Volvo’s on a mission to go green. Following a few events related to the European Union’s (EU) decision to ax all greenhouse gas emissions in cars, manufacturers have been stepping up their efforts in alternate sources of energy.
Electricity is ahead of the curve when it comes to widespread adoption, but hydrogen also makes a case for itself in some regard. A company as big as Volvo chooses to do both and see where things go. So far, its electric trucks are making a name for themselves worldwide, but the company also wants to showcase its efforts in hydrogen fuel cells.
Three carbon-neutral energy sources are currently being employed by the brand and those include electricity, bio-fuels, and hydrogen, with the latter being Volvo’s topic of choice for its latest showcase.
In its video, Volvo shows what it has done with its fuel cell electric truck alongside its fully-electric model. Fuel cell trucks could be a viable alternative because of how easy it is to top up. While batteries need a substantial amount of time to charge, fuel cell trucks can get up and running in a matter of minutes.
“Hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric trucks will be especially suitable for long distances and heavy, energy-demanding assignments. They could also be an option in countries where battery charging possibilities are limited,”
With electricity being one of the more dominant energy sources for mobility—as an alternative to fossil fuels, countries whose infrastructure doesn’t include electric vehicle charging stations could find themselves gravitating toward hydrogen. As it stands, however, fuel cell technology is still in an early stage of development. Challenges lie ahead for the technology which involve a few questions regarding the supply of sustainable hydrogen.
“We expect the supply of green hydrogen to increase significantly during the next couple of years, since many industries will depend on it to reduce CO2,” Alm said. “However, we cannot wait to decarbonize transport, we are already running late. So, my clear message to all transport companies is to start the journey today with battery electric, biogas and the other options available. The fuel cell trucks will then be an important complement for longer and heavier transports in a few years from now.”
Volvo stated that the customer pilots will start a few years from today, and commercialization of the fuel cell-powered trucks will commence in the latter half of the decade, which is close to the deadline set by the EU and its quest for zero-emission mobility.
