Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2021 - 9

TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS

FROM TOP: BMW; MAHLE

BMW saw the
possibilities of
hydrogen fuel for
ICEs years ago. This
was its Hydrogen
7 research car
experienced by the
author in 2006.

commercially attractive for trucks first,
according to Mahle, so it is increasing its
investment there. He added that to enable trucks to operate on hydrogen, only
a small number of fueling stations along
main corridors across the EU are needed.
Part of the funding available through
the EU's " Next Generation " program for
" green " investments should be devoted
to building up the " backbone " of a hydrogen fueling infrastructure, Warth
asserted. He said Mahle believes there
will be one common system in Europe
for both commercial vehicles and cars,
as many synergies exist between the
segments. But there is a need for standards for hydrogen refueling.
" The EU has to act quickly to allow
for key industry partners like Mahle to
develop appropriate equipment such as
hydrogen storage tanks, " Warth said.
" We believe gaseous hydrogen storage
has many advantages over liquid hydrogen for both cars and commercial vehicles, so this should become the new
standard, " he said. There is also the issue of " green " hydrogen, generated
from renewable sources.
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING

New Mahle
fuel cell filters
help to lower
time and cost
for application
development.

" The EU's 'Hydrogen Strategy' is a
step in the right direction, committing
the bloc to have at least 40 GW of renewable hydrogen electrolyzers by
2030, producing up to 10 million tons of
renewable hydrogen, " he said. " Another
40 GW of renewable hydrogen should
be imported from EU neighboring
countries. " To realize these goals requires " the right framework conditions
at a national and European level " including " a more ambitious " Renewable
Energy Directive (RED) than the current

target rate of 14%, which has not been
adapted to the new climate goals of the
EU Commission.
" To achieve this, we are calling for at
least 23% renewable fuels and a minimum quota of 5% hydrogen and e-fuels
in the RED by 2030, " Warth said. He
noted that HFC vehicle applications,
particularly in the commercial sector,
are " likely to reach a substantial volume
by the second half of this decade. "
From 2030 onward, volumes in the EU
will continue to increase " given the
February 2021 9

Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2021

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