Hyzon, based near Rochester, N.Y., plans to go public through a SPAC, or special-purpose acquisition company, in the second quarter.
Hydrogen-vehicle technology has been in development for decades. Such vehicles make their own electricity, which is an advantage over EVs, which rely on power produced at plants that also emit carbon to produce energy.
But hydrogen hasn’t been adopted nearly as widely as EVs. There are fewer than 10,000 hydrogen-powered passenger vehicles on the road in California. Toyota Motor Corp., a key player in this segment, launched hydrogen vehicles in the U.S. in 2015. Honda Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. also are experimenting with hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.
While Amazon has invested in hydrogen fuel-cell technology, it also is a major investor in EVs. It plans to buy 100,000 EVs from Rivian, which is going to begin making electric pickup trucks later this year at the former Mitsubishi assembly plant in Normal, Ill.
