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Verne (San Francisco, Calif., U.S.) received a grant from Alberta Innovates (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) to fund the development and demonstration of a Class 8 truck powered by cryo-compressed hydrogen (CcH₂). Verne’s project will illustrate the performance benefits and decarbonization potential of the technology to key stakeholders in Alberta and beyond.

Verne’s CcH₂ technology stores hydrogen at a maximum hydrogen density of 73 grams/liter, a 33% improvement over liquid hydrogen and an 87% improvement over 700-bar compressed gas hydrogen, maximizing vehicle range and payload. The increased density leads to greater range and payload: Verne says its CcH₂ tanks enable semi-trucks to achieve diesel-equivalent range — or over 1,200 kilometers — without adding any weight to the system. Increased density also means that Verne’s storage systems reduce material use and cost by 50% relative to compressed gas storage systems of equivalent volume.

Through this project, Verne will work with Alberta-based partners to retrofit an existing diesel internal combustion engine truck to run on a blend of diesel and hydrogen (known as a “dual-fuel” combustion engine). Verne will then demonstrate the truck and a mobile CcH₂ refueler with Alberta fleets and other collaborators. This project will demonstrate the performance of CcH₂ in the rigorous Alberta operating environment and provide key stakeholders — including fleets, truck manufacturers and station developers — with first-hand experience with CcH₂ and its benefits over existing options.

This grant was awarded as part of Alberta Innovates’ Hydrogen Centre of Excellence Competition II. Alberta Innovates is an Alberta crown corporation advancing innovation in the province, and the Hydrogen Centre of Excellence was founded to accelerate innovation across the hydrogen value chain in Alberta.