Multinational chemical company and industrial gas giant, Linde, and Daimler Truck AG have signed an agreement to jointly develop the next generation of liquid-hydrogen refueling technology for fuel-cell-powered trucks. With their collaboration, the partners aim to make the refueling process with hydrogen as easy and practical as possible.
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Overall, the technology thus allows simpler filling-station concepts
Together, the companies will focus on a new process for handling liquid hydrogen. This innovative approach allows for higher storage density, greater range, faster refueling and superior energy efficiency. The new process will use higher than ambient pressure levels and special temperature control which avoids so-called boil-off effects and “return gas” (gas from the vehicle's tank returning to the filling station) during refueling and will not require complex data communication between the filling station and the truck during refueling. Overall, the technology thus allows simpler filling-station concepts. The improved energy storage density is due to the higher than ambient pressure level which increases the hydrogen mass in the tank.
The companies plan for the first refueling of a prototype vehicle at a pilot station in Germany in 2023. Both companies will work together on the interfaces of the technologies. By enabling as many other companies as possible to develop their own refueling and vehicle technologies that apply the new liquid-hydrogen standard, a global mass market is to be established for the new process.
The new fueling process is to be implemented in the series version of the GenH2 Truck
Sven Ennerst, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck AG for Development, Procurement and the China Region said, “We at Daimler Truck AG are pursuing the vision of the CO2-neutral transportation of the future. The hydrogen-based fuel cell is a key technology of strategic importance in this context. With our collaboration with Linde as an expert in hydrogen refueling technology, we want to increase the viability and acceptance in the industry of fuel-cell trucks on the basis of hydrogen. The new process can further enhance the numerous advantages that liquid hydrogen offers.”
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In September 2020, Daimler Truck AG celebrated the world premiere of the fuel-cell concept truck Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck. With the GenH2 Truck, the manufacturer demonstrates which specific technologies the company is driving forward at full speed so that heavy-duty fuel-cell trucks can perform flexible and demanding long-distance haulage operations with ranges of up to 1,000 kilometers and more on a single tank of hydrogen. Daimler Truck AG plans to begin customer trials of the GenH2 Truck in 2023; series production is to start in the second half of the decade. Thanks to the use of liquid instead of gaseous hydrogen with its higher energy density, the vehicle's series version performance is planned to equal that of a comparable conventional diesel truck. The new fueling process is to be implemented in the series version of the GenH2 Truck and first to be validated in upcoming prototypes.
