AZETEC – Alberta’s Zero Emission Truck Electrification Collaboration – revealed its 63.5-ton hydrogen fuel-cell-electric truck. It was showcased at the Alberta Motor Transport Association’s Industry Innovations Expo in Edmonton.

The AZETEC truck will take part in the first commercial pilot of hydrogen use in heavy-duty freight transport in Alberta. It is a product of collaboration among many industry experts, including Dana Incorporated, which designed and built the vehicle. The company developed a dual-axle configuration, integrating motors, inverters, and controllers to meet the challenges of hauling heavy loads. Dana had to take on the role of both OEM and supplier, navigating complex engineering tasks.

Justin Labrie, engineering manager for EVs at Dana: 

“We are here today to introduce you to the AZETEC truck. So AZETEC is the first hydrogen electric vehicle that is built for Canadian weights. So, when this project was thought of, the OEMs were working on some hydrogen trucks, but it was all for the lower weights that are allowed in the U.S. And this is really for a road train. So you have the tractor that you see here, and we’ll have two full-size trailers behind it, totaling more than 64,000 kilograms. Actually, now we’re at 67,000 kilograms, which is a bit more than normal. So, what is a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle?

This one is actually a battery-electric vehicle. So it has all the same components as a battery electric vehicle, all the same complexity. So, if you look here, you’ll see some power electronics and motors and pumps. You need all that same good content that you have on the battery electric vehicle. And then, on top of all of that new and exciting technology, you bring something that’s even more new — the hydrogen fuel cells. So, the hydrogen fuel cells and the hydrogen storage reside in this big box behind the cabin.

So in here, you have a total of 10 fuel cell fuel hydrogen tanks, totalizing more than 68 kilogram of compressed hydrogen at 350 bars. That’s a lot of pressure.

And on top of this hydrogen storage, you have the hydrogen fuel cell. So that’s where the magic happens. These are the components that convert the hydrogen into electricity.

This electricity is then powered through the powertrain, the two Dana e-axles that were designed for this project, so they have the motor and transmission. It’s all connected in our Zero 8 e-axle, and the electricity from the fuel cells goes directly to the axle and also goes to recharge the electric pathway. This way, when you have a lot of power demand, you have the electric battery and the fuel cells powering the axle. And this will allow, for example, this truck to climb the steep hill while carrying these two full track trailers full of merchandise.

So the goal of this truck is to go on the route from Edmonton to Calgary, and we are going to start testing very soon on that route with the real-life drivers collaborating with real company carriers Bison and Trimac. So we really look forward to this exciting trial.”