Volvo Trucks showcases battery-electric trucks and trucks that run on renewable fuels, such as biogas.
Volvo Trucks Begins Testing Hydrogen Fuel Cell Trucks
In the second half of this decade, a third CO2-neutral option will be added to its product portfolio, fuel cell electric trucks powered by hydrogen. Volvo Trucks has been developing this technology for some years now, and the first trucks successfully running on the test track. The combination of battery electric and fuel cell electric will enable customers to completely eliminate CO2 exhaust emissions from their trucks, no matter transport assignments.
The fuel cell electric trucks will have an operational range comparable to many diesel trucks which is up to 1000 km and a refueling time of less than 15 minutes. The total weight can be around 65 tons or even higher, and the two fuel cells have the capacity to generate 300 kW of electricity onboard. Customer pilots will start in a few years from now and commercialisation is planned for the latter part of this decade.
Hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric trucks will be especially suitable for long distances and heavy, energy-demanding assignments. They could also be an option in countries where battery charging possibilities are limited. A fuel cell generates its own electricity from the hydrogen onboard instead of being charged from an external source. The only biproduct emitted is water vapor. The fuel cells will be supplied by cellcentric, the joint venture between the Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG.
Cellcentric will build one of Europe’s largest series production facilities for fuel-cells, specially developed for heavy vehicles. Fuel cell technology is still in an early phase of development and there are many benefits with the new technology, but also some challenges ahead. One of them is large-scale supply of green hydrogen. Another is the fact that refueling infrastructure for heavy vehicles is yet to be developed.
