Imagine a truck that only emits water vapor, produces its own electricity onboard and has a range of up to 1 000 km. It’s possible with fuel cells powered by hydrogen, and Volvo Trucks has started to test vehicles using this new technology.
To decarbonize transport, Volvo Trucks already offers battery electric trucks and trucks that run on renewable fuels, such as biogas. In the second half of this decade, a third CO2-neutral option will be added to its product portfolio – fuel cell electric trucks powered by hydrogen.
The fuel cell electric trucks will have an operational range comparable to many diesel trucks – up to 1000 km – and a refueling time of less than 15 minutes. The total weight can be around 65 tons or even higher, and the two fuel cells have the capacity to generate 300 kW of electricity onboard.
Customer pilots will start in a few years from now and commercialization is planned for the latter part of this decade.
“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. 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,” says Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks.
