Volvo Group, Daimler Truck, Toyota Motor Corporation, Bosch, Air Liquide, TotalEnergies, TEAL Mobility, and MB Energy have announced plans to accelerate the deployment of hydrogen-powered trucks across Europe, with Germany positioned as a launchpad for scalable hydrogen mobility by 2030.
The companies unveiled their plans at IAA Transportation, highlighting collaboration across vehicle manufacturing, hydrogen production, supply, refuelling infrastructure, and mobility services.
The industry group said hydrogen can complement battery-electric vehicles in supporting Europe’s decarbonisation targets, particularly for heavy-duty trucking applications requiring long driving ranges, high payload capacity, rapid refuelling, and operational flexibility.
Daimler Truck said customers have already driven almost 600,000 kilometres with fuel cell trucks. The company plans to deploy a small series of 100 next-generation fuel cell trucks in customer operations from the end of 2026. It is also preparing hydrogen combustion engine trucks for market launch in 2027 and plans to invest a mid-three-digit-million-euro amount in hydrogen trucks by the end of the decade.
Volvo Group is advancing both fuel-cell and hydrogen-combustion truck technologies, with market rollout targeted towards 2030. Toyota will support the initiative as a technology partner, drawing on more than three decades of fuel-cell development, while Bosch is supplying key vehicle components for gaseous hydrogen and refuelling technologies for both liquid and gaseous hydrogen.
On the infrastructure side, Volvo Group and Daimler Truck are working with Air Liquide, TotalEnergies, MB Energy, and TEAL Mobility to expand liquid and gaseous hydrogen supply chains. The partners are targeting high-capacity refuelling stations capable of servicing up to 100 trucks per day.
The companies identified three key measures needed to make hydrogen trucks more competitive with diesel: reducing vehicle costs through incentives and series production, achieving diesel-competitive hydrogen prices through stronger supply chains and greenhouse-gas quota mechanisms, and providing operating incentives such as zero-emission toll exemptions.
Germany’s recent NOW funding programme has also indicated strong demand, with more than 70 high-capacity hydrogen stations and 800 heavy-duty trucks included in applications submitted by industrial companies.
While Germany is being positioned as an operational launchpad, the participating companies are calling for coordinated action from European governments and the European Commission to scale the model across the continent.
The proposed measures include coordinated funding for hydrogen refuelling stations and vehicles in line with Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) targets, harmonised renewable-fuel credit mechanisms and toll incentives, and measures to reduce investment risks across the hydrogen value chain.
