Daimler Truck announces customer fleet trials of its hydrogen-powered trucks

Daimler Truck announced it will deploy its hydrogen-powered Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Trucks for their first customer trial from next year.

Companies such as Amazon, Air Products, INEOS, Holcim and Wiedmann & Winz are participating in the trial, and will use the fuel-cell trucks to gain initial experience in CO2-free long-distance transport, the company said in a release.

Five semi-trailer tractors will be deployed on different long-haul applications on specific routes in Germany, such as the transport of building materials, sea containers or cylinder gases. They will remain under the supervision and responsibility of Mercedes-Benz Trucks, with refueling at designated public liquid hydrogen filling stations (sLH2) in Wörth am Rhein and in the Duisburg area.

Daimler Truck said the trucks in these trials offer a payload of ~25 tonnes at a gross combination weight (GCW) of 40 tonnes, supported by two stainless-steel liquid-hydrogen tanks of 44 kg capacity each and a powerful cellcentric fuel-cell system. The fuel-cell system delivers 300 kW (2 x150 kW) and the battery provides an additional 400 kW temporarily. 

Andreas Gorbach, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck AG, responsible for Truck Technology, said in the release: "With this first customer fleet, our fuel-cell trucks are now being tested in real customer operation. A win-win situation for both sides: our customers get to know fuel-cell technology in daily real-life operation and our engineering team gets to better understand customer needs and relevant use cases, taking them into account for series development."  

Caroline Stancell, General Manager Hydrogen for Mobility, Europe and Africa, Air Products, said: "Air Products is planning to convert its entire global fleet to hydrogen-powered vehicles and is proud to be involved in this lighthouse project with Daimler Truck, a leader in heavy-duty transportation and decarbonization. The Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck will be deployed in our existing fleet to transport cylinder gases allowing us to gain valuable experience in the field of industrial gas transport. We are also proud to be providing Daimler Truck with some of the necessary refueling infrastructure and hydrogen as part of the trials. Our latest mobile fueling station for liquid hydrogen will be used for the project in the Duisburg area and can therefore operate under real conditions." 

Daimler Truck successfully demonstrated hydrogen fuel-cell technology for long-haul road transportation in September, when an approved prototype of the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck covered 1,047 km of distance driven with one fill of liquid hydrogen.