Volvo and Daimler plan to jointly develop hydrogen trucks

Volvo Group and Daimler Trucks have announced plans to form a joint venture to produce heavy-duty vehicles with fuel cells for long-haul applications.

Joining forces will decrease development costs for both companies and accelerate the market introduction of fuel cell systems in products used for heavy-duty transport and demanding long-haul applications. 

To enable the joint venture, Daimler Trucks is bringing together all group-wide fuel cell activities in a new Daimler Truck fuel cell unit. Part of this bundling of activities is the allocation of the operations of “Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell GmbH”, which has longstanding experience in the development of fuel cell and hydrogen storage systems for various vehicle applications, to Daimler Truck AG.  

The joint venture will include the operations in Nabern/Germany (currently headquarters of the Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell GmbH) with production facilities in Germany and Canada.  

The signed preliminary agreement is non-binding. A final agreement is expected by Q3 and closing before year-end 2020.