Mercedes-Benz hydrogen trucks begin customer trials in Germany

Daimler Truck has began the first customer trials of its Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV).

Five prototype GenH2 Trucks will be put into operation with Air Products, Amazon, Holcim, INEOS and Wiedmann & Winz.

The trucks will be deployed in different long-haul applications on specific routes in Germany, such as the transport of building materials, sea containers or cylinder gases. During these first customer trials the vehicles will remain under the direct supervision and responsibility of the manufacturer.

The trucks will be refuelled at the designated liquid hydrogen filling stations (sLH2) in Woerth am Rhein (Rhineland-Palatinate) and in future also in the Duisburg area (North-Rhine Westphalia).

Daimler Truck says the selected customers will 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, Daimler Truck says its development team will acquire valuable insights into the real-life operations of trucks powered by liquid hydrogen, learning about specific customer requirements and taking them into account for series development.

The Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Trucks offer a payload of around 25 tonnes at a gross combination weight (GCW) of 40 tonnes. 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.

According to Daimler Truck, this enables the GenH2 to achieve a range of over 1,000km before the vehicle needs to refuel.