Daimler touts 650-mile trip in fuel cell truck

Daimler Truck said it achieved a milestone with its Mercedes-Benz fuel cell truck last week by exacting 650 miles from just one tank of hydrogen.

The Mercedes-Benz GenH2 truck is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell system built by Cellcentric, a joint venture with truck rival Volvo Group.

The truck, which has a gross combined vehicle weight of 40 tons, began its journey last Monday afternoon in Woerth am Rhein, Germany, and finished the next morning in Berlin.

Such long distances will be necessary to meet demand for zero-emission trucks that can travel as far as their diesel counterparts. Daimler is developing fuel cell technology for both European markets and the U.S., where it owns the Freightliner truck brand.

The truck features a different architecture from most of the fuel cell commercial vehicles under development and the small number of passenger cars on the road. It uses a liquid hydrogen fuel tank.

There's a debate developing about whether liquid or gaseous hydrogen is the best way to store energy in fuel cell vehicles. Liquid hydrogen holds greater energy density and provides a longer range. But both the storage and fuel pump technology must function at an extreme minus 253 degrees Celsius.

Gaseous hydrogen requires pressurization and more extensive fueling infrastructure but doesn't have the same temperature constraints.