Dachser puts first hydrogen trucks into practical use

In the coming year, the logistics service provider in Magdeburg will put a 27-ton Hyundai Xcient truck on the road.

The zero-emission truck will be used for regional distribution and nighttime scheduled services to Berlin. Another truck with a hydrogen fuel cell, the Enginius Bluepower with a gross weight of 19 tonnes, will make deliveries for Dachser to Hamburg’s city center from mid-2023.

Dachser is pushing ahead with practical testing of zero-emission truck drive technologies and will put two hydrogen fuel cell (FCEV) trucks into practical use in Germany in 2023.

In Magdeburg, a Hyundai Xcient hydrogen fuel cell truck is expected to be on the road for Dachser from the beginning of 2023. The vehicle, which has a gross vehicle weight of 27 tons and 18 pallet spaces, has a range of up to 400 kilometers, so it can be used in two-shift operation. The truck will be driven by a female and a male professional driver who will complete their training at Dachser this year. While the FCEV truck is being tested during the day in regional distribution transport in the Magdeburg area, the zero-emission vehicle drives to Dachser’s branch office in Berlin-Schönefeld at night in system transport. During nighttime operations, the zero-emission vehicle is operated with a tandem swap body trailer. Suitable refueling facilities for hydrogen will be available near the two Dachser branches in Magdeburg and Berlin until the vehicle is delivered.

Dachser’s contractual partner is H2 Delivery Truck Pool GmbH & Co. KG in Magdeburg. The sales company is part of H2 Green Power & Logistics GmbH, which presented hydrogen-powered commercial vehicle logistics with the Hyundai Xcient FCEV truck on its roadshow through eleven German cities at the end of 2021.

Emission-free in Hamburg

In Hamburg, Dachser will use a Bluepower 1938 FCEV truck from Bremen-based Enginius – a subsidiary of the Faun Group – for city center deliveries from mid-2023. The truck will then complement the locally emission-free delivery concept DACHSER Emission-Free Delivery, which will start in Hamburg as early as fall 2022. The Bluepower 1938 has a gross vehicle weight of 19 tons and can transport up to 18 pallets of goods with its fixed box body. The estimated range of 250 kilometers plus reserve is ideal for inner-city deliveries and also offers very high recuperation potential. The hydrogen refueling station in Hamburg’s Hafen City is planned for refueling.

“As part of a study with Kempten University of Applied Sciences, we have already identified the considerable potential of hydrogen trucks in Dachser’s European groupage network,” explains Stefan Hohm, Chief Development Officer (CDO) and member of the Dachser Management Board. “With the first two hydrogen trucks in Dachser’s network, we will be able to gather valuable practical experience, and we’re looking forward to that.”