DAF’s hydrogen truck wins 2022 Truck Innovation Award
It’s been a great month for DAF! Not only has the company pocketed the 2022 International Truck of the Year Award, but it’s also bagged the 2022 Truck Innovation Award with its XF H₂ Innovation Truck, a prototype of a hydrogen-fuelled heavy-duty truck with an internal combustion engine.
The prestigious award was handed over to Harry Wolters, President of DAF Trucks, during the press day of the Solutrans Commercial Vehicle and Bodybuilder Show in Lyon, France.
What is the Truck Innovation Award?
The Truck Innovation Award – which acknowledges the enormous technological changes and energy transition taking place within the automotive sector – has been awarded by the International Truck of the Year (IToY) jury, a group of 25 commercial vehicle editors and senior journalists, representing major trucking magazines from Europe and South Africa. The writer of this article represents South Africa on the jury.
According to IToY rules, a Truck Innovation Award nominee must be an advanced-technology vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of over 3.5-tonnes fitted with an alternative driveline or fuel system. Otherwise, it must feature specific high-tech solutions with regard to connectivity (whether semi or fully-autonomous driving systems), a “platooning” capability, or advanced support services such as remote diagnostics.
With a winning score of 92 votes, DAF’s XF Hydrogen fought off the competition from Mercedes-Benz’s GenH2 Truck, a fuel cell powered long-haul vehicle.
Introducing the DAF XF H₂ Innovation Truck
Typically, trucks have internal combustion engines that run on diesel, or they’re battery-electric or they have fuel cells and are powered by hydrogen. The DAF XF H₂ Innovation Truck doesn’t fit any of these bills. Instead, it has a Paccar MX-13 engine that has been converted and, instead of running on diesel, is fuelled by hydrogen.
DAF Trucks has been working for more than a year on the development of this combustion-engined hydrogen truck, and Ron Borsboom, DAF executive director product development, says that the award underlines the company’s philosophy that it needs to explore the full suite of technologies on the road towards the decarbonisation of transport and mobility in the next decade.
“Hydrogen technology may become a very interesting option for the future, next to battery-electric solutions which we already offer today and hybrid trucks which we have under development. Being honoured with the ‘Truck Innovation Award 2022’ also demonstrates that there is still a promising future for the internal combustion engine for which new generations of carbon-neutral fuels are on the horizon. It is important to understand that bringing an end to the use of fossil fuels should by no means automatically result in a ban on internal combustion engines, especially in the heavy-duty long haul transport segment,” he notes.
Why did the DAF win?
Of course, the DAF XF H₂ Innovation Truck isn’t the only innovative truck around. There isn’t a truck manufacturer on this planet that doesn’t have some or other form of innovation up its sleeve. So, why did the DAF take the crown?
Martin Schatzmann, who represents Switzerland on the jury, says it was the obvious choice. “It is a truly innovative approach in alternative propulsion, using hydrogen in a combustion engine. Using hydrogen reduces CO2, but it keeps up the dynamic qualities of a combustion engine. It could complement the use of hydrogen and help accelerate the energy transition. This was the only real innovation for this year’s Innovation Award!” he enthuses.
Milan Olšanský, the jury member for the Czech Republic, is equally convinced that the DAF was the right choice. “The XF H₂ Innovation Truck is a typical example of the broad innovative spirit of Dutch designers led by Ron Borsboom. The hydrogen combustion engine has many interesting advantages – it is a relatively simple solution that can be implemented at a reasonable development cost, it can burn hydrogen with a certain percentage of impurities and, conversely, harmful emissions in the exhaust gases are close to zero. Hydrogen is stored in tanks at a pressure of 350 bar in the gaseous state. The XF H₂ Innovation Truck shows a reasonable path for vehicles with internal combustion engines, but with ultra-low emissions. It also shows that the internal combustion engine is not dead! It hasn't said his last word yet!” he notes with a wry chuckle.
Super handling characteristics
Other members of the IToY jury praised the truck’s handling characteristics, seamless acceleration and the user-friendly human-machine interface (HMI) of the prototype. The HMI is similarly a feature of DAF’s New Generation range, which has also been designed for future zero-emission powertrains and has won the 2022 International Truck of the Year.
Naturally all the IToY journalists also appreciated DAF’s innovative approach to alternative propulsion and energy transition, which takes advantage of the dynamic qualities of the internal combustion engine while ensuring zero CO2 emissions from the tailpipe.
Innovative solutions could be the future
In this perspective, the jury believes that innovative hydrogen combustion solutions could play an important role in the future. “They can be an additional component of an OEM’s future powertrain portfolios, alongside battery-electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles,” points out IToY Chairman Gianenrico Griffini.
“A transition to CO2 neutral transport requires a wide array of viable solutions. Hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine vehicles can play a role in the future powertrain mix for medium and long-haul applications,” he concludes.
