Swedish firm Volvo Trucks has showcased its new hydrogen fuel cell truck, with the firm claiming that the new hydro-electric model will have a comparable range to a diesel truck.
Volvo Trucks recently started testing this new technology and already offers a number of zero-emission trucks, including battery electric models and vehicles that can run on biogas.
The hydrogen fuel cell trucks will have an operational range of around 1000km, similar to that of a diesel truck, with refuelling taking less than 15 minutes.
A fuel cell generates its own electricity from the hydrogen onboard with the only byproduct emitted being water vapour.
The firm says the weight of the trucks can be around 65 tons or more, with the two fuel cells able to generate 300kW of electricity onboard.
“We have been developing this technology for some years now, and it feels great to see the first trucks successfully running on the test track,” said Roger Alm, president of Volvo Trucks.
“The combination of battery electric and fuel cell electric will enable our customers to completely eliminate CO2 exhaust emissions from their trucks, no matter transport assignments.”
Volvo Trucks says customer pilots will start in a few years time with commercialisation planned for the latter part of the decade.
The firm said that fuel cell technology was still “in an early phase of development” but that hydrogen technology brings a number of benefits.
Volvo Trucks president Roger Alm added, “We expect the supply of green hydrogen to increase significantly during the next couple of years, since many industries will depend on it to reduce CO2.
“My clear message to all transport companies is to start the journey today with battery electric, biogas and the other options available. The fuel cell trucks will then be an important complement for longer and heavier transports in a few years from now.”
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