Mercedes Trucks says it has a long-haul battery-powered truck ready to go.But a lack of charging infrastructure and long charging times still have many in the industry wonder if hydrogen trucks aren't a better way.
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00:00At IAA Transportation in Hanover, all eyes are on the E-Actra 600, Mercedes' new all-electric
00:08long-haul truck.
00:10With a range of 500 kilometers, it's been tested across Europe.
00:14Yet green trucking has made little headway, as charging infrastructure is lacking.
00:19Daimler Trucks' Andreas Gorbach says the government must act.
00:23It will really only work if everyone, politicians and industry pull together.
00:29There is a legislative model, AFIR, the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation, but it's
00:35not binding, unlike CO2 legislation for trucks.
00:40The industry is also investing its own money.
00:42Daimler, Volvo and MAN are part of a joint venture, Milans.
00:47By 2027, Milans plans to build 1,700 charging stations across Europe.
00:52It's a start, but way short of the roughly 30,000 that experts say are needed.
01:00We're thinking along routes.
01:01We know which highways have the most traffic.
01:04The charging stations we're planning will manage to cover that network, so that a truck
01:08can really drive from the north to the south of Europe.
01:14German automotive expert Ferdinand Dudenhofer is skeptical.
01:17He thinks E-trucks aren't suited for long-haul transport.
01:23They all need to recharge from time to time, every three, four, five hundred kilometers.
01:29Look at highway rest stops today and you'll see how many trucks are underway.
01:33If you have 20 or 30 trucks lined up, all wanting to charge, the grid can't handle it.
01:39That's why hydrogen is very important, why it's coming.
01:44A hydrogen-powered truck can travel around 1,000 kilometers on a full tank and fill up
01:49just as quickly as with diesel.
01:52Volvo Trucks is currently developing hydrogen models.
01:55President Roger Alm believes they'll serve as different needs than battery electric trucks.
02:00If you're driving city distribution, for example, or radial haul, you will go with a battery
02:06electric truck, which is the largest volume that we believe that will come.
02:10If you will have longer distance, you go for a fuel cell or a hydrogen truck in the combustion
02:16engine, and also in heavier applications.
02:20To date, less than two percent of the trucks on Europe's roads are powered by alternative
02:25driving systems.
02:26High prices have made haulage companies holding back.
02:29A green truck costs two to three times as much as a diesel-powered model, so many are
02:34waiting for the government to offer incentives.