(Leinfelden-Echterdingen) – Daimler Truck AG has broken the 1.000 kilometer mark with a fuel cell truck: A prototype called “GenH2” approved for public traffic covered 1.047 kilometers on one tank of liquid hydrogen between Wörth am Rhein and Berlin.
The car completed the route fully unloaded and with a permissible total weight of 40 tons under real conditions. The journey with sealed tanks and checked mileage was confirmed by TÜV Rheinland. This demonstrates “that hydrogen fuel cell technology can be a right solution for the decarbonization of flexible and demanding long-distance road transport,” according to the company.
Andreas Gorbach, member of the board of Daimler Truck Holding AG: “Fuel cell trucks are ideal for long-distance transport.” © Daimler Truck AG
According to Andreas Gorbach, member of the board of Daimler Truck AG, long-distance transport tasks are the “ideal area of application for fuel cell trucks”. The company had already tested the vehicle's suitability at altitudes of more than 1.500 meters by driving over the Brenner Pass in November last year. The aim is for the “GenH2” truck to be ready for series production in the second half of the decade.
The fuel cell system comes from Cellcentric GmbH & Co KG, a 2021:50 joint venture between Daimler Truck AG and the Volvo Group founded in March 50. The hydrogen supplied by Air Liquide was produced from biomethane with a guarantee of origin and is therefore considered “renewable”. During refueling, cryogenic liquid hydrogen (minus 253 degrees Celsius) was filled into two 40 kilogram tanks each mounted on the side of the chassis. Thanks to their good insulation, the hydrogen can be kept at the same temperature “for a sufficiently long time” without active cooling.
Liquid hydrogen has “a significantly higher energy density based on volume compared to gaseous hydrogen,” according to the company. This means that more hydrogen can be transported, which significantly increases the range. This enables “the performance of the vehicle to be comparable to that of a conventional diesel truck”. Battery-electric trucks, on the other hand, are “the right choice for distribution and long-distance transport when used regularly on predictable routes with suitable distances and charging options”.
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Daimler Truck achieves a range of over 1.000 kilometers with the prototype of a fuel cell truck. © Daimler Truck AG
