Zero Emission Industries Launches First-of-its-kind 'FTcase' to Bring Safe, Easy and Flexible Hydrogen Fueling to all Markets

News provided by

May 16, 2024, 07:00 ET

Portable hydrogen refueling device demonstrates dedication to removing barriers in bringing hydrogen to real-world applications

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hydrogen refueling options have required incredibly costly installations, giant "mobile" solutions, or distant travel, all while remaining famously unreliable—until today.

"FTcase changes everything. Hydrogen is finally a real option in commercial markets," said Dr. Joe Pratt, CEO of Zero Emission Industries.

ZEI’s FTcase (pictured) is a first for safe, easy, flexible hydrogen fueling.

Zero Emission Industries, a leader in hydrogen technology, unveiled its FTcase today, a portable hydrogen refueling solution barely larger than carry-on luggage.

FTcase eliminates the complexities of gaseous hydrogen refueling and simplifies the process for all markets. This groundbreaking product enables the rapid deployment of hydrogen-powered vehicles and heavy-duty equipment, eliminating a major barrier to widespread hydrogen adoption: the complete lack of accessible and convenient fueling infrastructure.

Safe Without the Sacrifice

Hydrogen fueling, traditionally a complex operation, demands the highest safety standards. Dr. Pratt emphasizes, "With hydrogen fueling—like any fueling—safety is paramount. Everything else comes second." Previously, that safety has come with a cost.

Safe hydrogen fueling of large-scale machinery has meant complicated processes, equipment, and infrastructure that are both massively expensive and notoriously unreliable. Past options included:

Move your vehicles or equipment to an existing hydrogen fueling station, which is currently few and far between.
Build your own exorbitantly expensive refueling installation somewhere your equipment can get to.
Engage so-called "mobile" solutions that involve huge trailers with low availability and frequent downtime. Also, they are expensive.

ZEI invented field-validated, software-controlled technology to ensure the safety of every fueling operation. Designed for safety and reliability, the FTcase integrates advanced "fail-safe" systems, minimizing risks and consistently exceeding stringent safety standards.

And ZEI packs it all into a portable box the size of a suitcase.

Hydrogen Fueling that Anyone Can Do

Hydrogen fueling of commercial and heavy equipment has always been a "behind the fence" operation, requiring highly trained technical expertise to perform "HazMat" fueling operations. For industrial uses this has a huge and direct impact on cost, deployment time, vehicle operations, and ultimately, whether hydrogen is even an option. If you can't fuel, you can't work.

ZEI's FTcase revolutionizes this process by allowing a single operator without hydrogen expertise to fuel safely and efficiently. After a brief initial setup, industrial hydrogen fueling operations are no longer very different from filling up your car. John Motlow, Chief Strategy Officer of ZEI, highlights the impact, "Trained hydrogen technicians are rare, and FTcase ensures top-notch safety with no technical staff involved. Staffing is no longer a barrier to hydrogen fueling."

Where the Work Gets Done, for Any Application

The FTcase's portable design makes hydrogen adoption truly possible. It enables any industry to implement hydrogen refueling on location. The FTcase is small, portable and easy for one person to set up anywhere, boosting efficiency and flexibility across industries.

ZEI's solution can transform any gaseous hydrogen supply into a complete hydrogen fueling station. Deploying and refueling with the FTcase is simple, immediate, and on-site, making hydrogen fuel an option for vehicles and equipment where bulky, complicated systems or installed infrastructure is too expensive, takes too long, or isn't possible.

Versatility is key to the FTcase, which can refuel anything from boats to cars, heavy-duty equipment, port infrastructure, commercial hauling (aka "Prime Movers"), transport trucks, work trucks, locomotives, buses, even stationary power systems and ever-expanding array of hydrogen-powered "things" to come. "The beauty of the FTcase is its indifference to what it fuels; hydrogen is hydrogen, whether for a fleet truck or a hydrogen-powered commercial ferry," explained Mr. Motlow. This flexibility is essential for manufacturers and operators previously hindered by the scarcity of hydrogen refueling options.

Years of Development and Expertise Make FTcase a Reality

The technology behind the FTcase has been iterated and actively used over the last four years. It has successfully performed as the sole and frequent fueling solution in challenging commercial maritime environments, including a commercial ferry and ZEI's next-generation vessel prototype. It has also been used successfully in trials with a global provider of Class 8 commercial trucks. "We have spent years designing and validating this fueling technology, proving it is ready for real-world use in wider markets," said Dr. Pratt.

Hardware as a Service, Now Available

The FTcase is available today. ZEI's unique hardware-as-a-service offering provides continuous service for maximum uptime, automatic updates and improvements and vastly lowers the total cost of ownership for hydrogen adopters.

"The launch of FTcase represents a tectonic shift," stated John Motlow, Chief Strategy Officer at Zero Emission Industries "FTcase is the first necessary step to enable the more adaptable, resilient, affordable infrastructure that is required to get hydrogen into the real world."

With the FTcase, Zero Emission Industries is poised to lead the transition to a more sustainable, hydrogen-powered future, once again eliminating the barriers to hydrogen adoption.

About Zero Emission Industries:

ZEI is a hydrogen technology company building practical hydrogen solutions for the real world. Discover more about how Zero Emission Industries is delivering a cleaner tomorrow at https://www.zeroei.com/.

SOURCE Zero Emission Industries