Canadian hydrogen supplier opens heavy-duty refuelling station

HTEC has launched a heavy-duty hydrogen refuelling station in British Columbia (BC), Canada, ahead of deploying 12 hydrogen fuel cell trucks on short-distance freight transport.

The Tsawwassen station will offer up to 400kg of green hydrogen daily at 350 and 700-bar, supplied by HTEC’s 1.8-tonne-per-day Burnaby , bringing its network to eight stations.

Under its BC H2 Pilot and BC H2 Ports projects, HTEC will lease 11 Class 8 and one Class 7 heavy-duty fuel cell trucks to various fleet operators for drayage and regional freight transport, while operating one truck itself.

Logistics operator Harbour Link Container Services and trucking company Triple Eight Transport will be the first to lease and operate two Hyundai Xcient trucks from HTEC, whose leasing subsidiary also offers Nikola and Unilia trucks.

Colin Armstrong, HTEC CEO, called the station’s inauguration an important step, unlocking business confidence in fuel cell trucks for day-to-day logistics.

The company also acknowledged contributions from project partners including the Government of BC and Natural Resources Canada.

Heavy-duty fuel cell trucks continue to gain status as a promising case in hydrogen mobility.

While criticised for the low energy efficiency that comes with converting electricity to hydrogen and then into kinetic energy, proponents say they can overcome payload, rang, and recharging time challenges associated with battery-electric platforms.

However, station rollouts are economically complicated, hinging on high vehicle throughput while vehicle deployments rely on station availability.

Canada’s refuelling network is generally highly dispersed, with only a handful of public stations operational in BC and Quebec.

In April, Canadian zero-emissions vehicle manufacturer a 63.5-tonne hydrogen fuel cell truck claiming a range of up to 1,000km.