Volvo Group, Daimler Truck, Toyota, Bosch and several major energy companies are joining forces to accelerate hydrogen-powered heavy-duty transport in Europe, with Germany serving as the starting point for an integrated ecosystem combining trucks, hydrogen supply and refuelling infrastructure.
The initiative brings together companies from across the hydrogen mobility value chain, including Volvo Group, Daimler Truck, Toyota Motor Corporation, Bosch, Air Liquide, TotalEnergies, TEAL Mobility and MB Energy, alongside German policymakers.
The partners aim to create the conditions needed to scale hydrogen truck deployment by 2030, coordinating vehicle availability with hydrogen production and supply, strategically located refuelling stations and competitive fuel pricing.
Full details of the collaboration are scheduled to be presented at a CEO-led event during IAA Transportation 2026 in Hanover on September 15.
Building the hydrogen ecosystem around heavy-duty trucks
Rather than focusing solely on developing hydrogen-powered vehicles, the initiative addresses one of the main challenges facing hydrogen mobility: multiple parts of the value chain need to expand simultaneously.
Truck manufacturers require sufficient refuelling infrastructure for customers to operate vehicles reliably, while station operators and hydrogen suppliers need enough vehicle demand to justify investments in new infrastructure and supply capacity.
The companies therefore intend to coordinate the deployment of hydrogen refuelling stations along key strategic European transport corridors with the rollout of hydrogen-powered truck fleets.
Ensuring reliable hydrogen supplies at competitive prices will be another central part of the initiative. The goal is to create conditions in which customers can operate hydrogen trucks with a competitive total cost of ownership.
Hydrogen to complement battery-electric trucks
The companies position hydrogen as a complement to battery-electric technology in the transition towards zero-emission heavy-duty transport.
Creating a commercially viable hydrogen trucking market, they argue, will require coordinated progress across vehicles, infrastructure and fuel supply rather than development of each area independently.
Germany is expected to provide the initial framework for this approach, bringing together supportive policies, vehicle manufacturers and companies involved in hydrogen supply and refuelling infrastructure.
The initiative could subsequently support the deployment of hydrogen mobility along major European transport routes, with refuelling infrastructure developed in line with customer demand and truck fleet deployment.
Major industrial and energy companies involved
The involvement of both vehicle manufacturers and energy companies gives the collaboration representation across much of the hydrogen mobility value chain.
Volvo Group, Daimler Truck and Toyota bring vehicle and hydrogen mobility expertise, while Bosch represents a major industrial technology supplier. Air Liquide, TotalEnergies, TEAL Mobility and MB Energy add capabilities related to hydrogen, energy supply and refuelling infrastructure.
The announcement does not yet specify the number of hydrogen trucks, number or locations of refuelling stations, hydrogen volumes, investment commitments, or whether the hydrogen supplied will specifically be renewable or RFNBO-certified.
Those details may become clearer when the partners formally present the initiative at IAA Transportation on September 15. For now, the collaboration establishes a common objective: synchronising hydrogen-powered trucks, refuelling infrastructure and competitively priced hydrogen supply to move European hydrogen mobility towards larger-scale commercial deployment by 2030.