles in the world as Hydra continues to fast-track emissions reductions in the hard-to-abate trucking sector.
“Upon signing our first commercial fleet customer in Prince George and breaking ground on our local refuelling station last year, we had an initial goal to secure 65 heavy-duty trucks to leverage the new station once operational next year. We’re pleased to surpass this target with the signing of these eight fleets highlighting the continued interest in hydrogen trucking and the benefits it delivers for fleets of all sizes, even with heavy payloads in challenging weather and road conditions like those found in Northern B.C.,” explained Jessica Verhagen.
He explains “Securing immediate off-takers for our station’s low-carbon hydrogen is another critical piece in our Prince George HaaS blueprint illustrating to potential investors and licensees how hydrogen supply and demand can profitably come together. We look forward to working with First Truck Centre to start converting these trucks about six months prior to our station’s opening and to continuing to work with the City of Prince George as the flagship stop in the Western Canadian Hydrogen Corridor we’re building between the B.C. Coast and Edmonton.”
Added Annie Horning, a Prince George-based transport and logistic service company for the forestry industry who also signed an MOU, “Once we heard about the progress Hydra has been making on their hydrogen refuelling station right in our own backyard, the fact their hydrogen wouldn’t cost us more than diesel, and that it would cost nothing to retrofit our trucks to run cleaner and more efficiently, we couldn’t pass on the opportunity. Hydra allows us to make a positive difference sooner than later while eliminating our range anxiety concerns that could impact our service reliability.”