Symbio to Build Hydrogen Fuel Cell Drayage Trucks for Savage
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ANAHEIM, Calif. — Savage Companies will team up with hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer Symbio North America as part of efforts to decarbonize the infrastructure and logistics company’s drayage fleet.
Symbio will build two retrofitted hydrogen fuel cell electric demonstration tractors for Midvale, Utah-based Savage.
Savage, which operates oil and gas, chemical, mining plus food and agriculture divisions, will then test the trucks in anticipation of deploying future iterations across its 80-truck drayage fleet.
Using a Mack Anthem chassis as the prototype’s initial building block, Symbio will engineer a powertrain incorporating fuel cells and hydrogen storage tanks from shareholder Forvia.
Symbio is a joint venture of component manufacturer Forvia, tire manufacturer Michelin and automaker Stellantis.
The truck will only weigh 16,000 pounds compared with other zero-emission drayage options that tip the scales at more than 20,000 pounds, said Juan Andres Garza Barroso, the site manager of Symbio’s Temecula, Calif., manufacturing facility.
Symbio’s fuel cell is expected to deliver a combined power output of 300 kilowatts, using multiple StackPack 75 kW units to maximize the power-to-weight ratio. Forvia will supply tanks offering a maximum 34 kilograms of hydrogen.
Refueling can take less than 15 minutes, Symbio said.
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“We’re excited about the impact this new technology will have on the industry and are proud to be one of its early adopters,” said Tyler Flynn, senior director of projects at Savage. “Partnering with Symbio allows us to continue taking steps to make our fleet more sustainable while ensuring it remains efficient.”
“Our collaboration demonstrates a shared commitment to zero-emission transportation and will serve as a model for fleets transitioning to hydrogen with competitive fuel cell solutions,” added Rick Breunesse, business development director at Symbio North America.
The partnership was announced at the 2025 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in Anaheim, Calif., around 12 months after Symbio broke cover on its ambitions in the Class 8 truck sector.
Just before ACT 2024, Symbio debuted a Class 8 tractor equipped with its powertrain, seeking to attract commercial vehicle manufacturers as customers.
(Symbio)
At the time, a Freightliner Cascadia tractor was retrofitted with Symbio’s 400 kW StackPack fuel cell system and Symbio announced plans for many months of testing.
Over the past 12 months, decarbonization options in the hydrogen fuel cell tractor field have slimmed, with both Nikola and Hyzon folding.
In addition, expectations that Paccar units Kenworth and Peterbilt would begin serial production of fuel cell tractors in 2025 have been quashed, with both delaying their plans.
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Symbio shareholder Forvia, meanwhile, announced plans to boost hydrogen infrastructure refueling in the U.S., the paucity of which has been one of the key limiting factors in appetite among carriers.
Forvia is teaming up with BayoTech in a partnership involving the former’s hydrogen storage vessels and the latter’s on-site hydrogen production systems.
“The future of hydrogen depends on solutions that are both practical and scalable,” said Jeff Harrington, senior vice president of high-pressure equipment at BayoTech. “By combining Forvia’s storage technology with BayoTech’s manufacturing capabilities, we are delivering the building blocks needed for a resilient, accessible hydrogen economy.”
In 2023, Nikola agreed to buy hydrogen from BayoTech to fuel the now-bankrupt truck manufacturer’s semis. It also said it would be acquiring transport trailers from BayoTech, which in turn agreed to buy Nikola trucks.
