Methanol – the “Oil“ of Tomorrow?

A Small H2 Series Will Be Used to Gather Practical Experience on the Road Starting in 2025

The pressure from the market is great: haulage companies are looking for new drive solutions that will help to further advance the decarbonization of road freight transport. Various manufacturers are also focusing on combustion engines that run on hydrogen: proven technology that can be converted to run on hydrogen relatively easily. Dr. Andreas Broda, Vice President / Head of Fuel Based Propulsion Systems, MAN Truck & Bus SE, will be speaking about this at the 12th International Engine Congress – and answering our questions in advance.
 

Mr. Broda, what are the plans for the launch of the MAN hydrogen small series?

The H2 product will hit the road in selected markets in 2025. The plan is to deliver around 200 vehicles nationally and internationally. We are seeing a particularly strong push from Scandinavia, where transport companies are urgently looking for suitable vehicles to put hydrogen networks into operation. In the Netherlands, for example, there is already a comparatively high density of filling stations.
 

What is the intention behind this project?

The small series is an important step towards gaining experience with hydrogen technologies in practice and breaking up the ongoing discussion “Which came first: the chicken or the egg?” to a certain extent. We believe that the hydrogen drive can be a very good entry into a hydrogen-based logistics and transportation world. The combustion engine, in this case a petrol engine, is well known and proven, so this concept immediately aroused strong interest in the market – not only in Europe, but also beyond.
 

In your opinion, is this merely an intermediate step on the way to the fuel cell or can combustion engines that run on hydrogen establish themselves in the commercial vehicle sector in the longer term?

Vehicles with fuel cells are not currently available in the short term. This is why the small series with technology that is familiar to our customers – the combustion engine – is a good entry point for us into the world of hydrogen, which will undoubtedly continue to develop. Starting with a ZEV-classified hydrogen combustion engine, then later with an electrified fuel cell drive.

However, I am convinced that the hydrogen-powered combustion engine can be more than just a bridging technology – especially from a global perspective. It can also be an important emission-free addition to purely electric trucks, for example in forestry or for construction site vehicles, some of which are in operation 24/7. We rely on compressed gaseous hydrogen (CGH2) with 700 bar pressure tanks, so that both commercial vehicle-specific 700 bar filling stations and tank systems potentially designed for passenger cars with lower storage pressures can be used.

It is therefore very possible that this drive system could become established in various parts of the world in the long term. The price and availability of green hydrogen will be decisive for economical and environmentally friendly operation. After all, the total cost of ownership (TCO) is always at the forefront of commercial vehicles.
 

You've already touched on it briefly: Has the reaction from the market met your expectations?

We have received a lot of positive feedback on this. Transport companies that are active in the hydrogen environment and operate logistics chains for hydrogen producers, for example, are interested in the possibility of using the fuel themselves. The feedback at the IAA 2024 was also that our customers with an affinity for hydrogen see the hydrogen combustion engine as the logical step into the H2 world.
 

What were the biggest challenges in developing the small series?

One of the main challenges was to integrate the type 4 hydrogen pressure tanks (700 bar) into the vehicles. We opted for a dimension that would enable a range of at least 600 kilometers. We found a very good solution for tank integration behind the driver's cab.

We also opted for a direct injection concept in order to achieve the dynamic performance that customers know and expect from diesel engines. Another issue was to tailor the software development to the drive system, with the aim of achieving the closest possible diesel-like behavior with comparable consumption values. When selecting materials, we naturally paid attention to hydrogen-compliant materials that are not subject to embrittlement.

Overall, however, the path to small series production was relatively straightforward, especially as we were able to draw on our many years of experience with hydrogen engines. Both the engine and the vehicle can be built on the respective series production lines. The latter receives the special hydrogen tank system in a separate step. This means that we can also integrate the production of the small series very well into our existing processes.
 

How will you accompany the testing?

We will closely monitor the operation of the H2 trucks in order to collect further data on the behavior of the product. We will keep a close eye on factors such as oil ageing and oil stability as well as the stability of the injection systems and spark plugs. However, our expectation is that we will not experience any major surprises with regard to the reliability of the technology.
 

Should it remain a small series – or could it become more in the coming years?

The small series is currently planned for selected markets. The 200 vehicles initially planned for the small series will be delivered to customers in Norway, Iceland, the Netherlands, Germany and the UAE. Delivery to other countries is currently being examined. The TCO situation depends, among other things, on how the market price for hydrogen develops. To achieve price parity with diesel, a range of 4 to 6 euros per kg of hydrogen is required – we have not yet reached that point.
 

But do you generally see potential?

In any case! We are talking about a robust, well-known technology – not only for us, but also for our customers. We are in the ultra-low NOx range for EURO 7 - well below the limits. Personally, I am convinced that we will also see trucks with hydrogen combustion engines in certain segments in the long term, given the availability of H2