Hydrogen Powered Tractors Are Here!
Hydrogen powered tractors are here! Hyundai has been manufacturing fuel cell powered cars and is now applying the technology to heavy trucks. Switzerland for example, is leasing 1,600 class 8 trucks (heavy duty trucks weighing 33,000 pounds or more) from Hyundai. A trucker with an electric power train and an on-board fuel cell and hydrogen tanks could travel 500 miles and fill up again in just 15 minutes. This would not be possible with a battery powered truck which would also be very heavy and unsafe.
Similarly, Cummins Inc., known to farmers and truckers for its venerable diesel engines, is developing a class of electric truck powered by hydrogen fuel cells. They are also building fuel cells and electrolyzers for all kinds of applications around the world, including boats, trains, and stationery installations. An electrolyzer is the energy source for the hydrogen driving the fuel cells. The process is entirely ‘green’ and environment friendly if the electrolyzer is powered by renewable energy.