Today I Learned – April 2025

Insights from the NACFE Team

NACFE does most of its work in the field at industry events and staff members hear a lot of interesting things each month. Here are some things we learned recently. Contact us if you want to ask questions about where and how we learned what we share here.

Toyota is testing a new hydrogen-powered truck with Coca-Cola. Air Liquide, a leader in producing and distributing low-carbon and renewable hydrogen, supplies hydrogen from renewable sources for this project.

— Dean Bushey, Director of Programs

At TMC, Volvo announced that its “new Volvo VNR series delivers up to 7.5% improved fuel efficiency compared to the legacy VNR through enhanced aerodynamics, powertrain innovations, and idle reduction technologies.” 

— Rick Mihelic, Director of Emerging Technologies

Cummins had its 2027 engine and aftertreatment system on display at the recent TMC meeting. To meet new emission regulations, Cummins will be incorporating dual SCR catalysts and two 48V electric heaters along with a 48V alternator to enhance exhaust temperatures to improve NOx conversion efficiency. The company is claiming improved fuel economy as well.

— Kevin Otto, Electrification Technical Lead

Air Liquide and the Port of Rotterdam Authority announced the launch of a joint initiative to deploy 1,000 hydrogen-powered, zero-emission trucks on the roads connecting the Netherlands, Belgium, and West Germany by the end of 2025.

— Dean Bushey, Director of Programs

Joel Morrow’s previous VNL 860 Purple Haze has a lifetime average fuel economy exceeding 10.5 MPG, and he is expecting his new model in 2025 to exceed 11 MPG over its lifetime. 

— Rick Mihelic, Director of Emerging Technologies

There are several on-road tests of autonomous trucks planned for 2025. The cost of autonomous vehicle hardware has come down significantly over the past few years.

— Yunsu Park, Director of Engineering

Some of the first electronically controlled engines were viewed as having complex software systems. We said they were more complex than the Apollo spacecraft software systems, with about 145,000 lines of code. Today’s GM cars have 120 million lines of code.

— Jeff Seger, Clean Energy Consultant

In the United States we love and rely upon truck transportation. How much?  Each year truck transportation covers a 93-billion-mile journey, a distance equal to 1000 trips to the sun, and is responsible for 413 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions. 

— Ken North, Emerging Technologies Consultant

Chinese auto and truck maker BYD just announced 1000V batteries and 1 MW chargers for cars. That is Tesla Semi power levels for sedan-sized vehicles.

— Ari Kahn, Manager Carbon Free Transportation, RMI

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