Daimler Truck has started the first customer trials of its hydrogen-powered Mercedes-Benz GenH2 trucks in Germany.

A total of five units will enter the fleets of Air Products, Amazon, Holcim, Ineos and Wiedmann & Winz.

The German truck maker says these customers are to gain practical experience of its fuel-cell trucks during the test phase of around a year.

Daimler Truck says it aims to gain insight into the real-life operations of the trucks, powered by liquid hydrogen, and to learn about specific customer requirements which should be taken into account once series development starts.

The company’s objective is to sell only CO2-neutral new vehicles across its global core markets – Europe, the US and Japan – by 2039.

Hydrogen-based drive technologies are currently considered as the optimal solution for heavy-duty and long-distance haulage.

The customer trials follow a prolonged test period of the GenH2 on the track and public roads.

The five GenH2 Trucks will be deployed in different long-haul applications on specific routes in Germany, and will be responsible for the transportation of building materials, sea containers and gas cylinders, for example.

The trucks offer a payload of roughly 25 t at a gross combination weight of 40 t.

Two liquid hydrogen tanks and a fuel-cell system by cellcentric, the joint venture between Daimler Truck and the Volvo Group, enable the payload and range of around 1 000 km.

During the first customer trials, the vehicles will remain under the direct supervision and responsibility of Mercedes-Benz.

The trucks will be refuelled at the designated liquid hydrogen filling stations in Woerth am Rhein, and in future also in the Duisburg area.

“When it comes to decarbonising transport, we are focusing on battery-electric and hydrogen-based drives,” explains Daimler Truck chairperson Martin Daum.

“The transformation can only succeed if green energy is sufficiently and comprehensively available.

“However, it is important to note that high-performance CO2-neutral vehicles alone will not be enough to make sustainable transportation successful. This also requires corresponding charging and refuelling infrastructure, as well as cost parity with conventional vehicles.

“Although policymakers and energy companies are already active here, we urgently need even more momentum across the entire Europe.”

“Manufacturers have the corresponding models in development and production, and now the political framework conditions must finally be created: a needs-based network of hydrogen filling stations and the associated infrastructure must be built up urgently,” adds German Association of the Automotive Industry president Hildegard Müller.

“There is an urgent need for action from politicians, the German Federal Network Agency and the energy industry.”