The truck is based on a Navistar International ProStar day cab with US Hybrids’ FCe 80 fuel cell engine. The fuel cell can send 80 kiloWatts of peak power to a 500-horsepower electric motor, via a 30-kiloWatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The motor is capable of delivering up to 2,900 lb-ft of torque. The system will provide up to 200 miles of range from 25 kilograms of compressed hydrogen. Refuelling with compressed hydrogen gas takes less than 9 minutes.

Fuel-cell systems are being looked at as a way to provide the zero-emissions trucking that air quality regulators in California increasingly demand without the loss of service time required for recharging battery-dependent electric vehicles.

US Hybrid, which previously has built battery-electric, fuel-cell electric and hybrid drive systems for commercial vehicles and transit buses, wants to become a major supplier of fuel cell systems for medium- and heavy-duty commercial trucks.