Since last year, a Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck fuel-cell prototype has been undergoing intensive testing – both on the in-house test track and on public roads. Daimler Truck is now putting another prototype into operation to test the use of liquid hydrogen. Political support for the development program comes from Daniela Schmitt, Minister of Economic Affairs of Rhineland-Palatinate, who opened the regional hydrogen week “WOCHE DES WASSERSTOFFS SÜD” (#wdws2022) recently with a test drive in Wörth am Rhein, Germany.
A newly installed prototype filling station at the development and testing centre in Wörth enables the refuelling with liquid hydrogen. Recently, Daimler Truck celebrated the truck's first successful liquid hydrogen (LH2) refuelling with Air Liquide. During the refuelling process, cryogenic liquid hydrogen at minus 253 degrees Celsius is filled into two 40 kg tanks mounted on either side of the chassis. Thanks to the excellent insulation of the vehicle tanks, the hydrogen can be kept at a temperature for a sufficiently long time without active cooling. Daimler Truck prefers liquid hydrogen in the development of hydrogen-based drives. In this aggregate state, the energy carrier has a significantly higher energy density concerning volume than gaseous hydrogen. As a result, more hydrogen can be carried, substantially increasing the range and enabling the comparable performance of the vehicle with that of a conventional diesel truck. The development objective of the series-ready GenH2 Truck is a range of up to 1,000 kilometres and more. This makes the truck suitable for flexible and demanding applications, especially in the important segment of heavy-duty long-haul transport. The start of series production for hydrogen-based trucks is planned for the decade's second half.
Comprehensive commitment to hydrogen.
At the same time, Daimler Truck is working together with Linde on the development of a new process for handling liquid hydrogen (“subcooled” liquid hydrogen, “sLH2 technology”). Among other things, this innovative approach enables even higher storage density and easier refuelling compared to LH2. The companies plan for the first refuelling of a prototype vehicle at a pilot station in Germany in 2023. Furthermore, Daimler Truck and its partners are planning for a high level of transparency and openness around the relevant interfaces of the jointly developed sLH2 technology. The goal is to collaborate with other companies and associations to establish their own refuelling and vehicle technologies that apply the new liquid-hydrogen standard and establish a global mass market for the new process.
Daimler Truck is planning to work with the companies Shell, BP and TotalEnergies. Daimler Truck is also a hydrogen filling station operator, as they are a H2 MOBILITY Deutschland shareholder. In addition, Daimler Truck, IVECO, Linde, OMV, Shell, TotalEnergies and the Volvo Group have committed to work together to help create the conditions for the mass-market roll-out of hydrogen trucks in Europe as part of the H2Accelerate (H2A) interest group.
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