ACT Expo 2025: Heavy-Duty EVs, H2 Trucks and Tariff Talk Dominate Day One

Kenworth, Harbinger and Hyundai headline opening day of ACT Expo with new EV product announcements and hydrogen fuel cell updates.

May 1, 2025

Matt Wolfe

Hyundai currently has 30 XCIENT fuel cell trucks in operation at the ports of Oakland and Richmond in California. (Hyundai)

Opening day of the ACT Expo 2025 in Anaheim, California, was a flood of product announcements and clean-fuel initiative updates. While the trucks and the technology behind them were the main message, the specter of impending transportation policy changes and tariffs confirmed that the first 100 days of the Trump administration have thrown the industry a collective curve ball.

The latest Kenworth T680E and T880E trucks feature the same new PACCAR-derived ePowertrain system. (SAE/Matt Wolfe)

A class of its own

Kenworth was the first presenter to step up to the plate with its announcement of the T880E and T680E battery-electric trucks. Kenworth is calling the T880E “the industry’s first Class 8 vocational battery-electric truck for the North American truck market.” Customer deliveries of the T880E are scheduled to begin later this year.

The T680E is offered in three battery-string configurations with the largest configuration offering 500 kWh of power and over 200 miles (329 km) of range. (SAE/Matt Wolfe)

“The Kenworth T880E marks a groundbreaking milestone in Kenworth’s history,” said Kevin Haygood, Kenworth’s assistant general manager for sales and marketing. “The T880E is engineered to meet the evolving needs of operators and vocational fleets while still providing the durability, reliability and customization our customers expect.”

Kenworth states that the T880E is motivated by a PACCAR-developed ePowertrain platform that delivers between 365 and 470 hp (272 and 350 kW) of continuous power and up to 605 peak hp (451 kW) with 1,850 lb-ft (2,508 Nm) of torque.

The T880E will reportedly be offered with four battery configurations providing ranges from 100 to 250 miles (160 to 400 km). The largest battery configuration offers 625 kWh with a GVWR of 82,000 lb (37,195 kg). The T880E uses a CCS1 DC charge port with a peak charge rating of 350 kW. A depleted battery can be recharged to 90% in approximately two hours, according to Kenworth.

The T880E uses a CCS1 DC charge port with a peak charge rating of 350 kW. A depleted battery can be recharged to 90% in approximately two hours. (SAE/Matt Wolfe)

According to Joe Adams, Kenworth’s chief engineer, the central drive eMotor allows for wheelbase flexibility, lift axle installations and makes for a vocational-friendly BEV integration. Additionally, the T880E will feature factory-installed options for high- and low-voltage ePTO ports, which can be utilized to power equipment or a mechanical ePTO. A variety of wheelbase and cab configurations will also be offered.

Concurrently with the reveal of the T880E, Kenworth also announced the arrival of the new T680E battery-electric truck. The T680E is available for order in the U.S. and Canada with customer deliveries scheduled to begin later this year.

The Next Generation T680E is designed for short- and regional-haul, LTL and drayage operations. It is available as a day cab as either a tractor or straight truck in a 6x4 axle configuration.

The latest T680E also features the same new PACCAR-derived ePowertrain system as its T880E stablemate, delivering the same performance figures. The T680E is offered in three battery-string configurations, the largest offering 500 kWh of power and more than 200 miles (329 km) of range and up to 82,000 lb (37,195 kg) GVWR. The T680E also uses a CCS1 DC fast charger that provides a 350-kWh peak charge rate, with approximately the same recharge time as the T880E.

Harbinger announced the official start of production for its medium-duty commercial chassis earlier this month. (SAE/Matt Wolfe)

“As the industry adapts to evolving regulations, our customers want access to a broad selection of products and technologies, and Kenworth’s comprehensive lineup of high-performance diesel, natural gas and zero-emission vehicles allow us to provide solutions for every customer need,” Haygood said.

The Harbinger of hype

After announcing the official start of production for its medium-duty commercial chassis earlier this month thanks to 5,000 pre-orders, Harbinger confirmed at ACT Expo that Panasonic Energy has been named the official battery supplier for all of the company’s medium-duty electric vehicles.

According to Harbinger, Panasonic will supply its 2170 batteries for all of the company's electric vans. (SAE/Matt Wolfe)

According to Harbinger, Panasonic will be supplying its 2170 batteries for all models. These battery cells offer an energy density of above 800 Wh/L. These batteries will be sourced from Japan for the time being, but there are plans afoot to expand production to Panasonic’s facility in De Soto, Kansas.

This would permit a supply of U.S.-produced battery cells for delivery to Harbinger’s U.S.-based production facility. According to Harbinger, this would mark the first instance of a complete battery pack assembly in the commercial vehicle sector to be fully U.S.-sourced.

“For electric trucks to become ubiquitous, they need to be offered at price parity with their diesel competitors,” said John Harris, co-founder and CEO of Harbinger, during the company’s press conference at ACT Expo.

“To be clear, I’m not talking about total cost of ownership. I’m talking about acquisition for experience. That’s one reason why we launched our IRA [Inflation Reduction Act of 2022] risk-free guarantee. Harbinger absorbs the financial risk from our customers who are concerned about the disappearance of federal tax incentives for commercial vehicles. We’re also ensuring that our vehicles remain price competitive with equivalent diesel vehicles with or without the IRA.”

Panasonic and Harbinger are reportedly collaborating to create a supply of U.S.-produced battery cells for delivery to Harbinger’s U.S.-based production facility. (Harbinger)

Harris also put a shot across the bow of Harbinger’s competitors, some of which were in attendance during its press conference. “Most of [our competitors] are offering trucks that are repowered versions of gas and diesel platforms. This leads to compromises in safety and their ability, and above all, to increased cost. We started fresh with a clean sheet and designed an all-electric medium heavy chassis from the ground up.”

Harris also touted Harbinger’s technical prowess to provide a product that exceeds current EV customer expectations. “One major criticism of EVs is cold weather performance, which can reduce range dramatically. To mitigate this impact, we developed a multi-zone heat pump system that allows us to use waste heat from the drive unit to keep the cabin and battery warm, dramatically decreasing energy consumption in the winter.”

Harris continued, “In addition to extreme testing, we fielded dozens of units across the U.S. at proving grounds and in customer hands on the road. This was our last step before moving to series production. Earlier this month, we announced the launch of our electric chassis, and we’ve already built over 100 units.”

XCIENT expansion

Hyundai announced at ACT Expo the expansion of its HTWO hydrogen business brand into an open platform. (SAE/Matt Wolfe)

Hyundai rounded out the press conferences for day one of ACT Expo by continuing to swing for the fences with its hydrogen fuel cell technology. The Hyundai XCIENT H2 fuel cell Class 8 truck has been around for half a decade now but has seen continued refinements since its introduction in 2020. These latest revisions are reportedly designed specifically for the North American market.

The new XCIENT features an upgraded hydrogen fuel cell system and since 2021 has undergone rigorous testing across diverse climates and use cases in North America. According to Hyundai, this testing along with continuous collaboration with fleet operators has helped optimize the truck for use cases such as port transportation and medium-distance logistics.

Via the NorCal Zero Project, a total of 30 XCIENT fuel cell trucks are currently in operation at the ports of Oakland and Richmond in California. This reportedly represents the largest single commercial deployment of hydrogen trucks in North America. Hyundai stated that it is developing plans to also deploy XCIENT trucks at the Hyundai plant in Montgomery, Alabama, as well as the Kia plant in West Point, Georgia.

Hyundai also announced the expansion of its HTWO hydrogen business brand into an open platform. The company announced plans to launch an HTWO Energy Savannah initiative, which is a Class 8 heavy-duty truck hydrogen refueling and electric recharging station in collaboration with HydroFleet and Capital Development Partners in Savannah, Georgia. The station is scheduled to begin operations by the end of 2025.

Hyundai and Plus envision deploying autonomous XCIENT hydrogen fuel cell trucks along high-utilization hub-to-hub routes to help establish strategically placed hydrogen refueling stations. (Hyundai and Plus)

“H2 continues to evolve and grow. And it’s now our platform for collaboration, partnership and investment, accelerating business expansions and paving the way for the hydrogen economy,” said Ken Ramirez, EVP and head of global commercial vehicle and hydrogen business at Hyundai Motor Company.

“Building on this success, we’re scaling additional domestic sites and advancing plans for our first overseas facility in Indonesia,” Ramirez said. “Driving our port decarbonization efforts, we have expanded the deployment of fuel cell buses, trucks and forklifts across key logistic hubs in Korea, including ports, airports and industrial complexes.”

Accelerating autonomous H2 trucks

Hyundai and Plus also made a joint announcement at ACT Expo outlining their continued collaboration to accelerate the development of autonomous hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks in the United States. The collaboration pairs Hyundai XCIENT fuel cell trucks with Plus’s AI-based autonomous driving software, SuperDrive.

A video posted by Hyundai and Plus states that self-driving technology can “supercharge” the benefits of the fuel cell trucks by further decreasing operating costs the more they are utilized. The plan calls for deploying the autonomous hydrogen fuel cell trucks along high-utilization hub-to-hub routes to help establish strategically placed hydrogen refueling stations as more routes come online. “This way the stations would quickly achieve full utilization and move into self-sustaining profitability,” the video states. Infrastructure is expected to grow across the Sun Belt region initially and then expand nationally to fuel other hydrogen-fueled trucks.

“Hyundai Motor believes in a sustainable future powered by advanced fuel cell technologies,” said Jim Park, SVP of commercial vehicle and hydrogen business development at Hyundai. “We hope to continue our partnership with Plus to add autonomous driving capabilities to XCIENT fuel cell trucks in the future and provide our fleet operator customers with additional solutions that improve road safety and freight efficiency.”