Electric heavy lorries poised to overtake hydrogen trucks
Hydrogen-powered heavy lorries were once seen as the future of emissions-free road transport but they could soon be relegated to niche markets in Europe, overtaken by electric trucks.
On the outskirts of Trondheim in western Norway, food wholesaler Asko has since 2020 been testing four hydrogen fuel cell trucks supplied by Swedish truckmaker Scania.
Integration problems, defective parts and a forced stoppage after the explosion of a charging station near Oslo have meant the vehicles have been available for use only 30 to 40 percent of the time.
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"They're not on the road as much as we would have liked. That's the least we can say," admits Asko project head Roger Saether.
"But we're convinced that it will all work out in the end."
When they're running, the trucks, which have a range of up to 500 kilometres (310 miles), supply supermarkets spread across a vast region.
For closer deliveries, the group uses battery-run vehicles, which today have a shorter range.
That distribution of roles -- hydrogen lorries for heavy loads over long distances, electric ones for lighter loads on short distances -- has long been accepted as standard among industry experts due to the advantages and disadvantages of each technology.
But things are changing.
"Now what we're seeing is that contrary to a few years ago, electric trucks and buses are actually playing an increasingly big role and we also see a very important role for them to play in the decarbonisation (process)," said Fedor Unterlohner, freight manager at NGO Transport and Environment.
Heavy duty vehicles account for six percent of the European Union's greenhouse gas emissions.
Brussels has called for the industry to reduce its emissions by 45 percent
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