Air Products and Cummins have come together to further the cause of hydrogen fuel cell-powered trucks by accelerating their development and deployment. The two have jointly announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together to accelerate the integration of fuel cell trucks in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Cummins which has expertise in providing hydrogen fuel cell powertrains will integrate into the OEM vehicles that Air Products deploys and will start the process of converting its fleet to hydrogen power.
This announcement comes after a pilot project where 2000 trucks were converted to hydrogen fuel cell-based powertrains which emitted zero emissions. They will also work together to increase the accessibility of renewable hydrogen, and help develop the infrastructure for the adoption of mobility based on hydrogen as a fuel.
"We believe hydrogen is the future for heavy-duty segments of the transportation market and we can demonstrate to the world its merits by being a first-mover in transitioning our heavy-duty fleet of trucks to hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. We are pleased to be working with Cummins to achieve our fleet transition goals. Sustainability is Air Products' growth strategy and creates our growth opportunities, and nothing says more about our company's approach to sustainability than a fleet of zero-emission vehicles on the road delivering a product to customers every day," said Seifi Ghasemi, Air Products chairman, president and chief executive officer.
"This is another turning point for hydrogen and the energy transition. As we develop the technologies of tomorrow, we need the partnership of others to be successful, and this partnership with Air Products is the next step in leading the industry on the path to a zero-emissions future," said Tom Linebarger, chairman and chief executive officer at Cummins.
Air Products is the world's largest supplier of hydrogen
Eric Guter, the VP for hydrogen at Air Products added that the best way to propel the adoption of fuel cell-based vehicles is to have vehicles on the road doing heavy-duty applications like transit fleets. He is of the belief that only hydrogen can provide the necessary balance between range, refuelling time, weight requirements to decarbonise the transportation sector.
"We are thrilled to work with Air Products to take this important step towards transitioning thousands of their trucks to zero-emissions, hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles," added Amy Davis, vice president and president of New Power at Cummins.
Hydrogen hasn't found much favour in the consumer space but in the heavy-duty transportation space, it's finding some momentum especially when used in extreme climate conditions as battery performance dramatically deteriorates in extreme heat or cold.
Air Products is the world's largest hydrogen producer so it is apt that it is making the bet. It is a 60-year-old company operating in over 50 markets.
