Volvo Trucks has achieved an important milestone by test-driving hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks on public roads. The zero exhaust emission trucks use hydrogen to produce electricity onboard and emit only water vapor. They are capable of traveling long distances, making them suitable for longer transport assignments. The trucks have been tested on public roads above the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden, an extremely cold climate. The challenging testing environment was chosen to test the vehicles' robustness under harsh conditions. The tests have confirmed the results obtained from digital simulations and confined track tests.
The hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks will be commercially available in the second half of this decade. To speed up development, Volvo Group has joined forces with Daimler to develop and produce fuel cell systems tailored for heavy-duty vehicles. Before commercial launch, the trucks will undergo tests with hauliers. Volvo Trucks already offers six battery-electric models and trucks that run on renewable fuels such as biogas, enabling hauliers to provide zero exhaust emission transport.
Volvo's hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks use two fuel cells generating 300 kW of electric power. Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy sources such as wind, water, and sun, is an endless resource. Volvo Trucks' President, Roger Alm, emphasizes the urgency to act now to curb global warming. He states that waiting is not an option and in a few years, customers will be able to eliminate CO2 exhaust emissions from their trucks, regardless of their transport assignments' location worldwide.
