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We as Daimler Truck strive to lead sustainable transportation with a clear commitment to two drive technologies: battery-electric and hydrogen-powered trucks and buses. As a result, we invest in hydrogen technology on a grand scale.

By 2026, cellcentric, our joint venture with Volvo Group, will put in operation one of Europe’s largest production facilities for fuel cells. Moreover, in the second half of this decade, our Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck will hit the road, undergoing rigorous testing already.

The RONN truck line will include cab-over, box delivery, cutaway delivery, walk-through parcel delivery, and drop roof walk-through parcel delivery trucks. RONN Motor Group anticipates delivering proto-types Q4 2023 and showcasing the vehicles to US fleets Q2 of 2024.

One of the successful projects is the proposed Bremner 100 per cent Hydrogen Community in Strathcona County, Alberta. Together, ATCO and Qualico are studying the logistics, technology requirements and other considerations involved in safely and affordably developing 100 per cent pure hydrogen communities – an important step towards eliminating carbon emissions that are produced when we heat our homes and use hot water. Findings will demonstrate feasibility and contribute to designing this unique community. A future home to 85,000 residents and to commercial and industrial businesses, Bremner will be Sherwood Park’s newest community, a Canadian first, and globally, the largest scale project of its kind.

Progress has also been made for deploying hydrogen in the passenger ship sector. A new Norwegian consortium is looking to develop the hydrogen value chain for a Northern Xplorer cruise vessel.

The Consortium partners comprise zero-emissions cruise venture Northern Xplorer, hydrogen provider and owner of infrastructure Norwegian Hydrogen, high-capacity hydrogen transfer system supplier HYON, ship designers Multi Maritime and hydrogen storage system provider Hexagon Purus Maritime.

The partners signed an MoU in January with the goal of developing a complete hydrogen value chain for Northern Xplorer’s first zero-emissions cruise ship featuring fuel cells and electric propulsion and making pollution-free hydrogen available to the wider maritime market.

The North American hydrogen buses market holds a significant market share. Rising initiatives by private companies and government bodies to foster the growth of emission-free vehicles in the region are propelling the market development of hydrogen-powered buses, Future Market Insights states.

"When we started, HFCs weren't on our radar screen," he says. "We soon realized, however, that CNG was a waypoint on the path to our goal, not the ultimate destination. As we learned more and more about alternative fuels it became apparent that HFCs were the real long-term sustainability solution we were seeking."

The buses initially cost $2 million each. Now they're down to $1 million. Stark County used $20 million in state and federal grants to pay for 15 hydrogen buses.

Conrad says he gets calls every week from municipalities looking to get hydrogen buses. He has talked to Cincinnati.

Texas is well-situated to lead in hydrogen market development, given its existing comparative advantages. These include:

A robust industrial sector, especially in petroleum products, chemicals, plastics, and rubber manufacturing (13.2% of U.S. GDP in these sectors, collectively, in 2021) co-located with the nation’s largest regional port capacity.
An existing hydrogen market with two-thirds of U.S. hydrogen transport infrastructure.
An investment environment that is generally supportive of infrastructure development.
A large natural gas production, transport, storage, and end-use footprint (accounting for 60.5% of U.S. GDP in oil and gas extraction and 24.6% of U.S. GDP in pipeline transportation in 2021).
Excellent geology for long-term storage of hydrogen and CO2.
Deep expertise in logistics and supply chain management (accounting for 11.6% of U.S. GDP in wholesale trade and 10.0% of U.S. GDP in transportation and warehousing).