The first year of testing five GenH2 hydrogen trucks with Amazon, Air Products, Holcim, Ineos Inovyn, and Wiedmann & Winz, was completed in September. The vehicles racked up more than 225,000km in customer use trials.

Daimler has now added five additional customers to the programme. Hornbach, Reber Logistik, Teva Germany/Ratiopharm, Rhenus, and DHL Supply Chain will each run a fuel cell truck on normal delivery routes in Germany for around one year.

The second phase aims to gather additional operational data across sectors, refine service and sales processes, and test new route types – from temperature-controlled pharmaceutical logistics to long-haul freight.

Each 40-tonne GenH2 truck features a 300kW fuel cell.

In the first trial phase, the fleet refuelled exclusively at the liquid hydrogen stations in Wörth and Duisburg, consuming between 5.6 and 8.0kg of hydrogen per 100km depending on load and duty cycle.

After the trial, Daimler plans to start producing 100 small-series GenH2 trucks at its Wörth plant from late 2026, before full industrial-scale production in the early 2030s.

Nevertheless, the automotive major reiterated that Europe’s hydrogen refuelling network must be ready by then.

In a statement, the company said, “When it comes to decarbonising transport, Daimler Truck is pursuing a dual-track strategy with battery and hydrogen-powered vehicles.”

“However, the expansion of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure is progressing significantly slower than expected. As a result, customers will not be able to deploy hydrogen trucks in large numbers in the next few years.”