It’s too soon to know whether Hyliion Holdings will be able to make a commercial success of its Hypertruck ERX natural gas-electric powertrain. The dreaded “strategic review” announced Oct. 11 means everything is on the table, including a sale, a shutdown or something in between.
But a second commercial lifeline might exist for Hyliion: the Karno fuel-agnostic generator. Hyliion paid $37 million in cash and stock to acquire the technology from General Electric in August 2022.
Originally touted as a second-generation ERX fuel source, fielding Karno as a stationary power source may generate revenue faster.
“We see various market segments. If you think about commercial vehicles, you’re doing EV charging. We also see prime power applications. I like warehouses,” Hyliion founder and CEO Thomas Healy told me this week on the sidelines of the American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference and Exhibition in Austin, Texas.
Healy’s business is just 25 minutes north on Interstate 35 from the Austin Convention Center. Bringing a Peterbilt Model 579-based Hypertruck to give rides to conference attendees was a no-brainer even if the Hypertruck never sees scaled production.
Multiple uses for Hyliion fuel-agnostic Karno generator
Public information sharing guidelines prevent Healy from talking about the future of the Hypertruck. But he can promote the potential of the Karno.
“We see renewable matching so if the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining, we could kick on generators to produce electricity,” he said. “We see waste gas opportunities where you would take what would normally be pollution and use that to produce electricity.”
Energy-hungry data centers are often mentioned as a customer for backup power from generators.
“Data centers buy generators that just sit out there ready for emergency use,” Healy said. “What if you could put a generator out there that could be your prime power so you’re running that 24/7 and then if the Karno had an issue, you move back to reliance on the grid? It’s almost like a flip of that model where the primary source is the grid.”
Hyliion: Generators cheaper than grid power
Using generators — Karno specifically — would be cheaper than pulling in grid power, he said.
For electric vehicle charging, bringing Karno generators to a location where utility-installed power is delayed could help match the regulation-driven demand for electric trucks. Karno is a portable power source that operates on up to 20 feedstocks including ammonia, hydrogen and natural gas to name just three.
If there is such great potential for the Karno, why, I asked Healy, did GE agree to part with it?
“GE was in the middle of divestiture at the time. And it was something we were already working with GE on. We were even funding some of the development of the Karno generator even though we were separate entities,” he said. “We approached them. Could we do more? Could we do a JV [or] could we buy it?”
Given Hyliion’s uncertain prospects, it looks like a smart move.
Hyzon Motors also pursuing stationary power — from fuel cells
Another startup with uncertain prospects is branching into stationary power. Fuel cell powertrain developer Hyzon Motors sees potential in diversifying from a focus on trucking and heavy equipment powertrains.
Hyzon is pushing ahead with a 200-kilowatt single fuel cell for trucking applications. Most competitors use twin stacks for slightly higher power output. Hyzon’s approach saves weight and requires less so-called balance of plant equipment. It is planning a 300kW single stack in a few years.
TechNavio and Fortune Business Insights suggest the total addressable market for stationary fuel cells will exceed $4 billion in the U.S. by 2025 and $35 billion globally, Hyzon CEO Parker Meeks said in an email. Count on charging sites being part of that.
Stiff competition in stationary power
“Charging through stationary fuel cells is part of the solution to provide consistent operations for zero-emission vehicles, particularly where hydrogen refueling is also offered at the same refueling station and with it, hydrogen storage on-site,” Meeks said.
Competition is thick. The cellcentric fuel cell joint venture between Daimler Truck and Volvo Group already works with Rolls-Royce Power Systems. Cummins Inc., a maker of diesel and gasoline-powered generator sets, plans hydrogen options too.
“I’m confident in Hyzon’s leading technology to differentiate itself among the crowd, particularly in those stationary power applications that also benefit from high power density where space can be limited, such as data centers and BEV truck charging in dense urban environments,” Meeks said.
Quick spin: Mack Trucks MD Electric medium-duty
Mack Trucks is bringing its medium-duty electric truck to the Sonoma Motor Speedway in California at the end of the month for a ride-and-drive program.
One of a handful of the trucks built so far in Roanoke, Virginia, made its way to Austin this week. Mack offered literal around-the-block rides for ATA’s’ Management Conference and Exhibition attendees.
As just a chassis cab without a cargo box or other upfit, the MD had significant jounce on the poorly maintained streets around the convention center. But the near-silent electric powertrain provided the conversation-keeping quietness expected in an electric truck.
After Austin, the MD was headed to Guadalajara, Mexico, to gin up business south of the border. The diesel-powered MD, equipped with a Cummins B6.7 engine, cannot be sold in Mexico. But the battery-electric version with a powertrain from Australia’s SEA Electric makes it fair game.
We’ll have more on the MD Electric in November after a longer exposure in California.
Nxu — former Atlis Motors — on the ropes with Nasdaq
Electrification startup Nxu, formerly known as Atlis Motor Vehicles, is on the ropes with the Nasdaq because its stock price and liquidity are too low to keep a seat on the exchange.
The Mesa, Arizona-based company went public in September 2022 following a series of crowdfunded capital raises that brought in about $35 million. It used Regulation A and Regulation Crowdfunding intended for small, entrepreneurial companies, skirting more intensive Securities and Exchange Commission registration rules.
But the cost of developing an electric skateboard chassis and a commercial pickup truck proved unworkable for Atlis, which rebranded itself as Nxu in April.The company pivoted to providing high-speed electric charging.
Nxu on Thursday said it would sell 86 million new shares of stock at 35 cents a share in the hope of raising $3 million. Its stock (NASDAQ: NXU) closed down 35.6% on Thursday at just over 4 cents a share.
Briefly noted …
Cummins and three partners will work together to determine whether concrete mixer trucks are good candidates for zero-carbon, hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engines.
Ree Automotive, the Israeli-based startup developing electric modules placed in four corners of the vehicle, says its order book has grown to $25 million, a 30% increase since August.
Stack AV, the newest startup autonomous truck developer, has joined the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association.
Navistar has started production of the S13 integrated powertrain — its last internal combustion engine — at its facility in Huntsville, Alabama.
Clean transportation nonprofit Calstart and utility National Grid will use Department of Energy grants to help turn freight-dense Interstate 95 into a zero-emissions freight corridor.
That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading.
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This week’s episode is “Dispatches from Austin.” Here’s newsletter-exclusive bonus content, an interview with Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America.