Europe’s second-largest industrial truck maker goes to construct 200 hydrogen-powered semi vans, however stays skeptical in regards to the viability of hydrogen as a transport gas.

It’s a wierd announcement, so far as this stuff go. MAN even went as far as to reiterate its dedication to battery-electric automobiles for “most” purposes, unusual for an announcement a few hydrogen-fueled product that the corporate plans to try to truly promote to a choose variety of clients who carry extra-heavy hundreds like timber or elements for offshore wind generators. Different hydrogen strangeness contains claims that “it should nonetheless be a couple of years earlier than the know-how is actually market-ready and aggressive.”

These claims don’t come from MAN Truck’s notoriously hydrogen-skeptical CEO, Alexander Vlaskamp, who informed reporters that it was, “unattainable for hydrogen to successfully compete with battery electrical vans,” again in January. “In the present day you can’t purchase hydrogen for lower than 13 or 14 euros … and it’s not inexperienced. And when we now have inexperienced hydrogen will probably be wanted for the heavy trade of metal, cement, or plastic.”

So — if all that’s true, why is MAN persevering with to spend money on hydrogen-powered car applications?
“Solely to check our speculation,” stated Vlaskamp (emphasis mine). “We could use hydrogen for transportation in 2035, however provided that there may be sufficient inexperienced hydrogen on the proper value and the required infrastructure is in place.”

MAN CEO expresses doubts about H

And, as famous above, Vlaskamp isn’t alone. MAN’s board member for analysis and growth, Frederik Zohm, stated that the corporate is the one saying hydrogen nonetheless has years to go. “(MAN) continues to analysis gas cell know-how based mostly on battery electrics,” he stated, in an announcement quoted by Hydrogen Perception, earlier than one other board member added that, “we (MAN) count on that, sooner or later, we will finest serve the overwhelming majority of our clients’ transport purposes with battery-electric vans.”

So far as the hydrogen vans themselves go, the H2 combustion engine seems to have taken middle stage in MAN’s hydrogen product street map, with the corporate’s beforehand acknowledged plans to place its FCEV semi into restricted manufacturing in 2025 seemingly pushed again to make method for this run.

Dubbed the MAN gTGX, the vans are fitted with a 56 kg tank that it says may be stuffed with hydrogen compressed at 700 bar in quarter-hour. And, with tailpipe emissions coming in at lower than 1kg of CO₂ per km, the truck can be categorized as a “zero-emissions car” underneath the EU’s street transport laws.

MAN says its H2 combustion engine will ship an enormous 1800+ lb-ft. of torque (2500 Nm), sufficient to haul extra 220,000 lbs. (100 tonnes) of payload.

Electrek’s Take

This complete factor is unusual, proper? Think about RAM vans asserting a brand new diesel pickup and together with quotes from a number of executives in regards to the know-how being a step or two behind the electrical vans from Ford and Tesla. It could be weird.

That stated, the message right here appears to be that, if Europe needs to maintain spending cash on hydrogen vans, MAN can be pleased to take it. That’s what I’m getting, anyway — what about you guys? Scroll on right down to the feedback and tell us.