Pure Hydrogen's Taurus prime mover truck. Pic: PH2
Pure Hydrogen eyes bright future for its HFC trucks as new market opportunities emerge
Energy
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- Pure Hydrogen is confident as fellow HFC truck makers Hyzon and Nikola falter
- Disciplined business model focus on resilience, practicality, and strategic execution
- Company also seeing interest from potential customers reaching an “all-time high”
Special Report: Pure Hydrogen is confident its business model – backed by a strong sales pipeline and disciplined capital management – will deliver success, differentiating itself from high-profile hydrogen fuel cell vehicle manufacturer peers that have fallen by the wayside.
In the last month, US-based HFC truck makers Hyzon and Nikola have shut their doors after years of promising to revolutionise the transportation sector with green trucks.
Hyzon closed nearly four years after promising to produce 40,000 trucks in 2025 when it failed to secure additional funding or a buyer. This follows struggles with supply chains and excessive cash burn.
Meanwhile, Nikola’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US follows a far more dramatic history that includes below-standard safety testing procedures, failing to establish reliable supply chain economics, which resulted in significant negative operating cash flows.
But there was more behind it, with outright fraudulent behaviour leading its founder Trevor Milton to be jailed in December 2023.
However, PH2 views the exit of its competitors as validation for the strong, conservative strategy it’s put in place to service a still growing zero emissions vehicle market.
Disciplined approach
Despite the failures of its high-profile peers, Pure Hydrogen (ASX:PH2) believes the future is very bright for its zero-emissions vehicle business thanks to its business model that is built on a disciplined approach that emphasises resilience, practicality, and strategic execution.
For starters, the company only makes its products and vehicles for order.
While this means that both the company and customer will have to wait for the order to be built after it is received, it ensures that PH2 is not committing or paying for inventory before it secures a paying customer.
On that front, PH2 continues to execute on the conversion of purchase orders to successful vehicle deliveries. Near-term, these include the delivery of two EV80 electric buses to passenger transport company Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia (VITA) – currently scheduled for March this year following the initial purchase order in October 2024.
There’s also the pending delivery of PH2’s flagship Taurus HFC Prime Mover to Barwon Water – Victoria’s largest regional urban water corporation – in April 2025. Initially launched in June 2023, the Taurus is Australia’s first hydrogen-powered prime mover and achieved vehicle registration status in August 2024.
It is also taking an integrated approach with the company overseeing hydrogen production equipment, vehicle deployment, and fuel supply to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that will allow it to avoid the infrastructure gaps that hindered Nikola and Hyzon.
PH2 is also focusing on asset-light collaborations, pointing out that it is partnering with proven suppliers such as Ballard Fuel Cells and Hexagon Cylinders through its 70%-owned ownership of HDrive International to Australian-designed hydrogen trucks like its Taurus prime mover without overextending resources.
Its vehicles such as the hydrogen-powered garbage truck are delivering real-world results while its prioritising of achievable milestones that leverage Australia’s engineering talent, ensures stability and scalability.
Growing opportunities
The other big differentiator is growing interest from potential customers, which the company says have recently reached an all-time high.
PH2 is currently quoting or providing a record number of proposals for its hydrogen solutions, reflecting strong market confidence in its products.
Interest from fleet operators and industrial clients for its electrolysers, hydrogen equipment, and HFC vehicles underscores the real-world applicability of its offerings.
The company added that with Nikola and Hyzon now out of the running, it was seizing the opportunity to supply its HFC trucks – particularly its 229kw Taurus prime mover designed for heavy duty use – to the US to meet rising demand for zero-emission solutions.
With its trucks being assembled in Australia, they qualify for tariff-free entry into the US under the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement and duty-free access to the US under the CPTPP and Canada-Australia Trade Framework.
Rather than focusing on green hydrogen powered by renewables, Pure Hydrogen’s strategy is focused on providing affordable hydrogen solutions that enable industries and economies to transition towards cleaner energy without being constrained by ideological boundaries.
This includes maintaining a technology-agnostic approach to hydrogen and electricity generation, supporting a diverse range of energy sources, including coal, gas, solar, wind and nuclear.
With the Company now on the cusp of securing additional orders that will have a material positive impact to its revenue base and group earnings, Pure Hydrogen is now uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next phase of growth of the global hydrogen and renewables sector.
This article was developed in collaboration with Pure Hydrogen, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
