may2022 - 6

HI TCHED UP FROM THE EDITOR
Confessions of a fuel-cell fool
Falling hard for cool technology can make you feel like a fool if you're not careful.
At the show, Hyundai had a sleek concept
By John Hitch
Editor
@Hitched2Trucks
I've always been fascinated by new technologies
like the ones from sci-fi movies I
watched growing up. How great it will be,
I thought, when hoverboards, robot assistants,
and giant exoskeletons were available
to buy. Decades later, none of this futuristic
tech panned out like I'd hoped, and when I
started writing about advanced industrial
technology, the reasons why became clear.
Getting a product-even a really cool one-
to market is hard and takes years of R&D,
expensive tooling, and a large enough customer
base to sell and generate profits. I had learned
a valuable lesson.
Then, in 2019, I came across some heavy-du»
Top, Hyundai's fuel
cell technology at
2019 NACV Show.
» Bottom, Hyundai
Motor's HDC-6
Neptune Concept
fuel cell electric
truck hitched up
to Translead's HT
Nitro ThermoTech
reefer trailer.
Photos: John Hitch |
Fleet Maintenance
ty hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV)
protypes at the North American Commercial
Vehicle show and forgot all that. The trucks
looked great and the science was intriguing
and familiar to me. The fuel-cell reaction works
similar to the electrolysis used in a submarine's
oxygen generator. In that system, an electrical
charge split seawater molecules, jettisoning the
hydrogen and keeping the oxygen.
In a fuel cell, hydrogen splits into positive
and negative ions at the anode. The negative
hydrogen ion creates a charge at the polymer
electrolyte membrane, and then combines with
the positive ion and oxygen to become water.
The generated electricity charges the battery,
and from there the truck operates like any
electric vehicle.
heavy-duty truck with a streamliner traininspired
body, called the HDC-6 Neptune
Concept. The spacious cab interior even had
space for a shower. Kenworth displayed its own
FCEV, as did Cummins.
I also noticed a charismatic entrepreneur
named Trevor Milton hanging around the
Bosch booth, swarmed by curious showgoers
who were asking about his company, Nikola
Motor Co., and the Nikola Two FCEV prototype.
A month earlier, CNH Industrial invested $250
million in Nikola and the buzz was still strong.
I was excited to tentatively set up an interview
with him to learn more about the company,
because, after all, it was fascinating and futuristic.
And I sure couldn't wait to find out how
Milton shot to tech stardom.
Trust me, I also find that wide-eyed optimist
version of me cringey, too. I would write
a lot more about fuel cells-instead of learning
about aftertreatment systems, tag axles,
and other real components. And I had a few
interviews with Milton, the ultimate hydrogen
hype man. The earnest Utah native had
dropped out of college, became a billionaire
when Nikola went public, and found himself
squared off against Tesla and Elon Musk, who
dismissed fuel cells as " fool sells. " He was just
as fascinating as FCEVs.
Brave but foolish
Through it all, my editor, who had been covering
the sector for close to two decades longer
than me, was skeptical of Milton and FCEV
adoption any time soon. He was also skeptical
of the long-delayed Tesla Semi, too.
And he was right, of course. These things
take time and there are no shortcuts in trucking
for a reason. Safety issues, infrastructure,
supply chain, and maintenance support all
need time to develop. A lot of time.
In September 2020, a shortseller called
Hindenburg Research alleged Milton did take
some short cuts. This marked him as a fraud,
though he will have his day in federal court this
summer (U.S. v. Trevor Milton). The indictment
accuses him of " making false and misleading
statements directly to the investing public "
through the press and social media. Was I
complicit? Was I fooled? If so, I had plenty of
company, including major investors.
Looking back, though, Milton told me exactly
who he was when he claimed a
Nikola FCEV lease would
cost $1 per mile, which
would include " the truck,
the service, the warranty,
the maintenance, all of it. "
6 Fleet Maintenance | May 2022
Or when he said as a kid he marked up candy
bars on the school playground. He was always
more P.T. Barnum than Nikola Tesla, especially
when he claimed that hydrogen would be more
affordable than diesel anytime soon. I don't
doubt he believed he could will it to fruition.
But it takes more than one person's willpower.
Fuel-cell technology was discovered by a
Welsh physicist, William Robert Grove, in
the late 1830s. Martin Van Buren was our
president then. And since then, no one could
muscle fuel cells over the finish line, not even
former Terminator/governor of California
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who introduced
the Hydrogen Highway plan in 2004 to build
fueling stations. According to the latest U.S.
Department of Energy data, California has
only seven heavy-duty fueling stations, with
two more planned, and 54 light-duty stations
open and 34 planned.
The funny thing about tech is you wait long
enough and it just might happen. Lexus did
make a hoverboard (that worked on a specially-made
magnetic skate park), while Boston
Dynamics robot dogs and powered exo suits
are already finding niche uses.
Companies such as Cummins and Paccar
had inched along for years, and their patience
paid off as well. Those two, as well as several
other companies are piloting FCEVs in
California right now, or will be soon. Our
special report on page 28 details many of them.
Hyundai's is more a regular truck than a space
train (sans shower).
Phoenix-based Nikola also made the list,
seeking to rise from the ashes by scaling up
infrastructure and building up their new
plant, which is already making battery-electric
trucks. And the full-service lease program
that includes the truck, fuel, and maintenance
still seems to be a real possibility. We may find
that out in 2024, when the Nikola Two Sleeper
FCEV is expected to become available.
Even with many projects up and running,
the DOE projects long-haul heavy-duty FCEVs
(with a range of over 500 miles) won't be
cost-competitive with diesel until 2035.
Still, it would be foolhardy to simply ignore
the technology. What started as hype and slow
growth could pick up steam fast.
" The urgency is not just to continue to
move the cost down to lower that barrier, but
also there is urgency to lay the foundation of
knowledge within the operations people, the
maintenance people, " said Wido Westbroek,
senior director of fuel-cell strategic projects for
Cummins. " All those other skill sets that have
to participate in ensuring that it is a success
when it's on the road. That is also now part of
our work. "
http://www.twitter.com/Hitched2Trucks
may2022

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