A new Class 8 fuel cell truck manufacturer has joined the growing ranks of hydrogen players to not only cut emissions but also to help market autonomous driving systems at a time when fleets and OEMs alike continue to face challenges when dealing with overseas suppliers.
Supply chain concerns helped motivate Mo Chen, co-founder of Class 8 autonomous frontrunner TuSimple, to kick off his latest company, Hydron, which is gearing up to produce autonomous fuel cell trucks in North America in roughly two years.
“The path to commercializing autonomous vehicles requires the complex integration of both hardware and software,” said Mo Chen, CEO of Hydron. “The biggest challenge in bringing autonomous driving to the market at scale is not software development, but access to reliable mass production hardware, and now with Hydron, we will be able to provide automotive-grade hardware specifically for autonomous networks.”
[Related: Hyzon fuel cell truck impresses with power and zero emissions]
Hydron is also pursuing partnerships to help launch hydrogen networks.
“By deploying hydrogen fueling stations in high volume freight routes we will be able to focus on the locations needed the most and then scale from there based on demand,” Chen, a Canadian entrepreneur, told CCJ. “For example the Texas triangle connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio is a good example of geographies that would benefit from hydrogen refueling infrastructure.”
[Related: Fleets share impressions of zero emission trucks and vans]
