DACHSER inducts its first hydrogen trucks

DACHSER is going ahead with practical tests of zero‑emission drive technologies for trucks and plans to put two hydrogen fuel-cell (FCEV) trucks into service in Germany by 2023.

Next year, the logistics service provider will put a 27-ton Hyundai Xcient truck on the road in Magdeburg, Germany. The zero-emission truck will be used for regional distribution as well as regular scheduled nighttime services to Berlin. Another hydrogen fuel-cell truck, the 19-ton Enginius Bluepower, will start making deliveries for DACHSER to Hamburg’s city centre in mid-2023.

In Magdeburg, DACHSER is scheduled to start operating a Hyundai Xcient hydrogen fuel-cell truck in early 2023. The vehicle, which has a total permissible weight of 27 metric tons and offers 18 pallet spaces, has a range of up to 400 km, which means it can be used in two‑shift operation. The truck will be driven by professional drivers who are completing their training at DACHSER this year.

While the FCEV truck is tested in regional distribution to the Magdeburg area by day, by night, it will be driving to DACHSER’s branch in Berlin-Schönefeld in system traffic. The zero-emission vehicle will be equipped with a tandem swap-body trailer for nighttime operations. Facilities for the truck to refuel with hydrogen will be available near the two DACHSER branches in Magdeburg and Berlin by the time the vehicle is delivered.

DACHSER’s contractual partner in this project 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 at its roadshow, visiting eleven German cities at the end of 2021.

Stefan Hohm, Chief Development Officer at DACHSER, said, “As part of a study with Kempten University of Applied Sciences, we’ve already determined that there is considerable potential for hydrogen trucks in DACHSER’s European groupage network.”