Faurecia, Michelin, Symbio involved in a project for hydrogen fuel cell truck development

Faurecia, Michelin, Symbio and some more companies are involved in a project for hydrogen fuel cell truck development in California. In particular, the California Energy Commission (CEC) has selected some primary players on a global scale to develop and demonstrate a hydrogen-fueled, regional-haul Class 8 truck, as major contributors to a state-supported hydrogen mobility project.

A hydrogen fuel cell truck

The Symbio H2 Central Valley Express (this is the name of the project) is supported with $2 million from the CEC. The main target is to develop and demonstrate a hydrogen fuel cell truck that matches the performance of a 15-liter diesel truck providing a zero-emission solution for demanding regional-haul trucking operations.

Starting in the second half of 2023, the truck will run for 12 months on a challenging 400-mile route between the Inland Empire and Northern San Joaquin Valley. Located inside California natural gas investor-owned utility territory, it will utilize existing and future hydrogen infrastructure primarily provided by Air Liquide, Shell and Trillium’s. This hydrogen truck project strives to support California’s goal to achieve economy wide carbon neutrality by 2045.

Faurecia, company of the Group FORVIA, will bring its recognized expertise in hydrogen storage systems by providing a complete hydrogen storage system with five 700 bar homologated tanks. Michelin will provide low-rolling resistance tires that combine safety, longevity, environmental protection and increased load capacity. Symbio will design, develop, and integrate a heavy-duty long-haul truck ready fuel cell powertrain powered by Symbio’s fuel cell stack technology – StackPack, coupled with Faurecia’s hydrogen storage system and Michelin’s low resistance tires into a Freightliner Cascadia platform.

Finally, GTI, a leading research and training organization creating solutions that shape energy transitions,
will lead the grant administration, provide technical insight and program management as well
as perform data collection.

A comment from Faurecia

“This special project showcases the strength of a unique ecosystem of partners with innovative technologies of which Faurecia is proud to be a part of, in a region that is leading the future of clean energy. We appreciate the trust given to us by the California Energy Commission to enhance hydrogen technology solutions for heavy duty mobility. It shows great confidence in Faurecia’s hydrogen storage systems’ expertise and strategic vision for hydrogen mobility as a cornerstone of the energy transition“, commented Jose-Vicente March, Zero Emission General Manager at Faurecia.