A Conversation with Ralph Clague, Chief Development Officer

Ralph Clague joined Nuvera in October 2021 as Chief Development Officer. We asked him about his background, interests, and vision for Nuvera’s technology and production evolution.

Curious how customers incorporate fuel cells into their products as Nuvera fuel cell engines are being introduced into vehicle platforms around the world? Check out this Q&A with our applications development team to learn about how they enable successful integrations:

Q&A with Nuvera’s applications development engineer in China, Marvin Rao

Non-road mobile machinery operators are facing significant emission reduction mandates, especially in heavily populated environments. Finding the right solution for specific uses requires evaluation of new propulsion technologies that match equipment operational requirements, identification of the most promising options for the application, meeting code requirements, pilot testing, and ultimately adoption of the most viable emission-free solutions. Starting from scratch, this process can involve several years of planning and development by equipment manufacturers.

A transition to clean power systems that meets not just value, innovation and performance needs of the application, but also maps to the specific performance requirements of non-road vehicles and equipment, is key to successful adoption of the right technology.

Governments around the world are banning commercial diesel and gasoline internal combustion engine trucks. While electric trucks (eTrucks) are the clear path forward, there are a variety of use cases and vehicle availability requirements that affect the best powertrain choices. In fact, the best solutions for a particular application might not involve plugging in at all, according to a recent report by McKinsey and Company.

The report, “Why most eTrucks will choose overnight charging” (October 2020), addresses the charging needs for medium- and heavy-duty electric truck platforms. McKinsey estimates that eTruck adoption will exceed 30 percent by 2030, and this will require the alignment of multiple factors, including regulation, eTruck supply, and electric powertrain, and other technology improvements.

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.