Navistar to collaborate with GM, others on hydrogen gas-cell industrial vehicles

DETROIT (Reuters) – Truck maker Navistar World Corp mentioned on Wednesday this can collaborate with U.S. automaker General Motors Co and others to make a hydrogen gas-cell powered industrial truck and supporting fueling network.

Navistar is one of several companies globally, at the side of Tesla Inc, Nikola Corp, Daimler AG and Hyundai Motor Co that are increasing zero-carbon long-haul vehicles. Strikes by regulators to segment out interior combustion engines personal energized a inch to make industrial vehicles powered by both batteries or hydrogen gas cells.

Navistar mentioned it plans to present its World RH Series gas-cell truck – powered by GM gas cells – in model year 2024. The target riding vary is more than 500 miles, with a hydrogen fueling time of less than 15 minutes. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Hydrogen gas company OneH2, in which Navistar will prefer a undisclosed minority stake, will present a fueling solution and incorporate more than 2,000 of the vehicles into present buyer fleets. To boot, J.B. Hunt Transport Products and services might perhaps well be the first buyer to use the truck.

“Hydrogen gas cells offer gargantuan promise for heavy-accountability vehicles in applications requiring a higher density of energy, speedily refueling and extra vary,” Navistar Chief Executive Persio Lisboa mentioned.

Hydrogen backers mumble it is cleaner than other carbon-cutting applied sciences on fable of water and heat are the precise byproducts and it will even be made of a large desire of sources, at the side of methane, coal, water, and even rubbish. Gasoline cell vehicles remain a niche technology, as there are seemingly to be not many fueling stations and capacity customers additionally misfortune about resale values and the probability of hydrogen explosions.

For long-haul transport, proponents mumble hydrogen-powered vehicles personal an abet over electric competitors as they’ve a higher vary and require less time to payment. However they’re pricey so their uptake and mass production has been gradual.

Final November, Illinois-based Navistar and engine maker Cummins mentioned they would work collectively on a gas-cell Class 8 truck. Navistar is additionally increasing battery electric vehicles.

Also that month, Volkswagen AG’s truck unit Traton SE agreed to pay $3.7 billion for the excellent shares of Navistar it doesn’t already bear. That deal is expected to complete in mid-2021.

Wednesday’s deal comes less than two months after GM announced a non-binding settlement to present gas cells to startup Nikola. GM mentioned that deal is just not struggling from the Navistar settlement.

Under its settlement with Nikola, which would perchance also nonetheless be finalized by year cease, GM will present its gas-cell gadget for Nikola’s Class 7 and 8 industrial semi-vehicles

Nikola expects to launch up checking out prototypes of its gas-cell vehicles by year cease, and might perhaps well nonetheless spoil ground on its first industrial hydrogen space in the 2nd quarter.

Nikola has additionally mentioned this can birth its Tre electric semi-truck with CNH Industrial in the fourth quarter.

Korea’s Hyundai in December mentioned it used to be launching a trace devoted to its hydrogen gas-cell gadget, and last year delivered its first H2 Xcient gas-cell vehicles to customers.

Japan’s Toyota has mentioned a demonstration version off its heavy-accountability gas-cell truck, developed with subsidiary Hino Motor Co, would be ready in the first half of of 2021.

Germany’s Daimler last June established a separate gas-cell industry unit, and beforehand announced a team-up with Volvo Vehicles to make gas-cell programs for heavy-accountability vehicles.

Tesla is aiming to compete for industrial customers with its electric Semi truck, which it expects to launch up selling this year.