Alberta Zero Emission Truck Electrification Collaboration (AZETEC)
The Alberta Zero Emissions Truck Electrification Collaboration (AZETEC) is a first-of-its-kind industry-led project that will involve the design, manufacture, and testing of two long-range heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell (FCEV) trucks for operation year-round on Alberta’s QEII, between Calgary and Edmonton.
AZETEC is a collaboration of 16 stakeholders within the energy, technology and transportation sectors that see significant opportunity in partnering to develop hydrogen as a low-carbon, low-cost transportation fuel that can drive substantial economic, environmental, and other societal benefits for their industries and for Alberta.
AMTA is collaborating our project partners to design and build two, hydrogen FCEV Class-8 trucks. These 64–tonne, B-train tractor-trailers, capable of traveling up to 700 kilometers between refueling and supporting Canadian weights of 63,500 kilograms, will be the first vehicles of this size and capacity built and tested in the world. They will be able to accommodate the loads, distances, and climate demands of the prairies. The primary focus of this initiative is on moving freight in Alberta’s geographical and climatic conditions while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and spurring a hydrogen economy.
AZETEC is the first step toward future large-scale deployments of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty freight vehicles in Alberta, in coordination with strategically located hydrogen supply and distribution systems. These on-road demonstrations will help identify industry barriers and strategies (including revised training to ensure safety) that will play an integral role in advancing Canada’s 2050 net-zero emissions goals.
The Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) is leading this $17,257,323 million, several year long project, which includes an Alberta a government contribution of $7.3 million from Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA). AZETEC is one of the projects selected through the ERA’s BEST Challenge, a $100-million funding opportunity for biotechnology, electricity, and sustainable transportation innovations. The total value of these new clean technology projects is $600 million.
Project Objectives
Guide technology to fit with the unique demands of transportation in Canada
Heavy weights
Long distances and cold weather
Put Canada’s trucking sector on a zero-emission pathway
Credible and compelling
Well-to-wheel emission reduction
Kick-start a Canadian hydrogen economy
Decarbonize many other sectors
Substantial economic and employment opportunities
Leverage regional natural resources and capabilities
Industrial gas suppliers deliver hydrogen by tube trailer to the AZETEC Project fueling site. The H2 is at a pressure of 180 bar (2,600 psi).
Features
Two H2 fuel cell electric trucks
Heavy Weight (63.5t)
700km Range (Edmonton to Calgary) between refueling
Zero Tailpipe Emissions
Industry Led
By Alberta carriers under real world conditions
Once onsite, HTEC purifies the H2 to meet fuel cell purity requirements (99.999%), using pressure swing adsorption (PSA) technology. HTEC then compresses the H2 to bring it up to the pressure required for truck refueling.
Making Hydrogen From Natural Gas
Most hydrogen today is made by steam-methane reformation of natural gas. It’s a safe, cost-effective, and efficient process where methane (CH4) —the main component in natural gas—reacts with high-temperature steam (usually in the presence of a catalyst) to separate the hydrogen from other molecules.
H2 is stored onsite using HTEC’s modular, mobile H2 storage solution, the PowerCube, at a pressure of up to 450 bar (6,500 psi). PowerCube units have a small footprint and can be integrated to provide the required amount of H2 storage.
H2 Produced from Alberta Natural Gas
Steam Methane Reformed
Cascade Refueling
Estimated 25% well-to-wheel emissions reduction
Carbon capture and storage planned for future phases
Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle
While fuel cells may not be brand new, their potential use in commercial transportation in Canada is. The two heavy duty trucks that are being manufactured for the AZETEC project are the first of their kind due to size and capacity, and the working partnerships.
Components of note include the Freightliner glider, Dana electric drive components, and Ballard fuel cell module. The trucks will also include an onboard hydrogen fuel storage system.
Fueling Infrastructure
The AZETEC Truck Fueling Solution
Hydrogen (H2) for the AZETEC Project will come from an industrial gas supplier in Alberta that makes H2 using natural gas and steam-methane reforming (SMR) technology. This merchant H2 will be transported via tube trailer to the truck fueling station location, where HTEC will put it through an onsite purification and compression process to make it ready for truck refueling.
The Process
The zero-emission fuel cell trucks fill up with H2, safely and quickly, at HTEC’s industrial H2 fueling station. The trucks require hydrogen at 350 bar (5,000 psi).
