As the world moves toward net-zero carbon in all energy-consuming sectors, the International Energy Agency and many other organizations, countries, and corporations consider hydrogen an essential component of the emerging energy mix and a viable alternative to diesel, the conventional fuel used worldwide for medium- and heavy-duty surface transport.

Hydrogen will play several critical roles in this rapidly evolving transition – as a large-scale energy storage medium, as a low- or zero-carbon energy “currency,” as a feedstock for green steel, and as a transportation fuel.

Nuvera was a proud sponsor and participant in H2 View’s recent Mobility Pillar Special, and our CEO Lucien Robroek was the featured speaker at the March 12 event. “Hydrogen power delivered to vehicles via fuel cell engines is key to achieving a net-zero carbon transportation future, so this topic is a great fit for us,” Lucien said afterwards.

“Mobility is a critical strand of the clean energy transition, with a lot of positive mileage for hydrogen,” as H2 View’s Managing Editor Rob Cockerill, put it. “And we are not just talking about covering distance over land. With hydrogen mobility we are also talking about transport by river, oceans, and air.

“Right now is most definitely the decade of the fuel cell.”

In February, Nuvera announced the expansion of its hydrogen fuel cell engine testing capabilities with the commissioning of the Nuvera® Fuel Cell Engine Test Module (ETM) in Osio, Italy near our offices in Milan. This fully-equipped testing ground is unique in the industry and highlights our ongoing commitment to providing OEMs with the technology needed to build high-performance, zero-emission vehicles.

Our team dedicated significant time and resources to the multi-year effort to design and construct the automated ETM facility. Our aim is to advance the possibilities of hydrogen-powered vehicles as a solution to the zero-emission motive power needs of vehicle manufacturers and their fleet customers.

To explain its significance for our customers, we asked Giampaolo Sibilia, director of Nuvera EU operations, to give a behind-the-scenes look at what the project involved.

Transportation is currently the number one source of global warming pollution in the U.S. and is motivating nationwide efforts to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Carbon-intensive medium- and heavy-duty trucking has come under particular scrutiny because of the disproportionately high impact of diesel usage.

This past year has been transformative for the fuel cell industry, with significant strides made toward reaching clean mobility at a global scale. From this time last year to today, our industry has achieved so much. Today, on National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day, we celebrate the many industry milestones over the past year, and our own achievements here at Nuvera.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and achieve carbon neutrality, tremendous progress has been made in clean energy adoption in recent years, especially for light-duty vehicles. The focus continues to shift toward ambitious climate goals – particularly in the sectors that will have the most impact on meeting them – commercial and industrial vehicles.

Massachusetts (Nuvera headquarter’s home state) has joined 14 other states and the District of Columbia in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to increase the market for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs). The MOU sets a goal for 100% zero-emission vehicle sales by 2050, and aims to electrify the transportation sector by promoting mass adoption of zero-emission technologies, including battery electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV).

Tony Taylor and Brian Bowers of the Applications Development Team answered questions about the group's role in enabling successful integration of Nuvera products into customers' applications.

As Nuvera® fuel cell engines are being introduced into vehicle platforms around the world, we asked the Nuvera Applications Development team to describe their role in helping customers incorporate fuel cells into their products.

Advanced Clean Tech News’s latest webinar, “The Electric Future and the Messy Middle,” addressed The North American Council for Freight Efficiency’s (NACFE) recently released Guidance Report. The report dives into the future for today’s trucking fleets and the challenges that fleet operators face during the inevitable transition to zero-emission propulsion.

The trucking industry is at the start of significant expected changes in powertrains. The imperatives for reducing emissions from the transportation sector – the largest source of carbon emissions worldwide – are mounting, whether from regulatory actions or from the demands of community residents most directly impacted by trucks operating in their vicinity. Fleets can be configured with a growing array of low-carbon energy sources and propulsion technologies, including renewable natural gas and biofuels, diesel-electric hybrids, batteries, and not least, hydrogen fuel cells.

In pre-commercial trials, fuel cell trucks are showing promise as a one-to-one replacement for diesel-powered trucks – both in terms of vehicle performance and in operational characteristics.

Matt Weig, Fuel Cell Engine Product Development Manager

As we launch the Nuvera® E-45 fuel cell engine for medium- and heavy-duty vehicle applications, we wanted to look back at how we arrived at this moment. Nuvera has been at the forefront of the fuel cell industry for over 20 years. Throughout that time, we have always believed that hydrogen represents the future of energy for mobility, and we have worked hard to develop unique technology that makes the use of hydrogen make financial and environmental sense for commercial operations. As governments around the world begin restricting the use of internal combustion engines and diesel fuel, it’s exciting to see how quickly the use of hydrogen fuel cells for zero-emission transportation has come to the forefront of consideration by fleet operators of all kinds.