Kenworth Toyota hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks used for testing. (Toyota)
Serial production of Kenworth Truck Co.’s hydrogen fuel cell electric T680 tractors will not begin in 2025 as previously announced, according to a senior executive.
In the latest setback for Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell truck prospects in the U.S., Kenworth Chief Engineer Joe Adams said April 8 that the Paccar unit is evaluating when production of the Toyota fuel cell-powered tractor will begin.
Kenworth is still calibrating the tractor, making sure the appropriate refueling infrastructure is in place and also wants to make sure the truck is profitable, Adams told reporters touring the Paccar Technical Center in Mount Vernon, Wash.
Adams
Plans for a 2025 start to serial production were unveiled almost two years ago at the 2023 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo by Paccar Chief Technology Officer John Rich.
At the time, Rich said Kenworth and sister company Peterbilt Motors Co. were already taking deposits on the tractors.
Kenworth’s hydrogen fuel cell configuration of the T680 — its flagship longhaul on-highway tractor — would come with a range of up to 450 miles and a refueling time of about 20 minutes, company executives said.
Rich announces production plans for Kenworth and Peterbilt hydrogen fuel cell electric Class 8 trucks at the 2023 ACT Expo. (Seth Clevenger/Transport Topics)
Kirkland, Wash.-based Kenworth also produces a battery-electric T680, which has a range of about 150 miles.
At the same time as production of the fuel cell T680 was expected to begin, Peterbilt was set to begin production of a fuel cell configuration of its flagship Model 579 on-highway tractor.
A Peterbilt spokeswoman told Transport Topics on April 10 that the Denton, Texas-based truck maker will bring the product to market when infrastructure and customers are ready.
The first quarter of 2025 had already been a rough period for hydrogen fuel cell truck ambitions as startup hydrogen fuel cell truck manufacturers Nikola and Hyzon shut up shop for good.
Nikola filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Feb. 19 after searching for a backer to bankroll additional funds or a partner for many months.
An auction of the company’s assets was scheduled for April 7. Lucid Group Inc. has agreed to take over Nikola’s Phoenix headquarters and electric truck factory in Coolidge, Ariz.
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Hyzon closed its doors in February too, less than six months after beginning serial production of its Class 8 tractor. Like Nikola, Hyzon ran into similar cash flow problems.
When Kenworth and Peterbilt do begin serial production of their hydrogen fuel cell tractors, the fuel cells Toyota will be able to supply will have undergone an upgrade from the second-generation modules originally mooted.
A Kenworth spokeswoman was unable to confirm those fuel cells will be used.
In February, the Japanese company pulled back the curtain on a third-generation system expected to be deployed as early as 2026.
Toyota promised the latest iteration will feature significant improvements in performance, including fuel efficiency and a reduction in costs compared to the prior version.
The third-generation fuel cell will be as much as twice as durable as its second-generation predecessor, 1.2 times more fuel efficient and significantly cheaper because of cell design and manufacturing process improvements, Toyota said.
Hyundai is currently the only truck manufacturer supplying Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell tractors in North America.
Greer, S.C.-based Benore Logistic Systems is operating 14 Hyundai Xcient tractors that meet some of the supply chain needs of the South Korean conglomerate’s electric vehicle battery cell manufacturing plant in South Carolina.
The trucks are assigned to dedicated routes between Tier 1 suppliers and the $5 billion plant. The round trip is less than 40 miles, Dennis Kunz, Benore vice president of revenue strategy and operation development, told TT recently.
