There is a new company out of New York State that will begin making heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Hyzon Motors officially launched their company as a spin-off of Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies in mid-March 2020.
Hyzon Motors recently received a pre-order for 1,000 buses, as company CEO George Gu recently announced on Linkedin: “Hyzon Motors Inc. announces that 1,000 units 40FT/12M fuel cell bus MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed with a client under confidentiality. Target to deliver the first 50 units in about 12 months after formal contract.”
With this announcement, Hyzon is set to become the first USA-based manufacturer of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems that exceed 100kW and are specifically designed for commercial vehicles.
George Gu will be bringing his expertise as Chairman of Horizon Fuel Cell Group, who has been engaged in fuel cell research and development for 16 years and has powered hundreds of commercial vehicles in Asia in recent years. Gu talks about the technology and the exciting future:
We have seen incredible growth in Asia in recent years at Horizon, and now with the experience gained from hundreds of trucks in commercial service, we aim to bring our technology to the roads of the world. Our Fuel Cell systems have already proven themselves, and we see an opportunity to help the world decarbonize transport much faster than people currently believe is possible.
A new partnership was announced with Hyzon and UK Company Protium who are committed to the deployment of cleaner and greener transport technologies across the UK. Protium is a leading UK hydrogen project developer, who have contracts in place to support the widespread deployment of hydrogen.
Protium CEO Chris Jackson commented on the new partnership:
Protium sees significant opportunities for hydrogen to support decarburization in the UK across the heating and transport sectors. Today we are excited to work with Hyzon motors to help develop this space and to accelerate the commercial deployment of hydrogen for the UK road haulage market. We believe that hydrogen can significantly improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to the benefit [of] our customers, the local community and the environment.
The UK aims to become a world leader in “the testing, development, and financing of innovation in transport” according to George Freeman MP, The Minister of State for the Future of Transport. Who also said this agreement will make for a smoother transition away from current mobility solutions.
George Gu also commented in the official press release:
With companies like Protium, we are seeing the UK as maturing as a market for our vehicles much faster than most other countries. At Hyzon, we have been able to establish in the USA that we are able to deliver clean transportation for people, goods and waste with our optimized hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, working with Protium as a leading light in the UK Hydrogen environment to be able to access and jointly develop a strong market across the Atlantic for hydrogen we see a fantastic future for the Hydrogen economy in the country.
Hyzon will begin production, the first vehicles will be rolling out in the second half of 2020. The company plans on being able to manufacture thousands of heavy vehicle systems per year, scalable up to 10,000 units if demand increases. They will also be producing 6-meter delivery vans or 12 to 15 seat passenger vans that will offer up to 800km (497 miles) of range.
By using tested Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies this will help with large scale implementation as Craig Knight, CEO of Horizon, explains:
We have developed Fuel Cells which have a significant advantage in whole-of-life cost, and combining this with the imminent availability of very competitive large-scale green (renewable or sustainable) hydrogen in a number of countries, we are rapidly closing in on a total cost of ownership lower than diesel-based fleets. As an enabler of high performance, zero-emission transport, we are empowered to accelerate the transition to hydrogen commercial vehicles, ensuring attractive overall economics are reached in the very near term.
