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Current electric and hydrogen trucks face clear technical and economic limitations.
Creating an environment for mass production of hydrogen-to-electricity direct conversion fuel cells.

Germany has invested 80 million euros in developing fuel cell technology that is industrially feasible and market-competitive, aiming to promote eco-friendly mobility in the heavy-duty freight transport sector.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT's Science, Technology and ICT Trends No. 224, the German Federal Ministry for Digital Transport (BMDV) is planning to provide over 80 million euros in R&D subsidies to the Fraunhofer Society for the development of fuel cell technology in the heavy-duty freight transport sector.

Federal Minister for Digitalisation and Transport Volker Wissing presented the 'H2GO - National Action Plan for Fuel Cell Production' and announced a total of over €80 million in funding for a consortium of 19 Fraunhofer institutes.

The budget is based on the inter-ministerial 'Automobile Industry Future Fund (Zukunftsfonds Automobilindustrie)' launched in 2020 with the goal of promoting product and process innovation through the development of future mobility production technologies.

Despite the spread of eco-friendly mobility and improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency, the increase in freight volume is increasing carbon emissions, raising the need for alternative mobility that does not use fossil fuels in the large-scale freight transport sector.

Freight transport is still dominated by diesel fuel, and current technologies that could replace it have clear economic and technological limitations.

Electric trucks have battery weight and long recharge times.Due to the system, it is used in niche markets that focus on small, short-distance, or urban delivery.

Another option, hydrogen, has the advantage of being able to provide energy as quickly as diesel and offering a similar maximum driving range, but the fuel cells required for this are not being widely adopted due to their economic feasibility and technological complexity.

This project by the German Federal Ministry for Digitalization and Transport aims to develop fuel cell technology that is industrially feasible and market-competitive, and to establish a system in which the developed solutions are provided digitally to all participants through a platform (Virtual Reference Factory).

Nineteen Fraunhofer institutes will work to create an environment for mass production of high-performance fuel cells that directly convert hydrogen into electricity onboard vehicles, and will actively utilize the regional network where each institute is located to focus on developing new manufacturing technologies.

The Virtual Reference Factory architecture is expected to serve as a foundation for value chain participants to reference and implement the technology more organically and quickly.

This project is expected to strengthen the competitiveness of Germany's related industries, reduce the costs of introducing and operating hydrogen vehicles in the large freight transport sector, and provide an environmentally friendly transportation alternative.

In addition, given the characteristics of the Fraunhofer Institute, which engages in many joint research activities with industry, direct and indirect support is expected to be provided to small and medium-sized enterprises involved in the fuel cell value chain, such as fuel cell production technology, machinery, electrolysis plant engineering, and technology for large cargo and special vehicles.