While battery electric vehicles is Scania’s main technology to drive the shift towards a sustainable transport system, the company is also exploring the potential for hydrogen and fuel cell solutions. In fact, Scania’s first fuel cell trucks are all set to be delivered to customers in Switzerland.
The fuel cell trucks, with a total operating weight of between 40 to 70 tonnes, will be delivered to companies Switzerland in 2024 and 2025. The companies have varied operations, such as Emmi AG is a dairy company, Genossenschaft Migros Zürich that operates in retail, Gysin Tiefbau AG which is a construction company that transports heavy machinery in the Basel region, and TRAVECO Transporte AG which is a national logistic company.
Although Scania has previously developed fuel cell trucks in research projects and collaborations, the Swiss trucks are Scania’s first to be sold commercially to customers.
Just as Scania expands its electric truck offering to cater for even more segments and applications, the company said that it has great interest to learn more about what role green hydrogen might play. “To accelerate the transition to emission free transports, we need to be open-minded and consider that some types of transports are hard to abate in other ways,” says Tony Sandberg, Head of Scania Pilot Partner.
Battery electric vehicles remain Scania’s priority, as those in general offer the best solution to our customers and are the first zero-tailpipe emission technology to reach the market broadly. But to accelerate the shift, Scania needs all sources of renewable energy. Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier, a good way of storing renewable energy over long cycles, and it will play an important role in decarbonisation the energy system if produced from renewable energy.
