Global truck manufacturer Daimler Truck announced today the launch of the initial customer trials of its hydrogen fuel cell-powered Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Trucks by five customers including Air Products, Amazon, Holcim, INEOS and Wiedmann & Winz.

The launch of the new trucks follows a commitment set by Daimler Truck in 2020 to significantly invest in hydrogen technology, forming part of the company’s objective to offer only CO2-neutral driving vehicles in its core markets by 2039.  While battery electric vehicles are an effective solution for some transport applications, such as shorter range routes, or those with available charging options, with the ability to use hydrogen to produce their own electricity, fuel cell trucks are particularly suitable for long-haul applications in areas where battery charging infrastructure may be limited, such as rural settings.

In 2021, Daimler and Volvo launched “Cellcentric,” a joint venture aimed at building one of Europe’s largest planned series production of fuel-cell systems, which are used to power the GenH2 trucks. The new trucks will be powered by liquid hydrogen, which the company said offers significantly higher energy density, allowing more hydrogen to be carried, and significantly increasing range, and enabling vehicle performance comparable to a conventional diesel truck.

Daimler produced its first GenH2 prototype in 2021, and the company recently completed a 1,047 km demonstration of the GenH2. Daimler has said that it aims to introduce the series version of the truck in the second half of the decade.

Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck, said:

“When it comes to decarbonizing transport, we are focusing on battery-electric and hydrogen-based drives. The transformation can only succeed if green energy is sufficiently and comprehensively available – and for this we need both technologies. With regard to hydrogen drives, we are now taking another important step towards series readiness: we are starting the trials of our Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Trucks in real-life daily transport operations with our customers.”

Daimler Truck said that the trials will last around one year, and will see the trucks used in a wide range of long-haul applications, with Amazon using the truck for logistics operations in Germany, Air Products transporting cylinder gases, Wiedmann & Winz transporting sea containers, Holcim transporting building materials logistics, and INEOS’s logistics company VERVAEKE utilizing the trucks for PVC and vinyl transportation.

According to Daimler Truck, the trials will provide its development team with valuable insights into the real-life operations of trucks powered by liquid hydrogen, and on specific customer requirements, supporting future series development.

Andreas Marschner, Vice President, Amazon Transportation Services, said:

“We remain steadfast in our Climate Pledge commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions across our operations by 2040. The decarbonization of our transport network plays a crucial role in achieving this milestone, and we continue to invest, experiment and innovate. We look forward to supporting the Daimler Truck development team in the next phase of this project.”