As one of the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturers, Daimler Truck is driving sustainable transportation forward.
The company’s objective is to offer only new vehicles that are CO2-neutral in driving operation across its global core markets (EU30, USA, Japan) by 2039.
On the path towards decarbonizing transport, Daimler Truck is entering the next development phase of its fuel cell trucks.
After a rigorous testing phase on the test track and public roads, the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Trucks have now reached an advanced development stage for deployment in the first customer fleets.
At the Daimler Truck Test and Development Center in Woerth am Rhein, Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck, celebrated the start of the initial customer trials of five prototype trucks in the presence of Hildegard Müller, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), with Air Products, Amazon, Holcim, INEOS and Wiedmann & Winz.
These customers have the opportunity to gain practical experience in long-distance transport with fuel cell trucks at an early stage, during a trial phase of around one year. On the other hand, the Daimler Truck development team acquires valuable insights into the real-life operations of trucks powered by liquid hydrogen, learns about specific customer requirements and can take them into account for series development.
The five GenH2 will be deployed in different long-haul applications on specific routes in Germany, such as the transport of building materials, sea containers or cylinder gases.
During these first customer trials the vehicles will remain under the direct supervision and responsibility of the manufacturer.
The trucks will be refueled at the designated liquid hydrogen filling stations (sLH2) in Woerth am Rhein (Rhineland-Palatinate) and in future also in the Duisburg area (North-Rhine Westphalia).
Martin Daum states: “With regard to hydrogen drives, we are now taking another important step towards series readiness: we are starting the trials of our Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Trucks in real-life daily transport operations with our customers.”
And he continues: “However, it is important to note that high-performance CO2-neutral vehicles alone will not be enough to make sustainable transportation successful. This also requires a corresponding charging and refueling infrastructure, as well as cost parity with conventional vehicles. Although policymakers and energy companies are already active here, we urgently need even more momentum, across entire Europe!”
Hildegard Müller says: “When it comes to heavy-duty commercial vehicles, e-mobility cannot be equated exclusively with battery-electric drive. Rather, the fuel cell drive powered by hydrogen must also be considered as part of the diversity of available technologies.”
“Manufacturers have the corresponding models in development and production, and now the political framework conditions must finally be created: a needs-based network of hydrogen filling stations and the associated infrastructure must be built up urgently. There is an urgent need for action for politicians, the German Federal Network Agency and the energy industry.”
The five semi-trailer tractors will be used by customers in various long-haul applications throughout the trial period.
Amazon will use the GenH2 Truck in its logistics operations in Germany, Air Products for the transport of cylinder gases, Wiedmann & Winz for sea containers, Holcim for building materials logistics, and VERVAEKE – the logistics company of INEOS – for PVC and vinyl transportation.
GenH2 Truck performance is comparable with conventional long-haul trucks
The development engineers of Daimler Truck have based the GenH2 Truck on the characteristics of the conventional Mercedes-Benz Actros long-haul truck in terms of payload, range and performance.
The GenH2 units, which are used in these first customer trials, offer a payload of approx. 25 tons at a gross combination weight (GCW) of 40 tons.
Two special liquid hydrogen tanks and a powerful fuel-cell system by cellcentric, the Joint Venture of Daimler Truck and Volvo Group, enable the high payload and long range.
The fuel-cell system of the GenH2 Truck delivers 300 kilowatts (2 x150 kilowatts) and the battery provides an additional 400 kilowatts temporarily.
At 70 kWh, the storage capacity of the battery is relatively low, as it is not intended to meet energy needs, but mainly to be switched on to provide situational power support for the fuel cell, for example during peak loads while accelerating or while driving uphill fully loaded.
At the same time, the relatively light battery allows a higher payload. It is recharged with braking energy and excess fuel-cell energy.
A core element of the sophisticated operating strategy of the fuel-cell and battery system is a cooling and heating system that keeps all components at a suitable operating temperature, thus ensuring maximum durability.
In a pre-series version, the two electric motors are designed for a total of 2 x 230 kW continuous power and 2 x 330 kW maximum power.
The GenH2 Truck thereby delivers a torque of 2 x 1,577 Nm or 2 x 2,071 Nm.
The two stainless-steel liquid-hydrogen tanks of the GenH2 Truck have a particularly high storage capacity of 88 kilograms (44 kg each), perfectly suited for covering long distances.
The stainless-steel tank system consists of two tubes, one within the other, that are vacuum isolated and connected to each other.
Liquid hydrogen enables a range of 1,000 kilometers and more
Seifi Ghasemi, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer at Air Products, says: “Trialing a Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck under real conditions is a critical step in our work to convert our distribution fleet to hydrogen powered vehicles.”
Andreas Marschner, Vice President at Amazon Transportation Services, indicates: “We remain steadfast in our Climate Pledge commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions across our operations by 2040. The decarbonization of our transport network plays a crucial role in achieving this milestone, and we continue to invest, experiment and innovate.”
John H. Landwehr, Gerdes + Landwehr, Partner to the Holcim Group, states: “In our bulk logistics, payload has always played a significant role in terms of CO2 footprint and efficiency.”
“After extensive tests with battery-electric trucks, we are incredibly excited to continue testing the path to sustainable transportation of the future with a hydrogen-powered truck. Only with our own intensive experience can we make the right decisions for the change in our group starting in 2025,” he adds.
Wouter Bleukx, Business Director Hydrogen at INEOS Inovyn, says: “As Europe’s largest operator of electrolysis, and a producer and consumer of low-carbon hydrogen, INEOS is in a unique position to drive this vital change. Together with our logistics partner VERVAEKE, we are excited to support Daimler Truck.”
Frédéric Derumeaux, CEO of VERVAEKE, indicates: “As a leading transportation company, we play an important role, and this unique collaboration with INEOS and Daimler Truck will help us to test truly emission-free logistics.”
Managing Director Dr. Micha Lege of Wiedmann & Winz from Geislingen, states: “Our company has always been interested in innovations, as Wiedmann & Winz was one of the first enterprises to invest in telematics and digitalization in transportation with Fleetboard.”
“We have also recently been using an eActros 300 as a semitrailer truck in everyday haulage operations. Now we are looking forward to taking the next step and also testing a long-haul truck with a hydrogen fuel cell drive, in the form of the GenH2 Truck,” he adds.
Read more: New eTruck challenge: Germany seeks solution to lack of data on EVs
