Tevva promoted a 7.5-tonne electric truck for the European market that would be mainly battery-powered with an onboard fuel cell as a range extender, last summer.
Tevva upped the ante last fall with as they revealed a 19-tonne hydrogen fuel cell electric truck.
7.5t Hydrogen-electric truck
As with the 7.5t hydrogen-electric model, the 19t variant benefits from the company’s revolutionary dual energy system, combining lithium-ion batteries and a hydrogen fuel cell range extender.
The truck is expected to have a range of up to 500km depending on the number of hydrogen cylinders specified, which can be refilled in 10 minutes.
By adding a hydrogen fuel cell range extender that replenishes the battery throughout the day, Tevva has created zero-emission urban trucks that eliminate range anxiety and can replace diesel trucks on all routes
Tevva Statement,
If everything goes according to plan, a 7.5-tonne all-battery electric truck will be released first, followed by a battery-powered truck with fuel cells.
Last week, Tevva took a step toward her objective. The company disclosed that it received Whole Vehicle Type Consent from the European Community. The Swedish Transport Agency approved the powered truck.
The procedure included 30 tests for safety and other systems, including electromagnetic compatibility with the most recent standards.
“It means that Tevva can start producing and selling in volume across the UK and Europe and represents the key regulatory step in the development and commercialisation of all vehicles, including electric trucks,” Tevva explained.
“With this, Tevva becomes the first British company to receive EC Whole Vehicle Type Approval for a 7.5t electric truck and has moved quickly to get its first vehicles out to customers.”
Although Tevva says it has already secured Expect Distribution, Travis Perkins, and Royal Mail, along with other customers, the sales target for 2023 is a modest 1,000 units.
Tevva’s Electric truck uses the Loop Energy
It is best to have realistic expectations for production volume in this day and age of supply chain breakdowns, and the Brexit issue needs to be solved. Tevva did, however, restate its fuel cell plans in the announcement of approval. The company will launch a fuel cell-equipped version of the 7.5-ton truck later this year.
The battery-only truck from Tevva is suited for urban use and other short-distance deliveries, with a range of up to 227 kilometers (140 miles) on a single charge. The company estimates a maximum capacity of 570 kilometers for the new fuel cell range extender.
Loop Energy further enhances Tevva’s fuel cell truck prospects. Tevva and Loop have agreed to a $12 million+ contract for the supply of fuel cells. The new arrangement builds on Tevva’s pledge to place preliminary orders for the previous year.
“The contract with Tevva is indicative of the surge in interest we see in Europe for hydrogen-electric vehicles and the fuel cells that power them,” President and CEO of Loop Energy Ben Nyland made the statement, showing that he has not been paying attention to the fuel cell critics.
Fuel cell manufacturers have struggled to compete on price with battery-only EVs, but the market for range extenders gives them some wiggle room. Alongside the Spanish company Avia Ingeniera and the Columbian company Opex/Hevolucion, Loop is testing its range-extending fuel cells this year.
For a logistics truck, Opex is considering using fuel cells. As a component of Spain’s ShineFleet hydrogen mobility demonstration project, Avia InIngeniera has its sights set higher up the scale on a tractor-trailer transport truck.
“The aim of the pilot is to demonstrate the feasibility of hydrogen technology and educate fleet operators on how to scale a fleet. A logistics fleet operator is expected to integrate the truck into its service routes once it is operational in 2023,” Loop explains.
Fast-charging technology
Fuel cells recharge much faster than batteries is one of their main advantages. If EV battery fast-charging technology improves further, that issue might be rendered irrelevant.
Because natural gas, along with other fossil fuels, provides the majority of the world’s hydrogen supply, it is the main obstacle to fuel cells’ use as a decarbonization tool. But as the industry for green hydrogen made from renewable resources heats up, that issue is also losing relevance.
The major US automakers, Ford, Stellantis, and GM, seem to be balancing other factors, such as total cost of ownership, end-of-life factors, supply chain stability and diversity, resiliency in the event of power outages or transportation interruptions, and the availability of necessary infrastructure, in favor of both batteries and fuel cells. In addition to the battery charging and hydrogen sourcing factors.
Another factor to consider is how renewable energy sources can be distributed, especially when generating green hydrogen using wind energy. Green hydrogen can be a transportable energy storage medium for excess wind energy produced at night when demand is low. By reducing demand spikes during the day, the stored energy can release more power for EV battery charging.
The fuel cell startup Nikola is the 800-pound gorilla in the room over here in the US. Nikola started in 2014, it had ambitious plans for a fuel cell semi-truck, but things went differently than planned. Like Tevva’s journey with the fuel cell, Nikola has finally introduced a battery-powered truck to the European market, and there are still plans for an FCEV version.
The sector of passenger vehicles has also started to see a small amount of activity from the heavy-duty sector. Honda revealed last year that it will begin producing a BEV version of its well-liked CR-V compact crossover SUV in the US in 2024, complete with a fuel cell range extender.
The people who make the vehicles will immediately settle down, although the heated debate over fuel cells and batteries has shown no signs of abating any time soon.
