Hydrogen fuel may only be in its infancy, but it’s fast gaining traction in the heavy-duty transport and logistics industry.Possibly the most abundant element on earth, hydrogen has several advantages other than not being a carbon-based fuel. Present in the air and an element in numerous other materials, notably water, it can also be produced from renewable sources.Ongoing research and development has shown hydrogen to deliver a clean fuel with no harmful exhaust emissions, delivering the same performance and torque as electric cars. It has a greater range than electric cars and shorter refuelling times.While the fuel has not taken off as yet in the general automotive industry thanks to the growing uptake of electric vehicles, it holds potential in the heavy-duty transport industry, delivering greener vehicles.According to a recent white paper on hydrogen-powered vehicles in logistics, hydrogen fuel cells are more economically viable than electric vehicles in the heavy-duty sector due to the time it takes to charge batteries.Around the world, truck manufacturers are investing heavily in hydrogen technology. Earlier this year Daimler Truck AG and Volvo Group launched a joint venture committing both companies to hydrogen-based fuel cells.“Hydrogen-powered fuel-cell electric trucks will be key for enabling CO2-neutral transportation in the future. In combination with pure battery-electric drives, it enables us to offer our customers the best genuinely local CO2-neutral vehicle options, depending on the application,” said Martin Daum, chairman of the board of management of Daimler Tr uck AG, whose brands include Freightliner and Mercedes-Benz.The company foresees up to 60% of truck sales as battery or hydrogen vehicles by no later than 2030.According to Daimler Truck AG, the biggest obstacle to the increased delivery of hydrogen fuel-cell cars is the infrastructure for fuelling. The same applies in the electric vehicle market, with charging facilities still limited. This is further hampered by the fact that the necessary infrastructure is developing at different speeds around the world, and at a much slower pace in the developing world.With this in mind, truck manufacturers are focusing on delivering vehicles that can achieve ranges of up to 1000km before having to stop for refuelling.Just as important, he said, was that the new generation trucks were able to compete with conventional trucks currently in operation around the world – and that they could cope with extreme conditions in real-life operation situations.Hyundai is in the process of delivering 1000 heavy-duty fuel cell electric trucks that will come off the production line in 2023, and Toyota is also powering the next generation heavy-duty truck with fuel cell technology.
