Future-proofing for looming emissions regulations will play out in different ways for different players, but at Volvo Trucks it’s all about electrification. The truck maker already has six battery electric truck models in series production and has sold nearly 5,000 electric trucks across 40 countries.
But electric also encompasses hydrogen fuel cell electric setups, and this is a newer space for Volvo. The company has teamed up with Daimler to develop fuel cell technology through the cellcentric joint venture. Volvo unveiled its first hydrogen fuel cell heavy truck in 2022, and testing on public roads kicked off earlier in 2023. Hydrogen is thought to be a particularly good fit for heavy trucks running longer distances in regions where battery power alone would struggle, such as rural areas lacking charging infrastructure. If all goes to plan, the first fuel cell electric trucks should hit the market in the second half of this decade.
Both hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric will play key roles within the wider Volvo Group carbon neutral vision. Overseeing the technology roadmap to realising this future is Lars Stenqvist, Volvo Group Chief Technology Officer.
“We have never had so many technologies in parallel—battery, fuel cell, internal combustion with renewable fuels, and on top of all that a huge development within software,” he tells Automotive World.