Winter testing success for Volvo fuel cell trucks

Volvo Trucks is testing hydrogen fuel cell trucks on public roads prior to their commercial launch in the second half of this decade.

The company said fuel cell truck trials with hauliers would commence “a few years” before their commercial launch.

The Volvo hydrogen truck uses two fuel cells to produce up to 300 kW of electrical power.

Cold climate testing was undertaken last winter in the Arctic north of Sweden.

“I am pleased to say that the tests are going well, confirming those we carried out before, both digitally and on our confined test track close to Gothenburg.”

While Volvo Trucks is fully committed to battery-electric power, it maintains fuel-cell electric trucks powered by hydrogen will be especially suitable for longer distances and when using batteries only isn’t an option: for example, in rural areas with no charging infrastructure.

To speed up the development, Volvo Group has joined forces with Daimler to develop and produce fuel cell systems that are tailor-made for heavy-duty vehicles.

Volvo currently has six battery- electric truck models in series production, catering to a wide variety of transport routes in and between cities, as well as trucks that run on renewable fuels, such as biogas.

Roger Alm, president of Volvo Trucks, said: “We need to act now in order to stop global warming. Regardless of the transport assignments or where in the world our customers are operating, waiting is not an option. In a few years, our customers will be able to completely eliminate CO2 exhaust emissions from their trucks.”