Owner/Driver #328

tech briefs
Daimler and Volvo connect for fuel
cell venture
TWO OF THE BIGGEST names in truckmaking,
Daimler and Volvo, are aiming
to form a 50-50 joint venture to explore
fuel cells for heavy-duty vehicles.
The move is a decisive shift in favour
of fuel cell technology at a time when
electric propulsion’s future has been
territory disputed with battery power
proponents.
Still at an early stage, it so far involves
Daimler Truck and the Volvo Group
signing a preliminary non-binding
agreement to establish the JV.
Their intention is to develop, produce
and commercialise fuel cell systems for
heavy-duty vehicle applications and
other uses.
Daimler aims to consolidate all its
current fuel cell activities in the joint
venture.
The Volvo Group would then acquire
50 per cent in the joint venture for about
Euro 600 million (A$1.03 billion) “on a
cash and debt free basis”.
“Truly CO2-neutral transport can
be accomplished through electric
drive trains with energy coming
either from batteries or by converting
hydrogen on board into electricity,”
Daimler Truck chairman Martin Daum
says.
“For trucks to cope with heavy
loads and long distances, fuel cells
are one important answer and a
technology where Daimler has built
up significant expertise through its
Mercedes-Benz fuel cell unit over the
last two decades.”
It has been a busy and surprising past
five months for Volvo Trucks globally on
the cooperation front, with the group
having formed a strategic alliance with
Isuzu in December which sees UD go to
the Japanese company.
The latest move dovetails with the
European Union’s European Green Deal
initiative towards carbon neutrality by
2050, announced last December.
That occurred a matter of weeks
after Daimler Trucks & Buses
nominated 2039 for its CO2-neutral
driving operations in major northern
hemisphere markets.
“Electrification of road transport is
a key element in delivering the so
called Green Deal, a carbon neutral
Europe and ultimately a carbon
neutral world,” Volvo Group president
and CEO Martin Lundstedt says.
“Using hydrogen as a carrier of green
electricity to power electric trucks in
long-haul operations is one important
part of the puzzle, and a complement
to battery electric vehicles and
renewable fuels.
“By forming this joint venture, we
are clearly showing that we believe
in hydrogen fuel cells for commercial
vehicles. But for this vision to become
Above: Assembly line for a fuel cell drive unit
at Daimler’s research centre in Kirchheim-
Nabern, Germany
reality, other companies and institutions
also need to support and contribute to
this development, not least in order to
establish the fuel infrastructure needed.”
The joint venture is to operate as an
independent and autonomous entity,
with Daimler Truck and the Volvo Group
continuing to be competitors in all other
areas of business.
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