Swindon firm is hydrogen truck pioneer

Commercial vehicle manufacturer MAN Truck & Bus will be the first European truck producer to launch a small series with a hydrogen combustion engine.

The Swindon-based firm's initially planned small series of around 200 units is to be delivered to customers in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland and selected non-European countries as early as 2025. 

The MAN hTGX, as the vehicle will be called, offers an alternative zero-emission drive variant for special applications, for example for transporting heavy goods – such as construction work, tank transport or timber transport. 

The hTGX can also be an environmentally friendly alternative to battery-electric trucks for use in areas without sufficient charging infrastructure or for markets where sufficient hydrogen is already available. 

MAN will hand over its battery-electric truck to customers for the first time in 2024 and scale it up from 2025. MAN has been the market leader for electric city buses in Europe since 2023.

 

Friedrich Baumann, Executive Board Member of MAN Truck & Bus and responsible for Sales & Customer Solution., said: "We are continuing to focus on battery-electric vehicles to decarbonise road freight transport. These currently have clear advantages over other drive concepts in terms of energy efficiency and operating and energy costs. 

"However, trucks powered by hydrogen combustion engines are a useful addition for special applications and markets. We anticipate that we will be able to best serve the vast majority of our customers' transport applications with battery-powered trucks. For special applications, hydrogen combustion or, in the future, fuel cell technology is a suitable supplement. 

"The hydrogen combustion engine H45 is based on the proven D38 diesel engine and is produced at the engine and battery plant in Nuremberg. The use of familiar technology enables us to enter the market at an early stage and thus provides a decisive impetus for the ramp-up of the hydrogen infrastructure. 

"With the hTGX, we have now added an attractive product to our zero-emission portfolio."