Going by the latest technology hype appearing around the world, we should forget about electric trucks and head down the hydrogen powered route. This video shows the latest concept from Fuso, launched at the recent Tokyo Motor Show.
The Vision F-Cell is Fuso’s concept of an electric truck that uses the power of a hydrogen fuelled fuel cell as one option to extend the range of an electric vehicle. Fuso has introduced electric trucks with a small series production beginning in 2017 with the eCanter. Since then, more than 140 eCanters have been delivered to customers in Japan, Europe and the United States.
The Vision F-Cell takes it one step further using fuel cell technology to increase the truck’s range.
- Maximum motor power: 135kW
- Maximum continuous power: 75kW (fuel cell) + 135kW (3 HV battery)
- Energy storage: 13.8-40 kWh (HVB) plus 5-10 Kg of hydrogen pressurised at 70MPa (3-4 tanks)
- Range: 270-300km (estimate)
- GVM: 7.5 tonnes.
In fact, we do not need to forget about electric trucks, but simply improve them so that they provide better utilisation options and this fuel cell extends the range three fold on the Fuso eCanter, tested here by Diesel:
Elsewhere in the world Hyundai recently launched a hydrogen powered heavy duty concept. The Hyundai H2 XCient Fuel Cell truck (FECV) that has been developed to meet European regulations and features a new 190 kW hydrogen fuel cell system with two 95 kW fuel cell stacks connected in parallel. It has an operational range of around 400km, thanks to seven fuel-tanks, each with a storage capacity of almost 35 kg of hydrogen at a pressure of 350 bar.
