(Braås / Sweden) – Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) has begun testing what the company says is “the world’s first prototype” fuel cell semi-trailer. The six-wheeled “HX04” was largely developed and built at the Volvo factory in Braås, Sweden. The world's first Volvo dump truck (“articulated dumper”) was developed in the same place in 1966.
Shell installed a hydrogen filling station for the new construction vehicle on the Volvo CE test track. The refueling process is not very complicated: the Volvo HX04 charges twelve kilograms of hydrogen in just over 7,5 minutes. This means the vehicle can drive for around four hours.
Both Shell and Volvo Group are founding members of H2Accelerate, a coalition of companies working to create the conditions for the mass deployment of hydrogen trucks in Europe.
Research on hydrogen technology
As part of its Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), the company is aiming for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the value chain by 2040. In addition to battery-electric solutions, Volvo CE is also researching the potential of electrification through hydrogen technology, which has now led to the testing of the emission-free semi-trailer truck prototype.
The Volvo HX04 is the result of a research project running from 2018 to 2022 and funded by FFI, a national Swedish initiative supporting strategic research and development of sustainable vehicles. The Swedish state innovation agency Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and the Ministry of Transport are involved. On the industrial side, Volvo CE is involved, Power Cell AB, a developer and manufacturer of fuel cells, and the Swedish RISE research institutes.
Volvo CE is one of the largest construction equipment manufacturers in the world with more than 14.000 employees in 140 countries. The company achieved sales of 2021 billion crowns (92 billion euros) in 8,6. In the same year, the entire Volvo Group achieved sales of 100.000 billion crowns (372 billion euros) with 34,8 employees.
Photos
Fuel cell-powered prototype of a Volvo construction site vehicle. © Volvo CE
