Performance Food Group completed a 16-hour, eight-customer, delivery run with a Hyzon Motors truck powered by a liquid hydrogen fuel cell. Starting in Temple, Texas, the truck completed deliveries to customers near Dallas, traveling more than 540 miles on a continuous run.

"With increased range and no added weight in comparison to our gaseous hydrogen trucks, we believe this liquid hydrogen demo run has demonstrated potential viability for the future of liquid hydrogen in commercial trucking," said Parker Meeks, Hyzon CEO.

"The results we captured in the strenuous demo through Central Texas's diverse terrain and summer heat make us optimistic that, once commercialized, our liquid hydrogen vehicle powered by our proprietary 200kW fuel cell system should be able to provide long-distance range between 650 and 800 miles, on par with many diesel truck range requirements,” he added.

Liquid Hydrogen Fuel

Compared to gaseous hydrogen, the current industry standard, Hyzon said liquid hydrogen allows it to increase the amount of fuel on board significantly, thanks to increased energy density, with no changes to vehicle weight or payload.

To maintain the energy-dense liquid state, hydrogen requires cold temperatures of negative 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Hyzon partnered with Chart Industries to develop a tank system capable of storing liquid hydrogen at extremely cold temperatures and delivering it to the fuel cell system at the necessary pressure.

"This is a meaningful accomplishment for the hydrogen ecosystem, as long-haul and heavy-duty transportation is a key end-use for liquid hydrogen," said Jill Evanko, Chart's CEO and president. "Our investment in our unique cryogenic liquid hydrogen onboard tank and our liquid hydrogen test facility support progress in the hydrogen industry, with the Hyzon and PFG road demonstration another key step in the evolution of hydrogen commercialization."

Hyzon reported liquid hydrogen as a fuel source has been estimated to be up to $5 per kilogram less expensive to dispense than high-pressure gaseous hydrogen1, which would provide meaningful benefits to fleet owners.

"Simply put, we see liquid hydrogen as the economical approach to long range zero-emission trucking,” said Meeks.

For vehicle testing and the demo run, liquid hydrogen transportation, storage and dispensing was provided by Certarus with liquid hydrogen produced by Air Liquide.

More Liquid-Hydrogen Truck Research

Daimler Truck also has been testing liquid hydrogen to power fuel-cell-electric trucks. The company has said liquid hydrogen has a significantly higher energy density than gaseous hydrogen. That means more hydrogen can be carried on board, which significantly increases the range of an FCEV truck.