Symbio, Faurecia and Michelin receives grant for developing hydrogen truck
The project is to support California's goal to achieve economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2045.
The California Energy Commission (CEC) has selected Symbio, Michelin, Faurecia GTI and other industry partners to develop and demonstrate a hydrogen-fueled, regional-haul Class 8 truck.
The “Symbio H2 Central Valley Express” project, supported with $2 million from the CEC, will develop and demonstrate a hydrogen fuel cell truck that matches the performance of a 15-litre diesel truck providing a zero-emission solution for demanding regional-haul trucking operations.
Starting in the second half of 2023, the truck will run for 12 months on a challenging 400-mile route between the Inland Empire and Northern San Joaquin Valley. It will use existing and future hydrogen infrastructure primarily provided by Air Liquide, Shell and Trillium’s.
Faurecia (a part of the Group FORVIA) will offer expertise in hydrogen storage systems by providing a complete hydrogen storage system with five 700 bar homologated tanks. In addition to the company’s manufacturing global footprint, systems integration know-how, and R&D hydrogen centre of expertise, Faurecia has a proven record of hydrogen commercial and light commercial vehicles on the road with international OEMs, including Stellantis, Hyundai and Hyvia.
Michelin will provide low-rolling-resistance tires that combine safety, longevity, environmental protection and increased load capacity. Michelin supports the transition to cleaner, more efficient electric mobility solutions that offer a greater range. Michelin also brings nearly 20 years of experience in developing hydrogen fuel-cell technologies.
Symbio will design, develop, and integrate a heavy-duty long-haul truck ready fuel cell powertrain powered by Symbio’s fuel cell stack technology – StackPack, coupled with Faurecia’s hydrogen storage system and Michelin’s low resistance tires into a Freightliner Cascadia platform.
GTI will lead the grant administration, provide technical insight and program management, and perform data collection.
Other project partners include Total Transportation Services (TTSI), the fleet operator who will demonstrate the truck, Frontier Energy for community outreach, and Ricardo Strategic Consulting for data analysis. Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and Utilization Technology Development (UTD), a global collaboration of leading natural gas utilities, will provide funding support.
