Hydrogen-powered trucks will only play a small role in Europe’s zero-emission transport future, with the vast majority of logistics vehicles set to be battery electric, according to Alexander Vlaskamp, CEO of MAN, Europe’s second-largest truck maker.
“E-mobility is coming now. The technology is mature and more efficient. In our estimate, 80% or even 90% of logistics trucks will be powered by electricity.”
However, Vlaskamp does not completely rule out hydrogen, arguing that hydrogen or biofuels may be suitable for vehicles carrying very heavy loads, such as wind turbines weighing between 150 and 250 tons.
“We see today that (green) hydrogen is very expensive,” he said, adding that it costs about four to five times what customers are willing to pay.
“Therefore, hydrogen will only be used in a small sector in Europe, such as private transportation,” Vlaskamp explained.
Munich-based MAN, which has the second-largest share of the European heavy equipment market at 16%, indicated last year that while it would monitor hydrogen as a zero-emissions transport option, it would focus mainly on electric batteries. Vehicles (BEVs).
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The truck manufacturer had previously announced that it would also develop and deliver a fuel cell truck to five customers by next year to be trialled in real-world uses until mid-2025. Hydrogen Insight has reached out to confirm whether the trial is still ongoing.
While the zero-emission passenger car market has been cornered by battery electric vehicles, many companies have argued that hydrogen makes more sense for long-haul heavy trucks, due to the time it would take to charge large truck batteries and the difficulties in obtaining them. Large amounts of clean electricity for truck stations capable of charging multiple vehicles simultaneously.
MAN noted that this is an advantage for fuel cell vehicles, which only need a few minutes to fill the tanks with a range of up to 1,000 kilometres, and that “only about half this distance is realistic for an electric truck.”
But it also expects further development in battery technology that will increase the range of heavy-duty electric vehicles.
This week the company received a total of €25 million ($27.1 million) in support from the Bavarian state government for a battery manufacturing facility that will begin large-scale production in 2025.
The truck maker is scheduled to introduce its first e-truck in 2024, and 450 of its e-buses are already operating in European cities.
Its parent company, Traton, is also part of a joint venture with Daimler and Volvo that will invest €500 million in building 1,700 high-performance charging points on motorways and logistics centers across or near Europe.
“In Europe, we see that we will need more than 20,000 stations along main roads and motorways by 2030 in order to carry out about 30% of logistics transport electrically,” Vlaskamp said in the interview.
“It will cost several billion euros. The good thing about these investments is that they are worthwhile and effective in the long term. The diesel engine is being pushed back more and more, and the electric motor will remain the main solution.
