Is Ram working on the next generation of the Ram heavy-duty truck with battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell electric propulsion systems? This report by Motor Trend says – yes. Here are all the details.
Ram has stated that the company’s entire lineup will have electrified options by 2030. Now we get a little more information about the future of Ram heavy-duty pickup trucks. This is not an official statement by the company, but a report by a fellow journalist.
Many people either discount hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion technology or simply don’t know much about it. A fuel cell uses hydrogen as a fuel, it combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and water (and a small amount of heat) as byproducts. Several hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are already available to the public: Toyota Mirai and Hyundai NEXO. The benefits of fuel cell electric vehicles are quick refueling with Hydrogen fuel (about 5 minutes to refill) and a relatively long driving range (around 350-380 miles for the NEXO). On the other hand, Hydrogen refueling infrastructure is practically nonexistent outside of southern California and San Francisco areas. Hydrogen production takes energy – no fuel can be created for free. Also, fuel cell vehicles usually require high-voltage batteries to act as energy buffers. This makes these vehicles more complicated and expensive. Finally, many states have old laws on the books that prevent the transport of hydrogen over bridges or in tunnels without a hazardous materials certification.
Other companies, such as Chevrolet and General Motors have been working on fuel cell propulsion systems for a long time. Take a look at the Chevy Colorado ZH2 concept pickup truck below.
Although fuel cell vehicles and trucks may not be very practical at this time, this may be the prevalent propulsion technology of the future. We will have to wait and see how this story evolves.
I reached out to Ram for an official comment about Ram HD electric trucks and got a standard “we don’t comment on future products.” answer.
Here is another piece of interesting Ram HD rumor mill. Several outlets report that a new Ram HD Rebel is coming to the lineup soon. Here is our take.