The Alberta Zero Emission Truck Electrification Collaboration (AZETEC) project took center stage at the Alberta Motor Transport Association’s Industry Innovations Expo on Sept. 26, as panelists shared insights into the development of a 63.5-ton fuel-cell-electric truck.
The truck will take part in the first commercial pilot of hydrogen use in heavy-duty freight transport in Alberta, and just arrived in Edmonton last week.
Industry stakeholders — including Dana, Hydrogen Technology and Energy Corporation (HTEC), Suncor Energy, Ballard Power Systems, and others — discussed the project’s challenges and successes.
(Photo: Krystyna Shchedrina)
“It didn’t always go smoothly, it didn’t always go quick, but what we’re here to tell you today is that it’s working,” said Steve Slesinski, director of global product planning at Dana, which contributed critical components to the development of AZETEC truck. “Every system problem we encountered we resolved together as a team.”
Engineering breakthroughs, technical challenges
From a technical perspective, Dana’s development of the Zero-8 e-axle was one of the most critical achievements, Slesinski said.
“Underneath the truck here…you can see the large e-axle that propels this vehicle. We also have the motors, the inverters, the controllers, as well as a second driving axle, which is unique,” Slesinski explained. This dual-axle configuration was crucial for meeting the weight and power requirements of the project. Successfully integrating these systems marked a significant engineering accomplishment, especially as Dana typically works directly with OEMs but had to take on that role themselves for this project.
“We had a great vision, a good idea, but we actually had to invent a lot of things on the fly as we went along,” Slesinski said, referencing the flexibility and adaptability that became crucial in dealing with the engineering challenges, including coordinating the two drive axles with electronic stability control, ABS systems, and meeting Canadian vehicle safety standards.
(Photo: Krystyna Shchedrina)
“One of the axles is actually a three-speed axle, and the other is a zero-speed axle,” Slesinski explained. “So integrating those systems together was a new challenge, [including] factoring in the vehicle dynamics and all the increased weight that we had to achieve by beefing up the frame and fitting the fuel cell stack in this vehicle.”
This was not the only challenge the AZETEC project faced – integrating prototype components and coordinating efforts across multiple suppliers was not an easy task, either.
“Many of our partners, like Dana, started with prototype components, so we were bringing a whole host of prototype components together and expected all these to work together properly the first time,” Slesinski said, adding that another key issue involved the hydrogen infrastructure, which posed logistical challenges during vehicle testing, though improvements are expected as hydrogen availability expands in Alberta. He added that global supply chain disruption during the pandemic was an issue, too, since the work on the prototype began in 2019.
Hydrogen infrastructure, fuel cell standards
HTEC, a Vancouver-based company specializing in hydrogen fueling technology, played an important role in ensuring the AZETEC truck has the infrastructure needed to refuel and operate efficiently.
One of the fist tasks was upgrading the hydrogen supply to meet the fuel cell quality requirements, said Patrick Ouellette, HTEC’s vice-president of stations and distribution infrastructure.
Suncor Energy, a key supplier of hydrogen for the AZETEC, outlined the steps it has taken to purify hydrogen.
(Photo: Krystyna Shchedrina)
“Fuel cell quality needs to be about 99.999% pure hydrogen with very low water and impurities in it in order to allow this fuel cells to work correctly,” said Jon Remmer, Suncor’s lead for clean hydrogen and downstream development. The hydrogen is sourced from Suncor’s Edmonton refinery and undergoes purification using a pressure swing absorber (PSA), which removes impurities.
Once purified, the hydrogen is compressed to 450 bar and transferred to mobile refueling trailers, which bring it to designated fueling stations. Remmer pointed out that while the infrastructure is functioning, local expertise in handling and testing hydrogen is lacking.
“We don’t have the capability in Western Canada to test this now. So what we’re having to do is send these samples down to California,” he said, adding that building local testing capabilities will be a crucial next step to scaling the use of hydrogen in Alberta.
Given the refinery’s location in Edmonton and limitations for direct refueling, the hydrogen had to be transported. “The trailer is moved away every day to a dispensing location,” Ouellette said. “HTEC also provided a dispenser for the refueling of the vehicle.”
While the system was commissioned in June 2023, some early challenges emerged.
“At the time the project started, we were all used to heavy-duty vehicle being 350 bars, so the 700 bar came after the project even got underway. So this was all spec’d for 450 bar, which enables you to refuel 350-bar vehicles. We have what we call a bumping cabinet. This is where the truck [and] the trailer connects with the equipment to be refilled safely over several hours. And then there’s an electrical room that has the control equipment for the for the system.”
Ouellette said that since the system was designed for continuous operation, it ‘didn’t really love’ the stop-and-start pattern of testing. “We are fixing that as we go now,” he added, saying the system will operate more smoothly as the trucks begin regular use.
(Photo: Krystyna Shchedrina)
HTEC also developed ‘power cubes,’ high-pressure cylinder bundles manufactured locally in Alberta, which hold over 500 kg of hydrogen. These power cubes are transported on flatbed trailers, and a gas transfer module (GTM) is used to refill the trucks. The GTM enables the safe transfer of hydrogen with integrated safety features like fire detection, hydrogen leak detection, and flow rate limits to prevent overheating.
In addition to building and managing the hydrogen infrastructure, HTEC continues to provide ongoing maintenance and technical support. “A lot of my engineering staff contributed to this project, and we continue to have technicians fly to the refinery to help with preventive maintenance and system operation,” Ouellette said.
Data collection to drive future decisions
With the hydrogen infrastructure now in place and technical challenges addressed, one of the new focuses of the AZETEC project is data collection and performance assessment.
Mahdi Shahbakhti, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Alberta, explained that the trucks will be outfitted with various sensors to measure energy consumption, weather conditions, and performance under different load capacities.
The fuel cell truck’s performance will be compared to that of a diesel truck in various scenarios, such as climbing hills, driving under heavy load, and operating in Alberta’s extreme winter conditions, he said.
“With all this testing that we plan, we can have a full picture of the performance of these trucks.”
(Photo: Krystyna Shchedrina)
Jeff Grant, HTEC’s vice-president of transportation solutions, added that scaling up will be the next phase. “We need to move into the kind of scale that will drive costs down,” he said, suggesting Alberta will need a robust network of hydrogen fueling stations and more low-carbon intensity hydrogen production facilities to make hydrogen trucks a feasible option for fleets across the province.
Grant also emphasized the importance of creating financial incentives to make hydrogen trucks cost-competitive with their diesel counterparts.
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Author: Electric Vehicles Magazine
