One of the large engine manufacturers involved in hydrogen ICEs is Cummins, despite the US corporation possessing extensive fuel cell expertise following its takeover of Hydrogenics. In Europe, where over 10,000 people are now employed by Cummins, the company is cooperating with a number of other businesses, including Scania. Cummins’ historical roots are in engine development, which is why Jennifer Rumsey, president and chief operating officer, backed up its strategy by saying: “Hydrogen engines are able to speed up the rollout of the hydrogen economy. There will be a market for them. There isn’t one single solution.”

Another competitor that is convinced combustion engines are the future is FPT Industrial. The Iveco Group subsidiary exhibited its XC13, a multifuel engine that can run on diesel, methane or hydrogen. The six-cylinder engine offers 600 horsepower and meets the fleet-wide carbon dioxide emissions target applicable from 2025.

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Issues with vehicle length

The focus of an ongoing and controversial discussion is vehicle overlength – an issue which also brings into question how hydrogen tanks are installed. While some industry players claim they solved this challenge long ago, others are still searching out legal loopholes or regulatory assistance. The crux of the problem is that the installation of hydrogen vessels behind the cab makes the trucks 60 to 80 centimeters (24 to 31 inches) too long, meaning that all vehicles would require individual approval. Certainly not a practical option.

Nikola, for example, chose to circumvent this regulatory hurdle, aided by a special rule on fuel economy due to improved aerodynamics. Faun, meanwhile, integrates its hydrogen storage into the chassis.

In Hannover the new Faun subsidiary, Enginius, demonstrated its own solution in the form of a prototype of the new CityPower, which was presented to the public for the first time. This second model released by the Bremen-based company (following the BluePower – see H2-international, August 2022) uses an Atego from Daimler Trucks which features a 9-metric ton payload and a 500-kilometer (310-mile) range with 32 kilograms of hydrogen (at 700 bar). Initial field tests are due to begin at the end of 2023, with commercialization planned for 2024.

“The commercial vehicle sector is wonderfully unemotional – all that counts is the total costs of ownership (TCO).”

IAA exhibitor

Iveco and Nikola present Tre FCEV

Also not limiting itself to electromobility was the Iveco Group. As well as presenting the battery-powered Iveco Daily cargo van, the corporation unveiled its beta version of the European Nikola Tre fuel cell vehicle, which reportedly has a range of up to 800 kilometers (500 miles). The mass production of this long-haul semi-trailer truck for the North American market is provisionally planned to start at the end of 2023 in Coolidge, Arizona; for the European market it’s earmarked for the first half of 2024 in Ulm, Germany. That’s in spite of the announced shipment numbers having been repeatedly reduced.

President of Nikola Corporation Michael Lohscheller said: “This will be the beginning of a new era in clean commercial vehicles and innovative energy solutions for Europe.” Luca Sra, Truck Business Unit president of Iveco Group, added: “Today we are making history with the first products for the European market resulting from Iveco’s strong partnership with Nikola Corp. Our teams have co-developed a modular platform that is suitable for both fuel cell electric and battery electric powertrain technologies […]. It’s the world’s first electrically designed modular platform for heavy-duty tractor units that can run on both energy sources. A real revolution.”

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