Why electric trucks, not hydrogen, will corner semi market and replace diesel

tesla semi
Source: Tesla

The Driven

Dutch electric vehicle expert Auke Hoekstra has taken to Twitter to explain why he believes electric trucks such as the Tesla Semi, rather than hydrogen-powered trucks, will corner the majority of the 40-tonne semi trailer and trucking market and replace diesel.

Hoekstra is a researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands and the founder of Zenmo simulations, a zero-emission Energy & Mobility simulations lab seeking to provide scientific knowledge about energy and mobility systems. Hoekstra regularly takes to Twitter and YouTube to debunk EV myths and cheerlead the electric vehicle transition.

In a recent Twitter thread he responds to Bloomberg New Energy Finance founder Michael Liebreich’s comments about Daimler killing its hydrogen fuel cell car program, saying it was done “because the economics and poor efficiency will simply never make sense.”

Liebreich, conversely, believes that Daimler’s recent announcement that it was teaming up with Volvo Group to develop hydrogen fuel cells for heavy-duty and long-haul transport makes more sense.

To read the full version of this story – and view the photo gallery – on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle dedicated site, The Driven, click here…


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Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.

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