Toyota's hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain provides an electrifying ride

The hydrogen-fueled electrified Class 8 road tractor doesn't move or sound like a diesel-fueled behemoth. “This advanced prototype is production-intent for shape, power, virtually everything, and its performance is much more capable than the previous prototypes,” Luke Rippelmeyer, Toyota's senior program manager responsible for developing a heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrain, told SAE Media as we settled into the passenger seat of the prototype Kenworth T680.

The Toyota-developed powertrain was being demonstrated on a two-mile highway loop at the American Center for Mobility in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The truck's acceleration was impressively quick, while light on noise and vibration, and moderate rattle and squeak - essentially a byproduct of not having the diesel engine masking in-cabin noises.