Verne told H2 View that the grant totalled CAD $2m, contingent on meeting specific milestones throughout the project.

Both Verne and Alberta-based partners will collaborate to retrofit an existing diesel internal combustion engine (ICE) to run on a diesel/hydrogen blend. Verne is expected to then demonstrate a proprietary mobile CcH2 refueller with Alberta fleets.

H2 View understands that Verne’s CcH2 technology stores hydrogen at a maximum density of 73 grams per litre (g/L), a 33% improvement over liquid hydrogen and an 87% improvement over 700 bar compressed gas hydrogen, maximising a vehicle range of over 1,200km.

The grant came under Alberta Innovates’ Hydrogen Centre of Excellence Competition II incentive, which was created to accelerate innovation in hydrogen across Alberta, Canada.

Verne is targeting Class 8 trucks due to the sector’s impact on global warming – heavy-duty transport being responsible for 12% of greenhouse gases. The company was founded “with the mission of decarbonising heavy-duty transportation,” according to Bav Roy, Verne Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO).

“This project is a critical step in demonstrating that Verne’s high-capacity hydrogen systems can play a major role in bringing diesel-like performance to clean transportation,” he explained.

Speaking to H2 View recently, Roy said that by the end of 2024, Verne would have “demonstrated the first every cryo-compressed hydrogen truck, as well as a CcH2 mobile refueller that could be used for trucking and other applications in aviation.

Read more: H2 View introduces… Verne

“It will be a major step towards showing the technology maturity, that it’s ready for ‘primetime’ in trucking, and in aviation soon after.”