Electric battery or hydrogen – what is the drive of the future?

Truck manufacturers must reduce the emissions of their vehicles

Will it use electric batteries or hydrogen fuel cells? Or both?

There are different strategies

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Illustration, Photo: Shutterstock
Illustration, Photo: Shutterstock
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Whether it's food, clothing or electronics - most consumer goods are delivered by truck. But this causes a lot of environmental pollution. In Europe, trucks are responsible for 28 percent of traffic emissions, even though they only make up two percent of the total number of vehicles, according to the European Green Transport Association.

How to reduce harmful emissions from truck traffic?

The best option is electric motors. The electricity for them can come from a battery, like in a car, or it can be produced using hydrogen in a fuel cell.

In cars and light delivery vehicles, battery power has already won. The reason is simple: battery electric vehicles are cheaper to purchase and maintain compared to hydrogen-powered vehicles.

But trucks have additional challenges: they travel much longer distances every day, up to 800 kilometers, and carry significantly heavier loads. That's why carriers are carefully considering all options.

Are heavy electric trucks suitable for long routes?

Just a few years ago, battery-powered heavy-duty trucks seemed impossible to many, Felipe Rodriguez, director of the heavy-duty vehicle program at the International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT) in Berlin, told Deutsche Welle (DW). "There were a lot of misconceptions about what batteries could achieve. They were considered too expensive, too heavy and too big," he explains.

The idea was that large trucks would require huge batteries, which would reduce their carrying capacity. In addition, the batteries would drain quickly when driving with heavy loads, and drivers would have to wait hours for a charge.

"But what has happened in recent years is really impressive," Rodriguez says.

The price of lithium-ion batteries has fallen significantly over the past decade due to cheaper raw materials and components. At the same time, production capacity has increased. This is due to extensive government investment in electric mobility to reduce harmful emissions from private vehicles.

Over time, the energy density of batteries has also improved. This means that a truck with the same size battery can now travel significantly longer distances. Charging stations are also becoming more powerful. Scientists and companies are working on charging systems with a power of several thousand kilowatts. This could reduce the charging time of electric trucks from several hours to just 15 minutes. Drivers could use this time to take their mandatory 30 to 45 minute breaks.

What are the advantages of hydrogen fuel cell trucks?

The biggest advantage of hydrogen trucks is the ability to reduce emissions without limiting the amount of cargo they can carry. Also, refueling with hydrogen is extremely fast.

Fuel cells work similarly to batteries, but instead of electricity, they use hydrogen and oxygen. The only byproducts are heat and water.

"Filling such a truck takes place in almost the same way as filling a diesel-powered truck," says Volker Hazenberg, head of hydrogen strategy at Daimler Trucks.

Fuel cells are a particularly good option for transporting very heavy loads.

"Imagine machines in the construction sector. The heavier the load, the greater the advantage a hydrogen truck has," adds Hazenberg.

What is the CO2 emission of these technologies?

When it comes to reducing emissions, electric trucks have the edge. According to the ICCT, they reduce CO2 emissions by around 65 percent compared to diesel vehicles when powered by a mix of fossil fuels and renewable energy. When powered solely by clean energy, they reduce emissions by as much as 92 percent.

On the other hand, hydrogen trucks reduce CO2 emissions by only 33 percent compared to diesel. This percentage increases to 89 percent if the hydrogen is produced exclusively using renewable energy. However, this rarely happens due to the lack of "green hydrogen".

Which technology is cheaper?

Hydrogen-powered trucks are still sold very little, while battery-powered trucks are becoming increasingly popular. The main advantage of electric trucks is their significantly lower energy consumption compared to hydrogen-powered trucks, making them more economical.

Charging electric trucks is more energy efficient because the battery is charged directly with electricity, while the hydrogen process is more complex and less efficient.

What does the future of these technologies look like?

As batteries become cheaper and more powerful, most major truck manufacturers are opting for batteries instead of hydrogen fuel cells.

However, companies like Daimler and Volvo believe that batteries will never be developed enough to transport extremely heavy loads, which is why they continue to develop hydrogen-powered trucks.

"It's better to have two options than one," Hazenberg concludes.

Estimates show that hydrogen trucks will account for no more than ten percent of truck traffic by 2050, while the vast majority of trucks will be battery-powered.

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