The Race to Clean Up Trucking Emissions Is Just Getting Started

Purely battery-powered trucks have a head start on hydrogen fuel cells in the race to decarbonize trucks, but because of major drawbacks for both technologies, the competition is far from settled.

While hydrogen trucks offer long driving range and quick refueling, only a few very expensive models are on the market. Battery-electric rigs are relatively cheaper and more widely available, but operating them at scale will require massive investments in high-powered charging infrastructure. Juicing up 1,100 trucks at the same time for 45 minutes would use the capacity of an entire nuclear power plant, according to Martin Lundstedt, the CEO of Swedish manufacturer Volvo.