LONDON Reuters - British commercial electric vehicle startup Tevva has launched its first truck with a hydrogen fuel cell booster that will drive up to 310 miles 499 km and provide fleet operators with a greater zero emission range.
Tevva has raised $140 million from investors and will launch production of a fully-electric version of its 7.5 tonne truck later this year.
The startup is going to launch a hydrogen fuel-cell version of its 7.5 tonne truck in 2023, followed by 12 tonne and 19 tonne models.
Asher Bennett, Tevva chief executive Asher Bennett told Reuters that the dual-energy approach is important because batteries don't always serve the needs of all our customers. Batteries are heavy so can eat a lot of payload and charging very large batteries is not always easy to charge. Hydrogen fuel cells are seen by some in the trucking industry as a long-range solution because they are much lighter than batteries.
But hydrogen fuel-cell cars need infrastructure for producing green hydrogen using renewable energy and fuelling stations, which are unlikely to be in place until the 2030 s.
The startup is working with suppliers of hydrogen fuelling options for fleet customers, according to Harsh Pershad, Tevva's head of hydrogen.
In the last couple of years, investors looking for the next Tesla pumped billions of dollars into EV startups.
As traditional automakers prepare to churn out electric vans and trucks, startups are seeking a competitive or technological edge to stay on the road.
U.S. commercial EV startup Electric Last Mile Solutions commenced filing for bankruptcy earlier this month because of a lack of funds.
In May, the EV maker Canoo warned investors it might not be able to meet its financial obligations and had a lot of doubt about its going concern.