Truck makers and energy firms scale hydrogen value chain for European freight
Volvo Group, Daimler Truck, Toyota and Bosch are teaming with energy suppliers and retailers to build a European hydrogen value chain for heavy-duty trucks, starting in Germany.
- almost 600,000 km
- 100
- mid-three-digit million euro amount
- up to 100 trucks per day
What Happened
Industry leaders say hydrogen is an important complement to battery-electric vehicles in reaching the EU's decarbonization targets, and they are joining forces to overcome historical bottlenecks. Those bottlenecks weigh most on truck operations that need long range, high payload capacity, rapid refueling and operational flexibility. The group brings together truck makers Daimler Truck and Volvo Group, technology partner Toyota, components supplier Bosch, and energy and retail players including Air Liquide, TotalEnergies and MB Energy.
At Daimler Truck, customers have already driven almost 600,000 kilometers with fuel cell trucks. The company plans to deploy a small series of 100 next generation fuel cell trucks into customer operations from the end of 2026 onwards, while the first hydrogen combustion engine trucks are being prepared for market launch next year. Overall, Daimler Truck is investing a mid-three-digit million euro amount in hydrogen trucks by the end of the decade. Volvo Group is similarly advancing its hydrogen portfolio and investing significant amounts into both fuel-cell and hydrogen-combustion trucks for market rollout towards 2030.
Toyota will participate as a technology partner supporting the expansion of hydrogen mobility, drawing on more than 30 years of expertise gained through the development and supply of fuel cell systems. Bosch is supplying key vehicle components for gaseous hydrogen, with its fuel cell system proven over more than 30 million kilometers on the road, alongside breakthrough refueling technologies for both liquid and gaseous hydrogen.
Daimler Truck plans to deploy a small series of 100 next generation fuel cell trucks into customer operations.
The first hydrogen combustion engine trucks are being prepared for market launch.
Volvo Group targets market rollout of its fuel-cell and hydrogen-combustion trucks.
Daimler Truck's mid-three-digit million euro investment in hydrogen trucks is made.
Volvo Group and Daimler Truck are closely cooperating with energy companies and hydrogen suppliers such as Air Liquide, TotalEnergies and MB Energy, and with retail operators including MB Energy and TEAL Mobility, a 50/50 joint venture between TotalEnergies and Air Liquide that operates under the TotalEnergies brand. These players are mobilizing their respective capacities to scale both liquid and gaseous hydrogen supply chains. Through their infrastructure investments they are advancing toward large capacity, high-throughput refueling stations able to refuel up to 100 trucks per day, and they are leveraging synergies with fast-growing industrial renewable hydrogen production driven by the implementation of the EU's RED III directive. Reaching a competitive cost with diesel is essential for fleet operators to adopt hydrogen.
Germany serves as the operational launchpad, demonstrating how industry action and targeted public support can accelerate market development. Recent applications under Germany's NOW funding program were oversubscribed, with over 70 high-capacity stations and 800 heavy-duty trucks applied for by industrial companies, confirming strong commercial pull from the logistics sector. The industry leaders are calling for strategic measures, supported by national governments and the European Commission, to replicate this model at a continental scale, saying that combining industrial execution with a strong policy framework can scale zero-emission goods freight while reinforcing Europe's industrial competitiveness, energy resilience and employment, and reducing emissions from freight transport.
- Scaling infrastructure through synchronized funding calls for refueling stations and vehicles to meet Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) targets.
- Strengthening the commercial viability of hydrogen through pragmatic, harmonized renewable fuel credit mechanisms and toll incentives.
- Jointly de-risking the overall value chain, from production and liquefaction to final distribution and vehicle operation.
Previously from Volvo Group (AB Volvo)
MotorClaw reported in early September 2026 that truck makers, energy suppliers and industrial companies were teaming with German policymakers to create a benchmark hydrogen ecosystem for heavy-duty transport. In late July 2026, we reported that Toyota Motor Corporation would become an equal shareholder in cellcentric, the heavy-duty fuel cell joint venture, alongside Volvo Group and Daimler Truck.
- Industry leaders join with German policymakers to scale hydrogen mobility for heavy-duty transport
- Toyota joins Volvo Group and Daimler Truck as equal partner in fuel cell joint venture cellcentric
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Volvo Group (AB Volvo)'s official releases.
Why this matters
Hydrogen trucks are positioned as a complement to battery-electric vehicles for haulage that needs long range, high payload, fast refueling and operational flexibility, so these plans matter to fleet operators weighing what to buy and to energy companies funding refueling stations. Germany's oversubscribed funding round points to demand from the logistics sector, and the partners want EU-wide policy to take the model continental.
Terms in This Story
- fuel cell
- A device that converts hydrogen and oxygen into electricity to power a vehicle, emitting water rather than tailpipe pollutants.
- hydrogen combustion engine
- An engine that burns hydrogen as its fuel instead of gasoline or diesel.
- Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR)
- An EU regulation that sets requirements for building out alternative-fuel refueling and charging infrastructure across member states.
- RED III
- The third revision of the EU's Renewable Energy Directive, which sets targets for the share of renewable energy in the EU's energy mix, including renewable hydrogen.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.