Daimler Trucks has announced that German logistics group Dachser will become the first customer to put production models of the Mercedes-Benz NextGenH2 hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks on the road later this year.
Daimler is claiming that Dachser will deploy the first of the new fuel cell powered hydrogen trucks in December this year.
The world’s largest truck manufacturer says that its NextGenH2 truck represents the key to the third leg of its engine technology strategy.
The parent company of Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and Western Star trucks says it is banking on Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) hydrogen technology alongside battery-electric and diesel engines.
Dachser says it plans to deploy three of the cabover prime movers at its Karlsruhe logistics centre in Germany, with another two trucks to enter service by mid next year, with each truck set to be deployed on long-distance freight transport tasks.
The company is one of Germany’s largest freight companies and ranks 35th on the Transport Topics Top 50 Largest global freight companies.
Based at Kempten in Germany, theDachser Group already operates more than 190 battery-electric trucks, including a number of Mercedes eActros 600s, upon which the NextGenH2 is based.
“Once hydrogen technology is mature and economical, it could meet logistical requirements that are currently difficult to handle with battery-electric trucks, and that’s why we’re also involved in research and development in the field of hydrogen mobility,” Hohm added.
Daimler says that its NextGenH2 has a range of more than 1,000 kilometres when both of its liquid hydrogen tanks are full
The refueling technology developed by Daimler Truck and its partner Linde, known as sLH2, allows the truck to be fully fuelled within 10 to 15 minutes.
Dachser’s Karlsruhe logistics centre is located about 30 kilometres from Mercedes-Benz’s flagship manufacturing plant in Wörth, which will is home to the liquid hydrogen refueling infrastructure the trucks require.
A total of 100 NextGenH2 trucks will be built at the Wörth plant by the end of this year as part of the first small series production run for the model.
Daimler Truck drew the curtain back on the NextGenH2 in January as a second generation of its GenH2 hydrogen fuel cell prime mover.
Daimler says that it is targeting series production of the fuel cell trucks by the early 2030s, however up until midway through last year the company expected to begin serial production toward the end of 2028 .
The delayed start to serial production was first disclosed during the truck maker’s Capital Markets Day in July last year, with the company citing slower-than-expected deployment of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure led to the delayed rollout.
The first 100 limited-production tractors will use Cellcentric BZA150 fuel cells and the sLH2 technology developed by Daimler Truck, with the company hoping sLH2 will become the standard for liquid hydrogen refuelling.
Daimler says that recent developments and additions include integration of series components from its battery electric eActros 600s, such as the integrated e-axle and aerodynamically optimised ProCabin.
It has also, indicated that a decrease in the size of the tech tower behind the truck’s cab means the wheelbase has been shortened by 150mm from its original 4000mm by 150 mm compared with the previous iteration of the truck.
