Quantron makes waves
When it comes to market rival Quantron, meanwhile, many industry players are still doubtful whether the spinoff from long-standing company Haller will actually be able to live up to the heady promises made over past months. Doubtless the company, based in the German city of Augsburg, has an excellent marketing department, as evidenced by the unveiling of multiple world premieres in Hannover.
Among them, a battery-powered Cizaris 12 EV city bus and the Daily QLI FCEV, which has subsequently been available to order. Showcased as Quantron’s crowning glory, however, was “The Monster” – which was confidently fanfared as the “Champion for Heavy Duty Transport.” The QHM FCEV (44 metric tons with 54 kilograms of hydrogen) supposedly achieves 600 to 700 kilometers (370 to 435 miles) on one fill-up whereas the Nordic version (60 metric tons with 116 kilograms of hydrogen) is claimed to reach up to 1,500 kilometers (930 miles). Support for the production of its hydrogen solutions comes from a band of well-known suppliers. The fuel cell stacks are sourced from Ballard, the power unit from Allison Transmission, the hydrogen tanks from NProxx and the refueling system from Neumann & Esser.
All this is tied up in the Quantron-as-a-service (QaaS) operating concept, which CEO Michael Perschke presented as a 360-degree ecosystem – a no-worry full-service package containing everything required, from the production of green hydrogen and appropriate infrastructure through financing and servicing schemes.
The first shipments of the “range champions,” as Perschke calls them, are expected to take place in mid-2023. To be able to serve customers from industry, logistics and food processing as well as the public sector, Quantron has ordered an initial batch of 140 latest-generation fuel cells for its heavy-duty trucks from its Canadian supplier.
With regard to the length and permit issue, Quantron stated: “We have our own solution. We have solved it.” The company guarantees “maximum range without restrictions on cab or trailer length.”
500 hydrogen trucks for the USA
Just three weeks after the IAA Transportation event, Quantron received a huge order: The Gersthofen-based truck manufacturer is set to supply 500 fuel cell trucks to American transport company TMP Logistics. The contract, which amounts to almost EUR 1 billion, covers the provision and maintenance of the vehicles as well as the fuel.
By contrast, Paul Nutzfahrzeuge openly admits that the company hasn’t finally resolved how to handle the overlength of its vehicles. To date, the prototypes have required individual approvals. Much more important to the special vehicle manufacturer was the presentation of its fuel cell truck which will be fitted with Toyota stacks as standard from now on. Also on show was Paul’s new modular and scalable PH2P hydrogen storage system, which was developed together with Anleg for original equipment manufacturers and conversion specialists.
In addition, Bernhard Wasner, director of the Paul Group, demonstrated the company’s new Transforming Trucking philosophy in which all activities will be organized henceforth under the umbrella of the Paul Group. He reported with visible pride: “We built the two Keyou prototypes that can be seen at the fair.”
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