Hyzon unveils electric axle for their upcoming hydrogen trucks
Hyzon Motors is introducing an electric axle to be used in the US developer’s future medium- and heavy-duty H2 trucks. Hyzon’s eAxle uses one motor per wheel and is said to achieve up to 97 per cent efficiency.
Hyzon plans to manufacture the electric axle in its US plants in the future. The patent application is currently underway, and the Americans expect the first ready-to-use sample models next year.
The company’s heavy-duty trucks equipped with electric axle drives systems are to have a peak output of 950 kW. Hyzon promises particularly high efficiency for Class 8 6×4 commercial vehicles; the heaviest US vehicle class from 15 tonnes. Coupled with a virtual differential, the drive can develop an efficiency of up to 97 per cent – compared to the industry standard of 95 per cent.
Hyzon also lists the eAxle’s 950 kW peak power and energy consumption of 106 kWh/100 km in the American HHDDT driving cycle. In addition, trucks with the solution on board are said to be able to climb gradients of more than 20 per cent and accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 20 seconds with a fully loaded trailer. The speed will be electronically limited at 75 mph (120 km/h). The eAxle also enables regenerative braking at full torque, according to Hyzon. It is also said to be easy and inexpensive to maintain.
A few words about Hyzon Motors: The US developer of fuel cell commercial vehicles had only announced its IPO in February and announced an order from New Zealand for a total of 1,500 fuel cell trucks. In the United States, the company has two facilities in Rochester, New York State. One is a fuel cell testing facility, while the other facility houses the administrative headquarters, vehicle production and powertrain assembly. In addition, Hyzon is currently planning to build a production facility for membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) in Illinois.
For customers in the European Union, the company has recently launched a leasing service for heavy-duty fuel cell commercial vehicles. With this, the manufacturer says it aims to reach the level of diesel trucks in terms of total cost of ownership. Hyzon plans to deliver “hundreds of heavy-duty fuel cell vehicles” in Europe by the end of 2021, according to an earlier announcement. The first units are scheduled to arrive in Groningen in the third quarter of 2021.
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