SoCalGas, Ford developing F-550 Super Duty Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Truck for emissions reduction

A unique collaboration between Southern California Gas Co. and Ford Motor Company will pursue a new version of the latter’s popular truck line, developing an F-550 Super Duty Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Truck for demonstration under real-world conditions.

As part of the demonstration, a temporary hydrogen refueling station will be set up at SoCalGas’ Bakersfield facility. Together, the pair hope to create a means of decarbonizing large working fleets for such rigorous fields as utility work in a variety of climates and geographical locations. The truck is expected to deploy in 2025.

For SoCalGas – the nation’s largest gas distribution utility – the collaboration offers a chance to further its clean ambitions, which include replacing 50 percent of its over-the-road fleet by 2025 and deploying a zero-emissions fleet by 2035.

“We are honored to work with Ford on their strategy to help reduce emissions,” Neil Navin, vice president of clean energy innovations at SoCalGas, said. “This project is a critical step toward finding real-world solutions to decarbonize heavy duty transportation such as our utility fleet with Ford’s H2 Fuel Cell Electric F-550.”

These endeavors are part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s SuperTruck 3 program, pushing to reduce emissions from medium and heavy-duty trucks.

“Ford’s strategy to reduce carbon emissions across the globe includes investigating multiple technologies that will help us achieve these goals across a broad spectrum of applications,” said Jim Buczkowski, executive director, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering. “For our wide spectrum of Ford Pro customers, there are application gaps that battery electric vehicles just can’t fulfill yet, so we’re looking at hydrogen fuel cells to power larger, heavier commercial vehicles while still delivering zero tailpipe emissions.”

The SoCalGas fleet already includes 50 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, and the company plans to install 1,500 electric vehicle chargers at 67 of its facilities within two years. This is not the only hydrogen-based project at work for SoCalGas, as it has more than 10 active hydrogen pilot projects in its portfolio.