SoCalGas revealed on Monday (August 15) Ford is set to provide it with a F-550 Super Duty truck to evaluate the hydrogen-powered prototype’s performance across its operations, with hopes of seeing the vehicle deployed in 2025.

The collaboration is part of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) SuperTruck 3 programme, aiming to significantly reduce emissions of medium and heavy-duty trucks.

Read more: $200m US DOE fund to support Ford, Daimler Trucks, and more, in developing hydrogen and fuel cell trucks

It is hoped the project will offer the opportunity to decarbonise large vehicle fleets for applications such as utilities that require long ranges, fast refuelling, and onboard power needs.

Jim Buczkowski, Executive Director of Ford Research and Advanced Engineering, said, “Ford’s strategy to reduce carbon emissions across the globe includes investigating multiple technologies that will help us achieve these goals across a broad spectrum of applications.

“For our wide spectrum of Ford Pro customers, there are application gaps that battery electric vehicles just can’t fulfil yet, so we’re looking at hydrogen fuel cells to power larger, heavier commercial vehicles while still delivering zero tailpipe emissions.”

Neil Navin, Vice-President of Clean Energy Innovations at SoCalGas, added, “We are honoured to work with Ford on their strategy to help reduce emissions. This project is a critical step toward finding real-world solutions to decarbonise heavy duty transportation such as our utility fleet with Ford’s H2 Fuel Cell Electric F-550.”

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