Hydrogen trucking
Heavy-duty trucks (HDVs) are the essential economic and logistical backbone of the American and the global economies. Yet, the clear path to decarbonize them remains uncertain. Currently, HDVs are hard to decarbonize using lithium drivetrain due to weight limitation of the batteries, and hydrogen fuel-cell drivetrain provides a promising alternative avenue. However, existing compressed hydrogen storage tanks used in fuel-cell trucks are bulky in shape and difficult to fit into the chassis of a vehicle. MIT GEAR Lab is working on designing a hydrogen storage architecture that can conform to the geometry of available space in the vehicle’s structural frame.
Motivations
Heavy-duty trucks transport 80% of domestic freight in the United States
HDVs are responsible for ~7% of the U.S. GHG emissions annually
Lithium battery drivetrain is limited in HDVs due to a variety of factors (e.g. range anxiety, weight limits, recharging time, electric grid capacity, etc.)
Hydrogen fuel-cell is promising, but current storage vessels are bulky and difficult to package into the vehicle chassis (e.g. automotive OEMs need to redesign the chassis around the storage tanks, removing the sleeper compartment, etc.)
Our Research
Designing a conformal storage architecture for 700-bar compressed hydrogen onboard fuel-cell trucks
Conformal to the irregular geometry of the internal chassis
Conformal to existing outrigger tank form-factors
Customizable to different vehicle class and freight scenarios
Increased volume packing, weight efficiency, modularity
Enable OEMs to fit hydrogen storage into available space within an existing chassis