Rochester Development Vehicle

/ August 27, 2021

The first Hyzon truck manufactured in the US was developed with the future in mind: its build prioritized the ability to test our fuel cell system and components, iterate on them, and replace the elements with ease and speed. Because of that, we call it our “Development Truck”, as it gives a us platform to develop and test our new systems. While it does not look exactly like the vehicles we deliver to customers, each difference is specifically designed to help us update our technology and trucks – improvements we pass on to our customers.

Modular fuel cell system

The heart of the Hyzon vehicle – the fuel cell system, which holds the fuel cell stacks – normally sits under the hood. On the development truck, though, it is mounted on the back of the cab underneath the hydrogen storage tanks. There are only three electrical connections and six bolts connecting the system, so it can be removed in less than 30 minutes. Additionally, the truck is configured such that any fuel cell system can be connected – a single, large system or multiple smaller ones can be tested without any additional fabrication.

European drivetrain

All elements of the drivetrain, including the motor, inverter, brake and steering pumps, power electronics, and batteries, leverage our advanced European solutions. By doing so, we can collaborate internationally: multiple teams working on the same platforms means that each one discovers improvements, which can be quickly implemented halfway across the globe.

Under the hood

Locating the fuel cell system behind the cab gives additional, protected space under the hood. This space can be used to test a host of electrical components to optimize the power quality and load balancing. This is of particular importance as we continue to develop our cloud-based data logging, which will monitor the vehicle near real-time to provide utilization and maintenance information to fleet operators.