Being used on a daily route between Cologne, Germany and Eupen, Belgium, the heavy-duty truck is being used in a pay-per-use model, offered by rental company, hylane, part of DVEK which specialises in providing comprehensive hydrogen solutions in the logistics sector.

DB Schenker revealed its intentions to use the hydrogen-powered vehicle in June last year (2022). At the time, Helmut Schweighofer, CEO of DB Schenker Europe, commented, “I’m grateful to see the progress we are now making towards testing a hydrogen powered vehicle for linehaul transportation, which will be an important step on our journey towards carbon-neutral road transportation.”

Germany has made significant moves in recent years to become one of the major markets for zero-emission commercial vehicle technologies. The H2 MOBILITY Deutschland consortium has deployed more than 90 hydrogen refuelling stations in the country since 2015.

Parker Meeks, President and interim CEO of Hyzon, commented, “Hyzon’s proprietary fuel cell technology – developed, tested and implemented over the course of two decades – is purpose-built for heavy-duty applications, and perfectly aligns with the needs of logistics customers such as DB Schenker.”

“Our trucks are being deployed in challenging environments around the world and we are gaining real-life, operational experience with forward-thinking partners such as hylane and DB Schenker – helping us progress our vehicle performance and thus global decarbonisation,” Meeks added.