Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
HANNOVER, Germany -- Germany-based commercial vehicle manufacturer Daimler Truck AG sees "huge potential" in hydrogen trucks amid global moves to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, according to Vice President Manfred Schuckert.
Daimler Truck recently agreed with Toyota Motor Corp. and the Sweden-based Volvo Group to cooperate in the field of hydrogen fuel cells. During an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, Schuckert said that the Japanese automaker possesses advanced technology and capabilities, and expressed a desire to improve the performance of his company's trucks through the partnership.
Schuckert leads the company's international hydrogen strategy.
The European Union aims to reduce CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles by 90% by 2040, compared to 2019 levels. Schuckert said the target is difficult to achieve if the only alternative is electric trucks, but there is "huge potential" to meet this target if hydrogen can accommodate half of the alternative-fuel truck market.
"That means 2 million trucks...would need to be run on hydrogen" in Europe by 2040, Schuckert said.
This would create demand for about 14 million tons of hydrogen, according to Schuckert. The EU's 90% reduction target will create solid demand for hydrogen and determine the potential for hydrogen trucks, he added.
Schuckert believes hydrogen has "a lot of advantages" compared with electric trucks. "The first thing is the flexibility in the operation of a truck," he said. If a customer does not know if they will have a 300-kilometer or 1,000-kilometer trip on a given day, a hydrogen truck offers greater flexibility, he added. "A truck is successful because it is so flexible compared to other transport means like railway or ship."
A second advantage is the higher payload capacity compared to electric trucks, and a third is the driving range achievable with Daimler's liquid hydrogen system, which currently stands at over 1,000 kilometers, according to Schuckert. "We can go much beyond that" in the future, he said.
Another advantage lies in the refueling process. Schuckert noted that hydrogen trucks can currently be refueled in 10 to 15 minutes, whereas electric trucks take significantly longer to charge.
To illustrate his point, Schuckert used the example of transporting tomatoes from southern Spain to Sweden, a journey requiring additional energy for refrigeration. Hydrogen trucks are much better than electric trucks in this case because they offer quick refueling, effectively solving the problem of driving range, he said.
2-pronged approach
The main obstacle to the adoption of hydrogen trucks is public views on reducing CO2 emissions, Schuckert said. "The biggest challenge right now is the opinion in public and in politics that it needs to be done only with" EVs.
Politicians' focus on EVs has become the biggest hurdle for the German company, he said. "We at Daimler have another strategy. We say we stay on both pillars. We need battery and hydrogen."
In addition to building infrastructure for EV trucks, another major challenge is producing green hydrogen -- a cleaner energy source derived from renewables -- because hydrogen trucks require enormous amounts of it, according to Schuckert. Production is expected to start in Europe, and then in the Middle East together with Japan and other countries, with the product shared between Japan and Europe, he said.
'Strong sign' for politicians
Schuckert was also optimistic about collaboration with Toyota in the field of hydrogen fuel cells and revealed future plans for product development. A definitive agreement is waiting to be signed, and then it will have to be approved by the relevant governments and the European Commission.
"We are happy and proud that Toyota has come together with us in our future joint venture," Schuckert said. "We are very happy because we share the same opinion."
Schuckert said collaboration is needed because a single company will not be able to achieve broad adoption of fuel cell vehicles. He praised Toyota for having advanced technology and capabilities, saying that "to share that technology on the fuel side with our cell-centric company will even improve (Toyota's) system."
Schuckert stressed that through the agreement, Daimler and Toyota will be able to share technology, opinions and costs. Daimler already has "world-leading technology, but together with Toyota, we will make it even better," he said.
Daimler and Toyota are currently working together to persuade their respective governments to push through measures on hydrogen, according to Schuckert. "I think it's a strong sign to the politicians if we do it together," he said.
"Toyota has a strong voice in Japan. We have a strong voice here in Europe. Together, it will help to convince politicians to invest into hydrogen," he added.
Rise of Chinese companies
Schuckert then touched on the state of Japan's hydrogen industry. He recently visited a liquefied hydrogen terminal being built in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, and he said he was impressed with the progress. If the terminal starts supplying liquefied hydrogen, it will make the price of hydrogen fuel in Japan highly competitive, allowing it to compete with diesel fuel, said Schuckert. He said that he is confident that Japanese truck makers, such as Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. and Hino Motors Ltd., will also take advantage of the opportunity to begin using hydrogen in their own trucks.
Many Chinese companies are now also paying attention to the hydrogen technology. "There's always a competition," Schuckert said, adding that his job is to handle the intensifying competition. Schuckert said Japan is leading China in fuel-cell technology, but Chinese companies are on the rise. Chinese products will eventually be launched into the market at very affordable prices, which will be a problem, he added. "We need to speed up," he warned.
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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.
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