Daimler Trucks Starts Intensive Testing of Its Fuel Cell Truck

Daimler Trucks sends the first further developed prototype of the Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck onto the test track since the end of April. A broad series of trials is planned as another milestone on the way to a production model. Real tests on public roads will follow in 2021. Customer trials are planned for 2023.

(Stuttgart) Daimler Trucks relies on hydrogen-based fuel cells for the electrification of its trucks for flexible and demanding long-distance transport. The goal is ranges of up to 1,000 kilometers and more without a refueling stop. The truck manufacturer began intensive testing of the first new, further developed prototype of its Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck, presented in 2020, at the end of April – thus achieving an important milestone on the way to a production model. The developers at Daimler Trucks are rigorously testing the fuel cell truck. The focus of the extensive trials, which are highly demanding for the vehicle and components, includes continuous operation, different weather and road conditions, as well as various driving maneuvers.

The development plan of Daimler Trucks foresees tests on public roads for this year. The start of customer trials is planned for 2023, and the first series vehicles of the GenH2 Truck are to be handed over to customers starting in 2027.

Consistently Pursuing Technology Strategy in Electrification

Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Daimler Truck AG and Member of the Board of Daimler AG: “We are consistently pursuing our technology strategy in the electrification of our trucks. Our goal is to offer our customers the best locally CO2-neutral trucks based on batteries or hydrogen-based fuel cells, depending on the application. We are right on track, and I am very pleased that the intensive tests with the GenH2 Truck have successfully started.”

“The hydrogen-based fuel cell drive will be indispensable in the CO2-neutral long-distance trucking of the future – this is also confirmed by our numerous partners, with whom we are working hard to bring the technology to series production on the road. Furthermore, the clear commitment from regulators at both national and European levels to the use of hydrogen in road freight transport provides important impulses. Political support plays a crucial role in advancing the establishment of infrastructure for green hydrogen and enabling the economic viability of fuel cell trucks for our customers,” Daum added.

Demanding Tests for 1.2 Million Kilometers of Durability

The development engineers at Daimler Trucks set the GenH2 Truck to the same durability requirements for the vehicle and components as a comparable conventional Mercedes-Benz Actros. This means 1.2 million kilometers of durability, ten years of operation, and a total of 25,000 operating hours. Therefore, the GenH2 Truck – just like any new Actros generation – must undergo highly demanding tests. In the first weeks of testing alone, the vehicle has already covered hundreds of kilometers under continuous load on the test bench and has gone through numerous extreme situations from operational practice, such as emergency braking and curb driving on the test track.

Completely New Vehicle Concept and New Components

The GenH2 Truck is a completely newly designed vehicle with entirely new components, which the developers pay special attention to during testing. These include the fuel cell system, the fully electric drive train, and all associated systems such as the special cooling. The individual weight of the new components and their respective position in the vehicle also affect the driving characteristics of the truck. For example, different forces act on the truck during vibrations caused by road unevenness and especially in extreme situations compared to conventional vehicles. To gain comprehensive insights early on, the current prototype – as planned for the series version of the GenH2 Truck – is already loaded with up to 25 tons of payload for a total weight of around 40 tons during testing.

Liquid Hydrogen Offers Numerous Advantages

Daimler Trucks prefers liquid hydrogen because this energy carrier, in this state, has a significantly higher energy density in terms of volume compared to gaseous hydrogen. As a result, a fuel cell truck refueled with liquid hydrogen can operate with much smaller and significantly lighter tanks due to the lower pressure. This allows for a larger cargo space and a higher payload capacity of the trucks. At the same time, more hydrogen can be refueled, significantly increasing the range. Thus, the series GenH2 Truck, like corresponding conventional diesel trucks, is suitable for hard-to-plan, multi-day long-distance transports where the daily energy throughput is high.

The experts at Daimler Trucks are continuously advancing the development of liquid hydrogen refueling technologies based on a predefined development plan. The engineers plan to achieve the corresponding maturity level of new tank system prototypes by the end of the year to continue the ongoing demanding tests of the GenH2 Truck with these. Until series production readiness, vehicle tests will then be conducted exclusively with liquid hydrogen tank systems. For the intensive tests of the GenH2 Truck taking place until then, an interim solution with a gaseous hydrogen tank system will be used. This demonstrates that both variants – gaseous and liquid – are technically feasible.

Photo: © Daimler Trucks