The prototype H2Rescue truck, built by Accelera, set a new Guinness World Record last month by traveling 1,806 miles on a single fill of hydrogen fuel.
The Department of Energy is working with the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and Cummins Inc. to develop and test the truck, which is a hydrogen fuel cell-battery hybrid vehicle that can be driven to disaster sites to provide 25kW of emergency response power for up to 72 hours without refueling.
"It really minimizes the complications of getting power into the disaster environment," said Ron Langhelm, program manager for the Office of Mission and Capability Support for the Department of Homeland Security.
"The approach uses hydrogen and fuel cells in a truck that is able to go to a disaster site and provide power and heat and even water," said Dr. Sunita Satyapal, director of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office at the Department of Energy.
"We came up with the name of H2 rescue or H to the rescue," Satyapal added, "and we had solicitation or competition to try to get interest from the private sector and working with other agencies, DOD, DHS, now FEMA and put together this first of a kind prototype."
The truck completed its record-setting journey in California. Researchers confirmed that the hydrogen-filled truck emitted zero pounds of carbon dioxide. A standard internal combustion engine would have emitted 664 pounds of carbon dioxide over the same distance.
"This is a great tool. This is a great asset. One more thing we have in our quiver as we respond to crises around the country," said Dimitri Kusnezov, under secretary for science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security.
"If we can do things in different ways using different energy sources, the better off we're going to be," Kusnezov added.
"With the increasing frequency of natural disasters, it is critical that we develop and leverage new and emerging green technologies that can be employed during disaster relief efforts."
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