Daimler Truck and the Volvo Group released a letter of intent on Tuesday for a newly formed joint venture. This partnership aims to realize the development and application of hydrogen technology for trucks.
Daimler Truck, known for Mercedes-Benz trucks, will transfer all its current hydrogen and fuel cell development activities to the newly formed joint venture. The Volvo Group, not to be confused with the Volvo Car Corporation, buys in for 600 million euros and thereby acquires a 50 percent share. The joint venture is expected to close in the third quarter of this year and be completed by the end of 2020. “This partnership with the Volvo Group is a milestone in getting trucks and buses with a fuel cell on board,” said Martin Daum, Chairman of Daimler Truck.
In a fuel cell, the chemical energy of hydrogen and oxygen is converted into electricity that drives electric motors. Hydrogen is in principle a green fuel, for example when green electricity is used to convert water into hydrogen. In addition, hydrogen can be obtained by steam reforming, in which natural gas is combined with steam. This is known as blue hydrogen, because fossil fuels are required and CO2 is therefore released during production. Because this is captured and stored, blue hydrogen is slightly more sustainable than gray hydrogen, whereby the CO2 is not stored.