Stuttgart, Germany: Daimler Trucks plans a range of electric trucks for urban distribution and long-haul transport and has launched a concept vehicle to demonstrate the technology in the heavy-duty fuel-cell trucks.
The long haul models will have ranges of up to 1,000 kilometers and more on a single tank of hydrogen. The use of liquid instead of gaseous hydrogen, with its higher energy density, means vehicle’s performance is planned to equal that of a comparable conventional diesel truck.
Daimler Trucks also has a battery-powered long-haul truck, the Mercedes-Benz eActros LongHaul, designed to cover regular journeys on plannable routes in an energy-efficient manner.
Daimler Trucks plans to have the eActros LongHaul ready for series production in 2024. Its range on one battery charge will be approximately 500 kilometers. Additionally, with the Mercedes-Benz eActros for distribution transport, which was already presented in 2018 and has been tested intensively since then by customers in everyday transport operations, Daimler Trucks will start series production of a purely battery-powered heavy-duty truck next year. The range of the series-produced eActros on one battery charge will exceed that of the prototype’s approximately 200 kilometers.
Daimler Trucks is pursuing similar vehicle schedules for the North American and Japanese markets as it is for Europe. “As a new worldwide modular platform architecture, the E-Powertrain will be the technological basis of all medium- and heavy-duty CO2-neutral, all-electric series-produced trucks from Daimler Trucks – whether powered purely by batteries or by hydrogen-based fuel cells, the company said.
Martin Daum, chairman, Daimler Truck said: “This combination enables us to offer our customers the best vehicle options, depending on the application. Battery power will be rather used for lower cargo weights and for shorter distances. Fuel-cell power will tend to be the preferred option for heavier loads and longer distances.”
“Our customers make rational purchasing decisions and are unwilling to compromise on their trucks’ suitability for everyday use, tonnage and range. With our alternative drive concepts from Mercedes-Benz – the GenH2 Truck, the E-Actros LongHaul and the E-Actros – and our electric trucks of the Freightliner and Fuso brands, we have a clear focus on customer requirements and are creating genuine locally CO2-neutral alternatives for them. We have now set out the key technological specifications of our electric trucks so that the requirements are known to everyone involved at an early stage. It is now up to policymakers, other players and society as a whole to provide the right framework conditions. To make CO2-neutral all-electric vehicles competitive, regulatory and government action is needed, including the necessary infrastructure for charging with green electricity and for the production, storage and transport of green liquid hydrogen,” he said.
