Daimler Truck, HHLA and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish Liquid Hydrogen Supply Chain for Europe

Daimler Truck AG (Daimler Truck), Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the international trade fair “Hydrogen Technology World Expo” in Hamburg. The partnership aims to explore the development of a reliable and cost-effective supply chain for green liquid hydrogen via the Port of Hamburg to the European hinterland.

This collaboration is designed to enable the import of liquid hydrogen from hydrogen-producing countries to Germany, reinforcing Hamburg’s role as a hub for sustainable energy logistics. Over the coming months, the partners will assess the logistical requirements for transshipment and onward transport by road and rail. The initiative also seeks to attract additional companies and institutions to form a consortium that spans the entire hydrogen value chain. The signing of the MoU underscores the strategic importance of liquid hydrogen for the energy transition and the transformation of European industry. The partners bring complementary expertise to the table: Kawasaki Heavy Industries as an experienced technology provider in the field of hydrogen infrastructure, HHLA as a European network logistics provider, and Daimler Truck as a global commercial vehicle manufacturer with a focus on CO2-neutral battery-electric and hydrogen-based drive systems.

The Kawasaki Group is implementing innovative solutions with the objective of the commissioning of liquid hydrogen (LH2) carrier ships in different sizes (small, medium and large) with up to 160,000 m3 of liquid hydrogen on board and in the future ships comparable to today’s LNG carriers. Hamburger Hafen and Logistik AG is aiming to become climate-neutral throughout the Group until 2040.

To decarbonize transport, Daimler Truck is pursuing a dual-track strategy with both battery-electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles. Since 2021, the company has been developing and testing its Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck prototypes equipped with fuel cells, demonstrating their reliability and performance for flexible, long-haul transport. In 2023, a prototype GenH2 Truck showcased the potential of liquid hydrogen for road transport by completing a 1,047-kilometer trip across Germany on a single tank of liquid hydrogen under real-world conditions. Daimler Truck has also recently concluded initial customer trials, with a fleet of five GenH2 Trucks collectively covering more than 225,000 kilometers in actual operations. Building on this success, a second phase of trials with the same fleet and different customers is planned for the upcoming year. Looking ahead, Daimler Truck intends to produce a small series of 100 next-generation semitrailer tractors at its Mercedes-Benz plant in Woerth, Germany, with customer field operations scheduled to begin at the end of 2026. The company aims to achieve large-scale industrialization of fuel cell technology and commence series production of hydrogen-powered trucks—initially targeting the European market—in the early 2030s.