‘Record run’ | Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz green hydrogen truck drives over 1,000km on a single tank

Daimler, the truck manufacturer owned by Mercedes-Benz, has successfully conducted a test drive of its liquid hydrogen fuel cell (FCEV) truck in Germany. During this test, the truck covered a remarkable distance of over 1,000 kilometers using a single tank of green hydrogen, a feat that Daimler proudly calls a "record run."

The vehicle in question is the fully-loaded Mercedes-Benz GenH2 truck, weighing 40 tonnes in total. It commenced its journey from Mercedes' customer center in Woerth-am-Rhein on a Monday afternoon and reached the Ministergarten green area near Germany's federal government offices in Berlin on Tuesday morning. Remarkably, it achieved this impressive 1,047-kilometer distance without the need for refueling.

This accomplishment surpasses the distance achieved by Hyzon Motors' liquid hydrogen FCEV truck test, which traveled 870 kilometers in the United States without refueling earlier in the same month. However, it falls short of the official world record for the longest distance traveled by a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle on a single tank, which stands at 1,360 kilometers and was achieved by a Toyota Mirai passenger vehicle in 2021.

The GenH2 truck's liquid hydrogen fuel cell was powered by green hydrogen supplied by Air Products, produced using biomethane that is certified as renewable, with guarantees of its origin.

The process of initially fueling the truck's tanks occurred at Daimler's cryogenic filling station located at its development center in Woerth, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Daimler expressed a preference for liquid hydrogen over gaseous hydrogen due to its higher energy density. However, it's important to note that liquid hydrogen is challenging to store and transport because it must be maintained at extremely low temperatures, specifically below minus 253 degrees Celsius. Any rise above this temperature would result in the hydrogen turning into gas, causing expansion and increased pressure inside the tank. This could potentially lead to explosions unless the gas is vented into the atmosphere, where it acts as an indirect greenhouse gas, or reliquefied, a more expensive and complex process.

Despite these challenges, Daimler asserts that its 40-kilogram fuel tanks, positioned on the truck's external chassis, feature excellent insulation, allowing the hydrogen to remain at the required temperature for an extended period without active cooling.

The company believes that the success of this test run validates its dual strategy of pursuing both hydrogen FCEV and battery-electric powertrains for its heavy-duty vehicles.