LNK Energies Claims Cheaper Hydrogen Retrofit for Diesel Trucks
LNK Energies says it can turn existing Class 8 diesel trucks into hydrogen haulers with total cost of ownership 13% below diesel. Chief technology officer Alexis Huynh gave that figure to TechCrunch, which published its report on Oct. 13.
The company is an MIT spinout led by co-founder and CEO Sayandeep Biswas. It states it started in an MIT lab, with official site lnkenergies.com and mission to provide clean and affordable heavy-duty power. Its tagline is "Clean power without the cost." It will present live at TechCrunch Disrupt on Oct. 13-15 in San Francisco in the Startup Battlefield pitch competition.
The approach centers on liquid organic hydrogen carriers, or LOHCs. These are room-temperature liquids that chemically store hydrogen and release it on board as needed, somewhat like a rechargeable liquid fuel. The company describes the carrier as a stable liquid oil that is non-flammable, easy to handle, and compatible with existing diesel infrastructure.
The core hardware is what LNK calls its Hydrogen Release Unit, or HRU. The company says its MIT-patented technology extracts hydrogen from the LOHC safely and efficiently, and that the HRU is what makes LOHC usable as a fuel. LNK says it shrank its LOHC reactor to mini-fridge size, compared with shipping-container-sized reactors used by other LOHC companies. It also says its on-board system eliminates the compression step for hydrogen storage at more than 11,000 psi (800 bar).
The system is early. LNK has a demonstration reactor working in the lab that can power a lawnmower engine. That is the disclosed proof point. The company plans to install a larger version of its reactor in a commercial truck in 18 months.
The cost claim is specific. LNK claims it can undercut diesel at $6.50 per gallon after building 50 to 100 trucks, without government subsidies. An initial analysis from the MIT Green Research Group found an LOHC powertrain charged with blue hydrogen, hydrogen made from natural gas with carbon captured, at rough cost parity with diesel. Biswas, who worked on liquid hydrogen carriers as a PhD student, will work on commercializing onboard LOHC technologies for trucking at LNK, according to the group’s alumni page.
The stated scope goes beyond trucking. LNK states it is targeting hard-to-decarbonize industries reliant on petrochemical fuels, including trucks, ships and trains. Its stated goal is to decarbonize more than 1 GT of CO2. MIT researchers separately continue to explore using clean-burning hydrogen in place of diesel fuel for freight transport, as described by the MIT Energy Initiative. TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 is built around how to build an enduring company in the AI era, and its Smart Systems Stage covers energy, infrastructure and technology.
The broader context here is retrofit economics. Fleet operators do not replace Class 8 tractors, the large trucks used for long-haul freight, lightly. A retrofit that reuses chassis, service networks and liquid-fuel logistics has a different adoption path than a new-platform truck that needs new fueling and maintenance.
In my view, the figures to test are the two cost statements together. Rough parity with blue hydrogen in an academic model and a 13% advantage at 50 to 100 units without subsidies are not the same claim. The gap between them is where heat integration, carrier inventory and turnaround, reactor durability, and hydrogen sourcing will be decided. A lawnmower engine shows release and combustion at small scale, but it does not show transient response, continuous duty, or packaging in a Class 8 power envelope. The planned truck installation in 18 months is the relevant milestone.
Looking at what this enables if the engineering holds, onboard release avoids a hard part of the hydrogen storage problem. No 800-bar compression on board simplifies tanks and safety work. Room-temperature, non-flammable liquid handling fits the skills and equipment fleets already have. The next evidence to watch is not another cost model. It is sustained operation in a working truck.
