At Gemini Motor, we are dedicated to leveraging clean technologies for the sake of the planet and people. Our company mission is to accelerate decarbonization, meaning we want to rapidly implement a long-term solution to the problem of carbon emissions. That’s why the Gemini team has designed a clean-tech truck: it’s our answer to this question of sustainability. As our autonomous, zero-emission trucks make significant changes within the transportation sector—which alone accounts for 25% of all emissions—we aim to contribute to the crucial work of making our world a better place.
You might be scratching your head over what clean-tech, autonomous tech actually looks like to Gemini and how it meets our goals. For starters, our team has utilized state-of-the-art technologies to design hydrogen-based powertrains. Rather than focusing on electric vehicles fueled by batteries (BEVs), we’ve used NASA-inspired technology to power our trucks with hydrogen fuel cells (FCEVs).
We can name many reasons for designing a FCEV over a BEV powertrain, but a big one is that we want to focus on the most sustainable way of building our trucks and operating our fleet. Accelerating decarbonization will only be possible when the transportation sector is fueled by renewable sources in sustainable ways. To that end, Gemini plans to power our fleet with 100% green hydrogen, meaning it’s sourced entirely by solar and wind energy. By harnessing the power of green hydrogen and scaling its production, we can move faster toward a more sustainable future. Our FCEV batteries are also much smaller than their BEV counterparts, and because ours require fewer materials, manufacturing them creates a lower carbon footprint.
Another reason Gemini chose to leverage fuel cell powertrain is because at the end, it’s more efficient than battery powertrains. Compared to the average battery-powered truck, which has a range of 300-400 miles, our trucks can travel up to 1,400 miles. This means that hypothetically, each of Gemini’s trucks could replace three to four of their BEV counterparts. The filling time of our fuel-cell trucks is also drastically reduced: where battery-powered trucks need 2-6 hours to recharge for 300 miles, our hydrogen-based fueling system takes less than twenty minutes to be ready for 1,000 miles of drive. And, last but not least, our FCEV freight trucks have a better payload capacity; with the overall fuelcell system, liquid hydrogen tanks and a much lighter battery, the vehicle itself weighs less. We have come to the conclusion that building and operating a large fleet of zero-emission fuel cell vehicles have less of an environmental impact when you consider a full life cycle analysis compared to BEVs from material sourcing, shipping, and manufacturing to operating fuel stations and the fleet. (more on this in future blogs)
One more way our trucks will disrupt and improve the shipping industry is because they are autonomous. Autonomous trucks are safer, can drive longer, and are more cost-effective. Not only does our autonomous truck remove the possibility of human error, making for safer highways, it uses AI technology to learn from sensory data and perform predictive maintenance. What’s more, with a 97% utilization rate, each of our trucks travels much longer distances without stopping, whereas other class 8 trucks only have a utilization rate of 25-30%. In short, our autonomous technology cuts costs left and right—and the more distances our zero-emission trucks cover within the transportation sector, the more emissions will be reduced, hence accelerating decarbonization in the sector.
At Gemini, we’re all about leveraging innovative technology to build a better future. And it’s no secret that we wish to disrupt the growing transportation and shipping industries. With our hydrogen-powered, autonomous vehicles, Gemini is making strides toward a greater and greener future.
Interested in learning more about Gemini’s inception and vision for enacting change? We invite you to read about it here or subscribe to our email list below.
