Class 8 fuel cell electric trucks (FCETs) will play a critical role in decarbonizing the freight industry in California and combating the detrimental effects of climate change across the state. However, these vehicles currently face a causality dilemma: with few trucks deployed as of this writing, hydrogen infrastructure providers will not make significant investments, yet truck manufacturers are hesitant to develop commercial FCETs without public hydrogen infrastructure in place. This report provides two intrinsically linked roadmaps to accelerate FCET adoption in California: the FCET Commercialization Roadmap and the Hydrogen Infrastructure Roadmap. These roadmaps were developed in support of Cummins Electrified Power NA Inc.’s (Cummins’) forthcoming demonstration of four Class 8 FCETs and are the culmination of learnings from CALSTART’s research into California’s FCET market to understand the drivers and barriers to commercialization. In total, the two roadmaps propose six recommendations with corresponding action items for governments, hydrogen producers and providers, financers, original equipment manufacturers, and fleets to help accelerate FCET technology to market maturity.

This report was made possible through the support of Cummins, Southern California Gas Company, the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.