In South Africa, talk around decarbonizing transport revolves mainly around battery electric trucks. However, another option being taken seriously by Daimler Trucks in Europe is the hydrogen-powered fuel cell truck and as with any new technology-driven truck, the proof of the design mettle is in real-life operations. When it comes to these trucks, Mercedes-Benz now has the GenH2 prototype truck currently undergoing diverse trial long-haul operations in five large Daimler Truck customer fleets. Here’s the story behind the trials.
Martin Daum, chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck states: “On the path towards decarbonising 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.”
The initial customer trials deploy five GenH2 Truck units into the fleets of Air Products, Amazon, Holcim, INEOS and Wiedmann & Winz.
“When it comes to decarbonising transport, we are focusing on battery-electric and hydrogen-based drives. The transformation can only succeed if green energy is sufficiently and comprehensively available – and for this we need both technologies,” says Daum.
“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. 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 more momentum across the entirety of Europe!”
The five GenH2 Trucks will be tested in different long-haul applications on specific routes in Germany, such as the transport of building materials, sea containers and 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 in the Duisburg area (North-Rhine Westphalia).
“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, while learning about specific customer requirements, taking them into account for series development,” Daum adds.
The five semi-trailer tractors will be used by the five 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.
President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), Hildegard Müller, was there to witness the groundbreaking endeavour, commenting: “On the path towards the climate-neutral mobility of the future, the potential of all available technologies should be exploited. When it comes to heavy-duty commercial vehicles particularly, 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.”
GenH2 Truck performance is comparable with conventional long-haul trucks
According to Daum, 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 Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Trucks offer a payload of approximately 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. They represent the centerpiece of the GenH2 Truck.
The fuel-cell system of the GenH2 Truck delivers 300 kilowatts (2 x150kW) and the battery provides an additional 400kW temporarily. At 70kWh, 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 230kW continuous power and 2 x 330kW maximum power. The GenH2 Truck thereby delivers a torque of 2 x 1 577Nm or 2 x 2 071Nm.
“The two stainless-steel liquid-hydrogen tanks of the GenH2 Truck have a particularly high storage capacity of 88 kilograms (44kg 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” Daum says.
Liquid hydrogen enables a range of +1 000 kilometers
Daimler Truck prefers liquid hydrogen in the development of hydrogen-based drives, says Daum. “In this aggregate state, the energy carrier has a significantly higher energy density. As a result, more hydrogen can be carried, which significantly increases the range and enables comparable performance of the vehicle with that of a conventional diesel truck.
“Transportation efforts can be significantly reduced with liquid hydrogen and liquid hydrogen tanks also offer advantages in terms of cost and weight compared to compressed gaseous hydrogen. Thus, the use of liquid hydrogen enables a higher payload. This makes the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck just as suitable for flexible and demanding long-haul road transportation as conventional diesel trucks.”
In September 2023, Daimler Truck successfully demonstrated this when a public road-approved prototype of the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck completed the #HydrogenRecordRun, covering 1 047km with one tank-filling of liquid hydrogen on board.
What customers say
Seifi Ghasemi, chairman, president and CEO of Air Products says: “With thousands of trucks delivering industrial gases to our customers every day, logistics is an integral part of our business. 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.
“On the pathway to sustainable transport, safe and reliable production, transportation and distribution of renewable hydrogen across the entire value chain is essential. This is Air Products’ proven area of expertise and we’re proud to be providing critical refueling infrastructure and liquid hydrogen as part of this project.”
Andreas Marschner, vice president, of Amazon Transportation Services states: “We remain steadfast in our Climate Pledge commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions across our operations by 2040. The decarbonisation of our transport network plays a crucial role in achieving this milestone and we continue to invest, experiment and innovate. We look forward to supporting the Daimler Truck development team in the next phase of this project.”
John H. Landwehr of Gerdes + Landwehr, a partner to the Holcim Group comments: “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.”
Wouter Bleukx, business director Hydrogen at INEOS Inovyn says: “We’re delighted to be part of the customer fuel cell technology trial. Hydrogen is a game-changing energy solution that will transform truck transportation and help us achieve a zero-emission future. 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 states: “I am excited about this project, which fits perfectly with our strategy to drastically reduce CO2 emissions. Propelling heavy trucks with liquid hydrogen is a revolutionary and decisive step forward. 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 of Wiedmann & Winz, Dr. Micha Lege states: “Our company has always been interested in innovations, as Wiedmann & Winz was one of the first enterprises to invest in telematics and digitalisation 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.”
Daum concludes by saying: “Daimler Truck is committed to 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, namely EU30, the USA and Japan, by 2039. Hydrogen-based drive technologies can thereby be an optimal solution, especially for very flexible and particularly demanding applications in heavy-duty and long-distance haulage.”
This certainly is an exciting field test for FleetWatch to witness from a distance – five major-player customers running very different applications. And, it’s liquid hydrogen rather than compressed hydrogen gas powering the GenH2 Truck, which will prove interesting in the final analysis. Good luck folks!
