Savage and Symbio team up to launch the lightest hydrogen truck yet
Symbio and Savage are teaming up to lower the total cost of ownership for hydrogen trucks with a brand new fuel cell model based on a Mack Anthem chassis, focussed around short haul work.
Unveiled at this week’s ACT Expo in Anaheim, the truck pairs Symbio’s modular 300 kW fuel cell system with high-pressure hydrogen tanks from FORVIA, carrying 34 kilograms of hydrogen at 700 bar.
That’s enough for a full day’s operation without having to stop to fill the tank – and when it does need a top-up, the stop is quicker than a coffee break, taking less than 15 minutes.
Symbio’s driveline uses four 75 kW StackPack™ units stitched together into a compact, lightweight layout that drops straight into a standard chassis, meaning no compromises on payload and no need to rethink the job around the drivetrain.
The hydrogen tanks follow the same logic, with FORVIA’s XL-Tanks pack serious storage into a compact footprint, keeping weight down without strangling range.
In a sector where “zero-emission” can oftentimes mean “zero practicality”, this should be a welcome change.
Savage plans to use the superleggera truck prototype as the starting point for shifting its 80-strong California fleet to zero-emission models.
Designed for the job
Savage will be running the new trucks properly through heavy loads, full shifts, and feeding operational data back to Symbio to push the system further.
Symbio, meanwhile, is scaling up production from its Temecula base in California, looking to get more trucks onto real-world routes where uptime, payload and refuelling speed aren’t negotiable.
“Our collaboration demonstrates a shared commitment to zero-emission transportation,” said Rick Breunesse, Symbio’s Business Development Director.
