Daimler Trucks begins GenH2 vehicle testing

Daimler Trucks has begun track-testing a prototype of its liquid hydrogen-powered Mercedes-Benz GenH2 truck

In a significant step in the ongoing development of CO2-neutral commercial transport solutions, Daimler engineers have designed the GenH2 from the ground up.

The GenH2 uses liquid hydrogen as opposed to gaseous hydrogen, which gives the truck more cargo space and a higher payload – this is because liquid hydrogen has greater energy density to volume than gaseous hydrogen, which results in a lighter fuel load and also increased range.

Daimler aims to hit up to 1,000km without stopping for fuel.

The company plans to test the vehicle on public roads in Europe by the end of 2021, with customer trials scheduled for 2023.

The prototype carries a 25T payload at a GVM of 40T and will be tested against the same durability requirements as a comparable, diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz Actros. It will be expected to be able to complete 1.2 million kilometres on the road over ten years and 25,000 hours of operation.

Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck AG and Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, said: “We are consistently pursuing our technology strategy for the electrification of our trucks. We want to offer our customers the best locally CO2-neutral trucks — powered by either batteries or hydrogen-based fuel-cells, depending on the use case. We’re right on schedule and I’m delighted that the rigorous tests of the GenH2 Truck have started successfully.”