The California Energy Commission (CEC) selected Symbio, Michelin, and Faurecia along with GTI and other industry partners, to develop and demonstrate a hydrogen-fueled, regional-haul Class 8 truck, as major contributors to a state-supported hydrogen mobility project.

The “Symbio H2 Central Valley Express” project, supported with $2 million from the CEC, will develop and demonstrate a hydrogen fuel cell truck that matches the performance of a 15-liter diesel truck providing a zero-emission solution for demanding regional-haul trucking operations.

Key subsystems such as a fuel cell system, hydrogen storage system, and low rolling resistance tires will be assembled onto a chassis, and the assembled truck will be driven for demonstration and data collection purposes. Telematics systems will be installed on the truck and operational data on performance and energy usage will be collected; this is the primary purpose of the project. Data will then be analyzed within existing laboratory and industrial environments.

Faurecia, company of the Group FORVIA, will bring its recognized expertise in hydrogen storage systems by providing a complete hydrogen storage system with five 700 bar homologated tanks.

Michelin will provide low-rolling resistance tires that combine safety, longevity, environmental protection and increased load capacity. With these technologically advanced tires, adapted for heavy-duty transportation, Michelin is supporting the transition to cleaner, more efficient electric mobility solutions that offer greater range.

Symbio will design, develop, and integrate the heavy-duty long-haul-truck-ready fuel cell powertrain powered by Symbio’s fuel cell stack technology StackPack, coupled with Faurecia’s hydrogen storage system and Michelin’s low resistance tires into a Freightliner Cascadia platform.

Symbio, a jointly owned subsidiary of Faurecia and Michelin, is a global hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer with more than 30 years of combined experience in hydrogen fuel-cell system development and vehicle integration.

GTI, a leading research and training organization, will lead the grant administration, provide technical insight and program management as well as perform data collection. Other project partners include Total Transportation Services (TTSI), the fleet operator that will demonstrate the truck, Frontier Energy for community outreach, and Ricardo Strategic Consulting for demonstration data analysis.

Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and Utilization Technology Development (UTD), a global collaboration of leading natural gas utilities, will provide funding support.

Starting in the second half of 2023, the truck will run for 12 months on a challenging 400-mile route between the Inland Empire and Northern San Joaquin Valley. Located inside California natural gas investor-owned utility territory, it will utilize existing and future hydrogen infrastructure primarily provided by Air Liquide, Shell and Trillium.