Daimler Trucks starts extensive tests with fuel cell truck

The goal is a range of over 1,000 kilometers on one tank of fuel. At the end of April, Daimler Trucks already began intensive testing of the first new, fully developed prototype of its 2020 Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck - an important milestone on the road to series production. Daimler Trucks developers are testing the fuel cell truck through and through. The extensive series of tests, which are extremely demanding on the vehicle and its components, focus on continuous operation, varying weather and road conditions and different driving maneuvers, among other things.

Daimler Trucks expects to start testing on public roads before the end of this year. Customer testing is scheduled to start in 2023, and series production trucks will be ready for delivery to customers a few years later.

Martin Daum, Chairman of the Management Board of Daimler Truck AG and Member of the Executive Board of Daimler AG: "We are consistently following our technology strategy in the electrification of our trucks. Our goal is to provide our customers with the best local CO₂-neutral truck to offer - powered by batteries or hydrogen-powered fuel cells, depending on the deployment. We are right on schedule and I am pleased that the intensive testing of the GenH2 has started well. Hydrogen fuel cell technology will be indispensable in the CO₂-neutral transport of the future - this is also confirmed by our many partners with whom we are working at full speed to bring this technology to the road. In addition, the clear commitment of national and European regulators to the use of hydrogen in road freight transport gives an important impetus. Political support plays an important role in promoting the development of green hydrogen infrastructure and making fuel cell trucks cost-effective for our customers."

Demanding tests for 1.2 million kilometers on the clock

Daimler Trucks engineers are designing the GenH2 so that the truck and its components meet the same durability requirements as a comparable conventional Mercedes-Benz Actros. That means 1.2 million kilometers over a ten-year period and a total of 25,000 operating hours. To meet this, the GenH2 must pass extremely demanding tests, just like every new Actros generation. In the first weeks of testing alone, the vehicle covered hundreds of kilometers under continuous load on a roller test stand and endured numerous extreme practical situations, such as emergency braking and driving on curbs on the test track.

Completely new vehicle concept and components

The GenH2 is a completely redesigned truck with completely new components that will receive full attention from the developers during testing. These include the fuel cell system, the all-electric powertrain and all associated systems, such as special cooling. The individual weight of the new components and their respective position in the vehicle also affect the driving characteristics of the truck. As a result, the vibrations caused by, for example, bumpy roads and especially extreme situations expose the fuel cell truck to different forces than conventional vehicles. To gain extensive knowledge at an early stage, the current prototype is also being tested with a payload of up to 25 tons for a GVW of around 40 tons, as is also planned for the series variant of the GenH2.

Liquid hydrogen offers many advantages

Daimler Trucks prefers liquid hydrogen, because in this state the energy carrier has a significantly higher energy density proportionally than gaseous hydrogen. As a result, tanks for liquid hydrogen are much smaller and also significantly lighter due to the lower pressure. This results in a larger cargo space and higher payload. At the same time, more hydrogen can be refueled, significantly increasing the range. This makes the GenH2, like conventional diesel trucks, suitable for multi-day, hard-to-plan long-distance trips.

Based on a predetermined development plan, the experts at Daimler Trucks are continuously working on the development of liquid hydrogen refueling technologies. By the end of the year, the engineers expect to have developed the prototype of the new tank system sufficiently to continue the ongoing intensive tests with the GenH2. From then on, vehicle tests will be conducted exclusively with liquid hydrogen tank systems until series production is reached. Until then, a gaseous hydrogen tank system will be used for the intensive tests with the GenH2 as an interim solution.