Truck Tech

Really cold hydrogen could bring driving range parity with diesel

The time it takes to fuel a hydrogen-powered fuel cell truck is already on par with diesel. But there is still a yawning gap when it comes to comparable driving range. A new hydrogen storage system that packs more energy density might change that.

The goal of hydrogen and battery-electric trucks is to reduce the 12% of greenhouse gas emissions attributed to heavy-duty trucking.

Chill out: Verne goes deep into minus celsius for cryo-compression

San Francisco-based startup Verne is named after 19th...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/really-cold-hydrogen-could-bring-driving-range-parity-with-diesel

Switcheroo: EV Realty secures electricity before launching charging sites

Startups, real estate giants and others developing electric truck charging sites tend to pick locations before being certain they can get electricity in a timely fashion. Startup EV Realty prioritizes having the juice available when it buys a property.

‘Buying by the acre and monetizing by the megawatt’

Patrick Sullivan is like a lot of his peers developing electric infrastructure for fleet charging. He knows how the electric power business works, what it takes to develop and what can frustrate...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/switcheroo-ev-realty-secures-electricity-before-launching-charging-sites

Autonomous trucking may descend the rabbit hole of local politics

Autonomous trucking regulation is already a state-by-state issue. In California, it may soon embody the adage “All politics are local.” Advocates of driverless vehicles see passage of newly introduced legislation as a death knell for the technology.

After vetoing legislation last year that would have required a human driver in autonomous vehicles over 10,000 pounds, California Gov. Gavin Newsom may again have to choose between two of his main constituencies: Big Tech and organized labor.

2 bills...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/autonomous-trucking-may-descend-the-rabbit-hole-of-local-politics

Renewed: Nikola and Trevor Milton’s soap opera 

No one asked for another season of the soap opera featuring Nikola Corp. and its convicted founder, Trevor Milton. But here we are.

Heigh- ho, heigh-ho, it’s off to court we go

When last we left the ongoing drama that is Nikola Corp. and its convicted founder, Trevor Milton, the fuel cell truck and hydrogen fuel distribution company had been unable to collect on a $167.7 million arbitration award in November. Milton moved in January to get the award overturned.

Last month, Nikola sued Milton in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/renewed-nikola-and-trevor-miltons-soap-opera

Will natural gas payback beat EV adoption?

The confluence of a new, bigger engine, net-zero carbon emissions from renewable natural gas (RNG) and pressure from shippers for their carriers to operate sustainably add up to a bright picture for natural gas adoption.

But a new study from the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) points to a couple of cautions. First is methane leakage from the source of the RNG. Methane escaping into the atmosphere is a huge contributor to planet-warming greenhouse gas.

Second, and most...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/will-natural-gas-payback-beat-ev-adoption

Bosch’s RevX rolls up available spot loads 

If freight brokers weren’t so preoccupied with celebrating competitor missteps, one of them might have beaten Robert Bosch to RevX — a spot load aggregation tool that also flags double brokering.

The cloud-based RevX is the second product from the German auto supplier’s global Logistics Operating System (L.OS), aimed at simplifying technology and operational processes in transportation and logistics. L.OS launched in December with a goal of generating more than $540 million in freight-related...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/boschs-revx-rolls-up-available-spot-loads

Aurora’s driverless trucks show they are for real

After numerous rides in autonomous trucks monitored by safety drivers in case of a mishap, I found it almost surreal to climb into Aurora Innovation’s Class 8 driverless truck, buckle up, hear the engine rumble to life and the air brakes disengage, and feel the truck move under its own power — with no one in the driver’s seat.

While two of three Americans still fear autonomous vehicles, according to AAA’s latest survey released Thursday, my three-quarter-mile ride around an Aurora test facility...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/auroras-driverless-trucks-show-they-are-for-real

SEC smackdown and SuperTruck news overwhelm convention dispatches  

The annual Work Truck Week and American Trucking Associations Maintenance & Technology Council pile on stakeholder-specific dispatches each March. But this week bigger stories originated outside the convention halls in Indianapolis and New Orleans.

The Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington is as good a starting point as any.

Lordstown Motors gets an SEC comeuppance

Nearly three years after Hindenberg Research set its sights on Lordstown Motors Corp., accusing the former special purpose...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/sec-smackdown-and-supertruck-news-overwhelm-convention-dispatches

Diesel distancing propels alternative fuel options

Renewable natural gas, battery-electric and hydrogen-powered trucks all target fleets switching from diesel ahead of coming regulations requiring costly additional emissions after-treatment. Which alternative will win? Possibly all of them.

Vouchers make first Nikola fuel cell trucks ‘cheaper than a diesel’

Back in 2018, Anheuser-Busch placed an initial order for up to 800 Nikola fuel cell trucks. Ever so slowly, that is becoming a reality.

After numerous missteps and setbacks, Nikola produced 42...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/diesel-distancing-propels-alternative-fuel-options

Can Karno technology generate a buyer for Hyliion?

Unwinding the powertrain business at Hyliion Holdings was uncomfortable, especially for 175 employees who lost their jobs in November. But the leaned-out startup is making some progress in its pivot to energy distribution through a fuel-agnostic power generator.

Whether the plan is sufficient to generate revenue and perhaps attract a buyer for the once high-flying special purpose acquisition company are the big unknowns.

The Karno generator, which Hyliion purchased from GE in August 2022 for its...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/can-karno-technology-generate-a-buyer-for-hyliion

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