MAN to construct 200 hydrogen vans — to show they will not work?

Europe’s second-largest business truck maker goes to construct 200 hydrogen-powered semi vans, however stays skeptical concerning the viability of hydrogen as a transport gas.

It’s an odd announcement, so far as these items go. MAN even went as far as to reiterate its dedication to battery-electric automobiles for “most” functions, unusual for an announcement a few hydrogen-fueled product that the corporate plans to attempt to really promote to a choose variety of prospects who carry extra-heavy hundreds like timber or elements for offshore wind generators. Different hydrogen strangeness contains claims that “it’s going to nonetheless be just a few years earlier than the expertise is actually market-ready and aggressive.”

These claims don’t come from MAN Truck’s notoriously hydrogen-skeptical CEO, Alexander Vlaskamp, who instructed reporters that it was, “unimaginable for hydrogen to successfully compete with battery electrical vans,” again in January. “In the present day you can’t purchase hydrogen for lower than 13 or 14 euros … and it’s not inexperienced. And when we’ve inexperienced hydrogen it is going to be wanted for the heavy business of metal, cement, or plastic.”

So — if all that’s true, why is MAN persevering with to spend money on hydrogen-powered car packages?
“Solely to check our speculation,” mentioned Vlaskamp (emphasis mine). “We might use hydrogen for transportation in 2035, however provided that there may be sufficient inexperienced hydrogen on the proper value and the mandatory infrastructure is in place.”

MAN CEO expresses doubts about H

And, as famous above, Vlaskamp isn’t alone. MAN’s board member for analysis and growth, Frederik Zohm, mentioned that the corporate is the one saying hydrogen nonetheless has years to go. “(MAN) continues to analysis gas cell expertise based mostly on battery electrics,” he mentioned, in an announcement quoted by Hydrogen Perception, earlier than one other board member added that, “we (MAN) anticipate that, sooner or later, we will greatest serve the overwhelming majority of our prospects’ transport functions with battery-electric vans.”

So far as the hydrogen vans themselves go, the H2 combustion engine seems to have taken heart stage in MAN’s hydrogen product street map, with the corporate’s beforehand acknowledged plans to place its FCEV semi into restricted manufacturing in 2025 seemingly pushed again to make method for this run.

Dubbed the MAN gTGX, the vans are fitted with a 56 kg tank that it says will be stuffed with hydrogen compressed at 700 bar in quarter-hour. And, with tailpipe emissions coming in at lower than 1kg of CO₂ per km, the truck will probably be categorized as a “zero-emissions car” beneath the EU’s street transport laws.

MAN says its H2 combustion engine will ship an enormous 1800+ lb-ft. of torque (2500 Nm), sufficient to haul extra 220,000 lbs. (100 tonnes) of payload.

Electrek’s Take

This complete factor is unusual, proper? Think about RAM vans asserting a brand new diesel pickup and together with quotes from a number of executives concerning the expertise being a step or two behind the electrical vans from Ford and Tesla. It might be weird.

That mentioned, the message right here appears to be that, if Europe desires to maintain spending cash on hydrogen vans, MAN will probably be completely satisfied to take it. That’s what I’m getting, anyway — what about you guys? Scroll on right down to the feedback and tell us.