Development continues on Mercedes-Benz hydrogen trucks

The first prototypes of the fuel-cell powered Mercedes-Benz GenH2 truck have been undergoing intensive testing since last year — both on Daimler Truck’s in-house test track and on public roads. The development objective of the hydrogen series, which weighs 40-tons when fully loaded, is a range of 1,000km or more without refuelling.

This makes the truck suitable for particularly flexible and demanding applications, especially in the heavy-duty, long-haul transport sector. The start of series production for hydrogen-based trucks is planned for the second half of the decade, and Daimler offered public road demonstrations of the new-age heavy trucks to visitors at the recent IAA Transportation trade fair in Hanover.

The Mercedes-Benz GenH2 truck prototype has a license for road use and is powered and refuelled with gaseous hydrogen. Daimler Truck has also exhibited a GenH2 Truck prototype with liquid hydrogen tanks.

Daimler Truck had its first successful liquid hydrogen (LH2) refuelling of the truck together with Air Liquide, a supplier of industrial gases. During the refuelling process, cryogenic liquid hydrogen at minus 253°C is filled into two 40kg tanks mounted on either side of the chassis. Good insulation of the vehicle tanks means the hydrogen can be kept at temperature for a sufficiently long time without active cooling.

Daimler Truck says it prefers liquid hydrogen in the development of hydrogen-based drives for the long term, as it has a significantly higher energy density in relation to volume compared with gaseous hydrogen. 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. 

When it comes to infrastructure for hydrogen filling stations along important transport routes in Europe, Daimler Truck is planning to work with Shell, BP and TotalEnergies. 

The company has a strategic course pursuing a dual-track strategy in the electrification of its portfolio with both battery-electric and hydrogen-based drives. The ambition is to offer only new vehicles that are carbon-neutral in driving operation in its global core markets by 2039.