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Hydrogen-Powered and Electric Trucks: A Measured Shift in Logistics

Published

8 mois ago

6 août 2025

Hydrogen Powered And Electric Trucks: A Measured Shift In Logistics

The shift toward zero-emission freight is underway, but it’s not moving in a straight line. It’s happening incrementally, route by route, fleet by fleet, guided less by ideology than by operational fit. Two technologies are starting to matter: battery-electric trucks and hydrogen fuel cell trucks. Each comes with trade-offs, and each is suited to different parts of the freight ecosystem.

Rather than promising sweeping disruption, the conversation today is about use-case alignment. Where do electric trucks make sense now? Where does hydrogen offer an advantage? And how are logistics operators making practical decisions under infrastructure and cost constraints?

Let’s break it down.

The Core Problem: Freight Emissions Are Material

Heavy-duty trucking accounts for a significant portion of transportation emissions. And while diesel trucks are proven, flexible, and easy to refuel, their environmental impact, both in terms of carbon and particulates, is a concern for governments and stakeholders alike.

This has led to rising pressure on logistics providers to reduce emissions. In response, many are now piloting or integrating non-combustion drivetrains, primarily battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell models.

Battery-Electric Trucks: Quiet Progress in Urban Loops

Battery-electric trucks (BETs) run on large lithium-ion packs that power electric motors. They’re already on the road in growing numbers, particularly in urban delivery fleets.

Where They Work Well

Short-haul, repeatable routes
Urban parcel and grocery delivery
Return-to-base operations

Charging can be managed overnight at a depot, and range, usually between 100 and 300 miles, is sufficient for daily operations in many metro areas.

Constraints

Charging time and infrastructure are limiting deployment on longer or rural routes.
Battery weight eats into payload capacity on some Class 8 models.
Grid dependency introduces variability depending on the region’s energy mix.

Companies like FedEx, Amazon, and DHL are investing in electric fleets for city deliveries. This isn’t about transformation overnight, it’s about phasing in vehicles where they’re easiest to support and operate.

Hydrogen Trucks: A Different Fit

Hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks (FCETs) take a different approach. Instead of storing electricity in batteries, they generate it onboard by converting compressed hydrogen into power using a fuel cell.

Where They Add Value

Long-haul freight where trucks must travel 400+ miles per day
Time-sensitive operations that require quick refueling
Payload-intensive routes where battery weight is a concern

Refueling a hydrogen truck takes 10 to 15 minutes, comparable to diesel. And because the tanks are lighter than battery packs, they preserve more cargo space and weight capacity.

Challenges

Infrastructure is minimal, hydrogen stations are few and far between.
Fuel costs remain high, especially for low-carbon (green) hydrogen.
Technology maturity is still evolving, with fewer OEM options and less field data than electric.

Still, pilot programs in California, Germany, and Japan suggest hydrogen will play a role, especially as production scales and policies incentivize cleaner fuels.

Two Technologies, Two Tracks

These aren’t competing solutions. They’re tools with different roles. Most fleet operators see it that way and are beginning to adopt them selectively:

Truck Type
Best Use Case
Refueling Time
Range

Battery-Electric
Urban/Short-Haul
1–4 hours
100–300 mi

Hydrogen
Long-Haul/Heavy Payload
10–15 minutes
500–600+ mi

Electric is winning where infrastructure already exists. Hydrogen is being tested where uptime and range dominate the decision-making process. Both are progressing, but through measured deployments, not wholesale fleet turnover.

Power Sources Matter

Neither option is automatically “clean.” Their true environmental impact depends on how the energy is generated:

Electric trucks pull power from the grid. If the grid is powered by renewables, emissions are low. In coal-heavy regions, the picture is less favorable.
Hydrogen trucks are only as clean as the hydrogen they use. Most hydrogen today comes from natural gas. Green hydrogen, made from renewable electricity, is cleaner but limited and expensive.

So, the decarbonization potential depends on regional infrastructure and fuel sourcing, not just the vehicle technology itself.

Fleet Adoption Realities

Transitioning from diesel to zero-emission trucks isn’t just a question of buying new equipment. It involves:

Depot upgrades (charging or fueling infrastructure)
Route analysis to match the right vehicle to the right workload
Maintenance retraining for technicians
Data and telemetry integration to track performance and range

This is slow work. Most fleets are still experimenting, running a handful of zero-emission vehicles to understand costs, behavior, and constraints. What’s emerging is a layered deployment model, with zero-emission vehicles entering where the math supports them.

What Comes Next?

Near-term growth will come in three areas:

Urban electrification will expand first, driven by predictable routes and local incentives.
Hydrogen corridor pilots will continue to emerge, especially in regions with hydrogen production hubs or supportive regulations.
Incentive structures, from tax credits to carbon fees, will shape where adoption accelerates.

Manufacturers will continue refining their offerings. Utilities and energy providers will play a bigger role, especially as charging and hydrogen infrastructure become competitive differentiators.

Summing Up

There’s no silver bullet in zero-emission trucking. What we’re seeing is a pragmatic retooling of freight systems, guided by operating constraints and long-term cost curves.

Battery-electric and hydrogen trucks each offer a path forward. Their adoption won’t be dictated by marketing or mandates alone, but by route economics, infrastructure maturity, and the ability to deliver freight reliably.

For the logistics sector, the future won’t be about choosing one solution over another. It’ll be about deploying the right tool for the right job, and building the support systems needed to make those tools viable at scale.

The post Hydrogen-Powered and Electric Trucks: A Measured Shift in Logistics appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints.

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Crusoe and Redwood Materials Expand Strategic Partnership

Published

15 heures ago

25 mars 2026

Crusoe And Redwood Materials Expand Strategic Partnership

On March 24, 2026, Crusoe, an AI infrastructure company, and Redwood Materials, a leader in battery recycling and energy storage, announced a major expansion of their existing partnership.

The move scales their joint operations in Sparks, Nevada, to seven times the original AI infrastructure density, providing a blueprint for how second-life batteries can power high-performance computing.

From Pilot to Scale: 7x Growth

The expansion follows a successful pilot program launched in June 2025. Initially, the project utilized four Crusoe Spark™ modular data centers. Following seven months of high performance, the companies are increasing the deployment to 24 modular data centers.

This growth is made possible by the hardware’s “modular” nature. Unlike traditional data centers that require years of stationary construction, modular units can be manufactured off-site and deployed in months.

Powering AI with Second-Life Batteries

A central component of this partnership is the use of “second-life” electric vehicle (EV) batteries. When EV batteries are no longer optimal for automotive use, they often retain significant capacity for stationary energy storage.

Redwood Materials integrates these repurposed batteries into a 12-megawatt (MW) / 63-megawatt-hour (MWh) microgrid. This system, combined with on-site solar power, provides the energy required to run Crusoe’s AI-optimized GPUs. The orchestration of these batteries is handled by Redwood’s “Pack Manager” technology, which ensures steady power delivery for the intense workloads required by AI model training and inference.

Reliability and Performance Metrics

A primary concern with renewable-powered microgrids is “uptime”, the percentage of time the system is operational. The press release highlights several key performance indicators from the initial seven-month period:

99.2% Operational Availability: The microgrid exceeded reliability expectations while running on renewable sources and battery storage.

99.9% Total Uptime: By leveraging the traditional power grid as a backup source, Crusoe Cloud maintained a nearly constant state of operation.

Supply Chain and Sustainability

The partnership addresses two of the most significant bottlenecks in the current AI boom: energy consumption and deployment speed.

Sustainability: By using recycled materials and on-site renewable energy, the “AI factory” model reduces the carbon footprint associated with massive data processing.

Predictability: The ability to scale in months rather than years allows AI providers to meet the rapidly fluctuating demand for compute power.

As the demand for intelligence grows, the convergence of innovative energy storage and modular infrastructure—as demonstrated by Crusoe and Redwood Materials—offers a potential path forward for sustainable and rapid industrial scaling.

The post Crusoe and Redwood Materials Expand Strategic Partnership appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints.

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Velotic Launches as Independent Industrial Software Company Integrating Proficy, Kepware, and ThingWorx

Published

19 heures ago

25 mars 2026

Velotic Launches As Independent Industrial Software Company Integrating Proficy, Kepware, And Thingworx

Velotic announced its launch as an independent industrial software company, bringing together multiple established platforms to support evolving industrial and manufacturing requirements. The formation of Velotic coincides with the closing of TPG’s previously announced acquisitions of Proficy, the former manufacturing software business of GE Vernova, and PTC’s former industrial connectivity and Internet of Things (IoT) businesses.

Backed by TPG, Velotic provides a suite of data-driven solutions designed to help improve operational efficiency, enhance productivity, and increase visibility across complex industrial environments. The combined portfolio integrates Proficy’s automation and production management capabilities, Kepware’s industrial connectivity technologies, and ThingWorx’s industrial data and analytics applications.

According to Craig Resnick, Vice President, ARC Advisory Group, “The industrial software market is entering a pivotal moment. Manufacturers are under pressure to modernize operations, extract greater value from data, and rapidly adopt AI—without sacrificing reliability, safety, or control. Against this backdrop, the formation of Velotic as a new standalone industrial software company bringing together Proficy®, Kepware® and ThingWorx® represents more than a corporate restructuring. It signals a shift in how industrial data, analytics, and operations technology (OT) can be delivered at scale, that ARC strongly advocates.”

Velotic is positioned to help address increasing demand for integrated, AI-enabled industrial software by combining established technologies into a unified offering. The company focuses on helping to enable manufacturers to manage data more effectively and support operational decision-making across distributed environments.

Manufacturing software executive Brian Shepherd has been appointed CEO of Velotic. He brings over 25 years of experience in manufacturing technology, including leadership roles at Rockwell Automation, Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, and PTC. James Heppelmann, former Chairman and CEO of PTC, has been named Executive Chairman.

Velotic operates as a hardware-agnostic platform provider with a focus on flexibility and interoperability. Proficy, Kepware, and ThingWorx will continue as distinct product lines within the broader portfolio. The company is headquartered in the Boston area and reports more than $300 million in revenue, serving customers across manufacturing, oil and gas, utilities, and infrastructure sectors.

The post Velotic Launches as Independent Industrial Software Company Integrating Proficy, Kepware, and ThingWorx appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints.

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Lytica and the Emergence of a Pricing Science Layer in Procurement

Published

21 heures ago

25 mars 2026

Lytica And The Emergence Of A Pricing Science Layer In Procurement

A recent briefing with Lytica highlights a shift in procurement from opaque negotiation toward statistically grounded pricing intelligence.

Procurement has long operated with an imbalance of information.

Suppliers understand pricing across customers, volumes, and market conditions. Buyers rely on internal history, limited benchmarks, and negotiation experience to determine whether a price is competitive. In categories such as electronic components, this gap is amplified by volatility and limited transparency.

The result is consistent. Different companies, and often different divisions within the same company, pay materially different prices for the same component.

Lytica is attempting to address that condition.

From Transaction Data to Market Intelligence

Lytica’s platform is built on anonymized buyer transaction data aggregated across a network of companies. This creates a continuously updated view of pricing across suppliers, regions, and time.

This is not modeled data or survey input. It reflects observed market behavior.

That distinction allows procurement teams to assess pricing against a broader market reference:

Where are we overpaying

How do suppliers price across customers

What does competitive pricing look like

This represents a move from internal spend analysis to external market intelligence.

From Benchmarking to a Pricing Discipline

The more important development is how this data is modeled.

Lytica treats pricing as a measure of competitiveness rather than a fixed value. Prices exist within a distribution shaped by real transactions. Each company occupies a position within that distribution.

This enables a more structured evaluation of procurement performance:

Prices can be ranked relative to the market

Outliers can be identified and examined

Expected price ranges can be estimated using observed data

The question shifts from “Is this price good” to “How competitive is this price relative to the market”

This introduces a more disciplined approach to procurement performance.

Quantifying Leverage in Negotiation

Once pricing is modeled this way, negotiation becomes more structured.

Procurement teams can enter discussions with:

Target pricing ranges based on transaction data

Evidence of variance across comparable buyers

Supplier-specific pricing patterns over time

This replaces qualitative positioning with data-backed arguments.

The result is more consistent outcomes and shorter negotiation cycles.

From Data to Decision Support

The next step is applying this dataset in operational workflows.

As outlined in modern supply chain architectures , AI systems become more useful when grounded in domain-specific data and applied with context.

In this case, systems can:

Identify deviations from competitive pricing levels

Estimate expected pricing ranges based on observed transactions

Generate supplier-specific negotiation guidance

Monitor pricing performance over time

These outputs are typically delivered as structured guidance for sourcing teams.

The Role of Context and Retrieval

The effectiveness of this approach depends on how data is accessed and retained.

Retrieval-based architectures allow systems to reference current transaction data when generating recommendations. Context-aware systems retain supplier history, pricing behavior, and prior outcomes across decision cycles.

This supports continuity in decision making rather than isolated analysis.