4.2 Applications in the Mobility Sector

Unlike in the passenger car sector, where battery-electric vehicles have gained more and more market share in recent years, alternative drives have barely played a role in the truck sector so far. The FC drive is also a possible emission-free option for trucks. In terms of the key technical components of the powertrain, FC trucks differ only marginally from FC passenger cars (see illustration in the paragraph on passenger cars). However, in contrast to FC passenger cars, various concepts are currently being developed for storing hydrogen on board of the truck. 

 

Hydrogen driven trucks have so far only been produced as prototypes for use in pilot projects. Most of these prototypes use gaseous hydrogen compressed to 350 bar. This includes the Hyundai Xcient Fuel Cell - the only hydrogen powered truck that is already in use in larger numbers (e.g., around 50 vehicles in Switzerland since the end of 2020). However, there are also manufacturers which are pursuing the development of FC trucks with 700 bar hydrogen tanks. In recent years, for example, several hydrogen powered waste collection vehicles that use 700 bar technology have been manufactured and put into operation in Germany. Another option, which is being developed in particular by the manufacturer Daimler Trucks, is to refuel the vehicles with liquid hydrogen. Here, the boil-off losses caused by the heat input into the tank system are a challenge. Since especially trucks, which are mainly used in long-distance transport, rarely have long standstill times in daily operation, the boil-off losses may play a subordinate role in such fields of application.

 
In the truck sector as well, higher ranges can currently be achieved with FC vehicles than with battery-electric alternatives. The Hyundai Xcient Fuel Cell, for example, has a tank capacity of 35 kg hydrogen and therefore achieves ranges of around 400 km. If a storage form with a higher energy density (gaseous at 700 bar or liquefied) is used for the hydrogen, ranges of 1000 km and more are conceivable.