LNK Energies bets onboard reactors can turn diesel trucks into cheaper hydrogen haulers

Converts existing heavy-duty diesel trucks to run on hydrogen using a compact onboard reactor and liquid organic hydrogen carriers.

That onboard LOHC reactors make diesel-to-hydrogen conversion cheaper to own and run than diesel — a claimed 13% lower total cost for a Class 8 truck.

CTO Alexis Huynh and CEO Sayandeep Biswas built on liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) research — liquids that absorb and later release hydrogen, studied mostly for moving it from refineries to fueling stations — and shrank the separation reactor from shipping-container size to a mini fridge so it fits on a truck.

The demonstration reactor runs a lawnmower engine in the lab. LNK plans to install a larger version in a commercial truck within 18 months, and presented the approach live at TechCrunch Disrupt's Startup Battlefield on October 13, 2026.

Hydrogen transport fails on logistics, not chemistry — moving and compressing it is where the cost lives, and onboard release attacks exactly that.

Using existing diesel engines and diesel pumps skips the two decade-long buildouts — truck replacement and refueling networks — that hydrogen adoption normally requires.

The claimed economics clear diesel without subsidies, which matters more for adoption timing than any at-scale promise.

Retrofitting the installed base can beat waiting for new infrastructure — the version of a clean technology that wins is the one that uses the pumps and engines already standing.

As of 2026-10-13 LNK Energies had a lab demonstration reactor able to power a lawnmower engine, planned a commercial truck installation within 18 months, and was presenting at TechCrunch Disrupt's Startup Battlefield in San Francisco (October 13-15).