TR Group has signed a revised commercial agreement with US-based hydrogen truck startup Hyzon Motors for the delivery of up to 20 hydrogen fuel cell trucks (FCEVs).
The first two trucks with single stack 200kW fuel cell systems are scheduled to be ready for commercial trial beginning in March 2024, and will be deployed for up to three months.
Following the initial commercial trial, TR Group has the option to purchase the two trial trucks as well as to upfit another 18 trucks with 200kW fuel cell systems to be assembled at Hyzon’s Melbourne, Australia facility.
TR Group, New Zealand’s largest heavy-duty truck fleet owner, first announced a deal with Hyzon for 20 FCEVs in November 2021. The first of these units were originally expected to be in the country by mid-2022 for performance testing.
However, it was reported delivery of the hydrogen trucks was delayed due to the pandemic and supply chain disruption, while Hyzon also faced compliance issues with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to its Nasdaq listing.
In September this year, Hyzon announced it had resolved the SEC investigation by agreeing to pay a civil monetary penalty of US$25 million in three instalments without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint.
Hyzon says the new agreement with TR Group supersedes the previous 2021 agreement and provides a revised commercial path for deployment of the hydrogen trucks in New Zealand.
“We look forward to deploying the first trucks with 200kW fuel cell systems produced by Hyzon in heavy-duty operations with TR Group,” Hyzon chief executive Parker Meeks says.
“It marks a significant step toward the full commercialisation of our single stack 200kW fuel cell system.
“The critical competitive advantages our system offers, including improvements in total volume, manufacturing costs, total weight, and fuel efficiency, will help accelerate the decarbonisation of the transportation sector, with TR Group leading the way.
“Additionally, the upfitting contract in place for TR Group’s optional 18 FCEVs aligns with our cash-efficient and technology-focused business model,” Meeks says.
TR Group general manager Brendan King says there has been a lot of interest from customers for the arrival of hydrogen trucks.
“We are serious about reducing our impact on the environment. Hyzon’s 200kW heavy-duty FCEV trucks give us real-world use of this zero-emission technology and allow us to develop solutions for local conditions,” he says.
In preparation for the trucks, TR Group has worked closely with the New Zealand Government and Hiringa Energy, who are developing the hydrogen fuel supply network. Hiringa, along with their station partners Waitomo, will soon break ground on the first of four green hydrogen refuelling stations across key freight routes in the North Island.
The New Zealand Government has supported the project with $6 million in co-funding coming from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA. This was part of a wider $3 billion ‘shovel ready’ infrastructure programme announced in Budget 2020.
Hyzon’s revised agreement with TR Group follows the commercial trial deployment of Hyzon’s first heavy-rigid fuel cell electric waste collection truck to Remondis Australia, one of the world’s largest recycling, service, and water companies.
