Does Eindhoven-based DAF have the egg of Columbus when it comes to driving on hydrogen? The truck maker produced an innovative prototype. But more is needed to drive through Europe without releasing CO2.
It appears like a completely typical diesel truck running the rounds on DAF’s test circuit in Sint-Oedenrode. But it may be a stunning innovation. This month, the truck maker from Brabant revealed its first with an internal combustion engine that truly operates on hydrogen. Without hazardous emissions. And without the intricate architecture that competitors are experimenting with.
As a ‘clean’ fuel, hydrogen is experiencing increased interest from the truck world. Especially now that the European Union wants transport to be totally emission-free by 2050. Most truck manufacturers are now developing with a fuel cell that turns the hydrogen gas into energy. That electricity goes to electric motors that drive the wheels. DAF, with its ‘H2 Innovation Truck’, is so far the only one with a hydrogen fueled Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) (ICE).
With this truck DAF, a wholly owned subsidiary of the American truck manufacturer Paccar, shows that the combustion engine does not have to be written off for emission-free driving. The H-truck in Sint-Oedenrode, on the other hand, is unmistakably a display model. It is almost guaranteed that it will not be introduced to the market in the first five years. Nonetheless, the manufacturers are certain that the vehicle can provide a solution for emission-free long-distance transportation.
Other truck manufacturers are more circumspect when it comes to hydrogen-powered trucks. Scania of Sweden, which manufactures the majority of its trucks in the Netherlands, has confirmed its commitment to battery-electric trucks. “These will serve as the foundation for our sustainability initiatives over the next ten to fifteen years,” says Janko van der Baan, Scania Benelux’s managing director. Hydrogen, he believes, is essentially a raw ingredient for industrial processes at the moment.
Mercedes-Benz, Europe’s market leader, is now testing a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle that will be available to select customers in 2023. Iveco of Italy has begun collaborating with American start-up Nikola on a fuel cell vehicle with a range of at least 1,000 kilometers by 2023. In Ulm, Germany, a new factory has been established for this purpose, initially producing exclusively electric trucks.
MAN of Germany, like Scania, is developing a hydrogen combustion engine but is grappling with relatively high consumption figures.
DAF has fewer difficulties with this. It replaced the combustion system, cylinder liners, piston rings, and pistons on an existing thirteen-liter diesel engine. Due to the decreased energy density of hydrogen compared to diesel, a system of direct fuel injection was devised. Additionally, this new technology had to be “tuned in” slightly. Hydrogen storage, in tanks integrated into the chassis and fitting behind the cabin, also required considerable development work. DAF (2020 revenue of 4.4 billion euros) makes no mention of the costs associated with that development.
Additionally, read this article: At the pump, consumers may contribute to a green hydrogen industry.
However, the end result is that you are now driving around. At most, the H-truck need greater revs to provide the same pulling power as diesel engines, because to its (still) lesser torque.
DAF, like practically every other brand, also sells electric vehicles, but transport operators are unwilling to purchase them. This is because e-trucks are not yet equipped to deliver goods across vast distances. They are sufficiently powerful, but are overly reliant on a dense network of charging stations – which does not yet exist.
While delivering beer to cafes in the heart of Amsterdam and stocking supermarkets is possible with an e-truck, travelling from Utrecht to Milan or Malaga is another story. “To cross the Alps, you easily need 500 horsepower, and due to distance and infrastructure, you can only do so with an internal combustion engine,” says Ron Borsboom, head of product development at DAF.
There is also the time spent charging batteries. “A passenger automobile spends 90% of its time motionless, but a truck is a producing machine. It must function. Each hour of downtime is a financial loss. You don’t want to waste too much time charging the battery frequently and for an extended period of time.”
These loading disadvantages do not exist for a vehicle powered by a hydrogen combustion engine. Refueling takes virtually as long as diesel, and the range of 800 kilometers is significantly longer than that of battery trucks. These vehicles will not be able to travel more than 400 kilometers on a single charge in the future years.
However, Borsboom adds, we are not there solely because of the technology in the vehicle. “All future developments are contingent on the availability of green hydrogen. It is illogical to operate with hydrogen produced by coal-fired power plants.” After all, producing such hydrogen from coal remains a highly dirty process.
However, once green hydrogen is accessible, a refueling network suited for heavy vehicles will need to be established. Not only in the Netherlands, but throughout Europe, and most notably along long-distance transport corridors, Borsboom asserts.
Other brands, including Volvo Trucks, Iveco, and Mercedes, reaffirm the importance of a robust refueling infrastructure. As is the case with battery propulsion, the rate of energy transfer is determined by the availability of hydrogen and associated (charging) infrastructure. And the trucking sector looks to national and international governments for assistance in this endeavor.
Infrastructure is also the most significant disadvantage for DAF’s H2 truck. The Netherlands has nine hydrogen filling stations, however not all of them are accessible to the public. Germany fared slightly better, with about a hundred hydrogen filling stations, but further pressure is needed to allow trucks to fill up with hydrogen. Currently, charging is limited to 350 bar, which is somewhat low even for some passenger cars. Charging systems of at least 700 bar will be required to ensure that recharging does not consume an excessive amount of important time.
As with other vehicle manufacturers, DAF requires further time to advance hydrogen combustion technology. Although the present driving prototype was developed swiftly, the car was not ready for production until the second half of the 1920s. The fact that Toyota of Japan is already experimenting with a hydrogen-powered passenger car says little. Passenger automobiles are designed to travel no more than 200,000 kilometers, but trucks are designed to travel up to 1.6 million kilometers. A benefit of using hydrogen in an internal combustion engine – as DAF does – is that the hydrogen’s purity is less critical. When employed in a fuel cell, the quality of the material is significantly more critical.
