--- title: MIT startup says it can turn diesel trucks into cheaper... description: MIT spinout LNK Energies has developed a method to retrofit diesel heavy-duty trucks to run on hydrogen stored as a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC),... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/mit-startup-says-it-can-turn-diesel-trucks-into-cheaper-hydrogen-haulers-see-it-at-disrupt-dnkbupwrn twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: MIT startup says it can turn diesel trucks into cheaper hydrogen haulers — see it at Disrupt | daily.dev og:description: MIT spinout LNK Energies has developed a method to retrofit diesel heavy-duty trucks to run on hydrogen stored as a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC),... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/mit-startup-says-it-can-turn-diesel-trucks-into-cheaper-hydrogen-haulers-see-it-at-disrupt-dnkbupwrn og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/DNkBUpwrN.png og:image:alt: MIT startup says it can turn diesel trucks into cheaper hydrogen haulers — see it at Disrupt og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # MIT startup says it can turn diesel trucks into cheaper hydrogen haulers — see it at Disrupt **[TechCrunch](https://daily.dev/sources/tc)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary MIT spinout LNK Energies has developed a method to retrofit diesel heavy-duty trucks to run on hydrogen stored as a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC), avoiding the bulky, costly compressed-gas tanks typically needed. The company shrank the reactor that separates hydrogen from the carrier down from shipping-container size to roughly a mini fridge, allowing it to fit on a truck and use existing diesel-style fueling infrastructure. Released hydrogen can power a modified combustion engine or a fuel cell. LNK claims a 13% lower total cost of ownership versus diesel for Class 8 trucks and aims to undercut diesel at $6.50 per gallon after producing 50-100 trucks, without subsidies. The company has a lab-scale reactor running a lawnmower engine and plans a commercial truck demo in 18 months, and will pitch at TechCrunch Disrupt's Startup Battlefield. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How does LNK Energies convert diesel trucks to run on hydrogen without needing new fueling infrastructure? LNK Energies stores hydrogen chemically bonded to a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) that can be pumped and stored like diesel in a standard fuel tank and station. A reactor on the truck, shrunk from shipping-container size to about a mini fridge, releases the hydrogen on demand, which can then run a modified combustion engine or a fuel cell, eliminating the need for costly high-pressure hydrogen compression and dedicated refueling stations. _Those weighing hydrogen versus diesel fleet investments can follow emerging trucking fuel technology on daily.dev._ ### What total cost of ownership savings does LNK Energies claim for hydrogen-converted Class 8 trucks compared to diesel? LNK Energies' chief technology officer states that a Class 8 truck converted to its hydrogen system has a total cost of ownership 13% cheaper than diesel. The company also aims to beat diesel's per-gallon cost at $6.50 once it has built 50 to 100 trucks, with projections that exclude any government subsidies. _Fleet operators evaluating alternative fuels can track cost comparisons like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Battery-Powered Attachment Turns Diesel Semis Into Hybrid EVs](https://daily.dev/posts/battery-powered-attachment-turns-diesel-semis-into-hybrid-evs-2kvtbvdco) · IEEE Spectrum · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Hydrogen: clean fuel of the future — if we can find a cheap and clean way to ship it](https://daily.dev/posts/hydrogen-clean-fuel-of-the-future-if-we-can-find-a-cheap-and-clean-way-to-ship-it-mwcsnsf93) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Eclipse Energy’s microbes can turn idle oil wells into hydrogen factories](https://daily.dev/posts/eclipse-energy-s-microbes-can-turn-idle-oil-wells-into-hydrogen-factories-0ium6nsy5) · TechCrunch · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [China’s BEV Trucks and the End of Diesel’s Dominance](https://daily.dev/posts/china-s-bev-trucks-and-the-end-of-diesel-s-dominance-pza3jdub2) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Tiny Engines Forge Methanol Fuel for Giant Cargo Ships](https://daily.dev/posts/tiny-engines-forge-methanol-fuel-for-giant-cargo-ships-bc7dmrbag) · IEEE Spectrum · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#startup](https://daily.dev/tags/startup), [#clean-energy](https://daily.dev/tags/clean-energy) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/mit-startup-says-it-can-turn-diesel-trucks-into-cheaper-hydrogen-haulers-see-it-at-disrupt-dnkbupwrn) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"MIT startup says it can turn diesel trucks into cheaper hydrogen haulers — see it at Disrupt","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/mit-startup-says-it-can-turn-diesel-trucks-into-cheaper-hydrogen-haulers-see-it-at-disrupt-dnkbupwrn","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/mit-startup-says-it-can-turn-diesel-trucks-into-cheaper-hydrogen-haulers-see-it-at-disrupt-dnkbupwrn"},"datePublished":"2026-10-13T17:03:39.981Z","dateModified":"2026-10-13T18:03:32.010Z","description":"MIT spinout LNK Energies has developed a method to retrofit diesel heavy-duty trucks to run on hydrogen stored as a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC),...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/a60580bf1ccc98f6168a797076e2940f?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/a60580bf1ccc98f6168a797076e2940f?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"TechCrunch","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TechCrunch","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tc","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/mit-startup-says-it-can-turn-diesel-trucks-into-cheaper-hydrogen-haulers-see-it-at-disrupt-dnkbupwrn","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"startup,clean-energy","timeRequired":"PT4M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TechCrunch","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"MIT startup says it can turn diesel trucks into cheaper hydrogen haulers — see it at Disrupt"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/mit-startup-says-it-can-turn-diesel-trucks-into-cheaper-hydrogen-haulers-see-it-at-disrupt-dnkbupwrn#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How does LNK Energies convert diesel trucks to run on hydrogen without needing new fueling infrastructure?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"LNK Energies stores hydrogen chemically bonded to a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) that can be pumped and stored like diesel in a standard fuel tank and station. A reactor on the truck, shrunk from shipping-container size to about a mini fridge, releases the hydrogen on demand, which can then run a modified combustion engine or a fuel cell, eliminating the need for costly high-pressure hydrogen compression and dedicated refueling stations. Those weighing hydrogen versus diesel fleet investments can follow emerging trucking fuel technology on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What total cost of ownership savings does LNK Energies claim for hydrogen-converted Class 8 trucks compared to diesel?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"LNK Energies' chief technology officer states that a Class 8 truck converted to its hydrogen system has a total cost of ownership 13% cheaper than diesel. The company also aims to beat diesel's per-gallon cost at $6.50 once it has built 50 to 100 trucks, with projections that exclude any government subsidies. 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