Daimler CEO simply dropped some fairly WILD pro-hydrogen claims

Daimler Truck AG CEO Karin Rådström hopped on LinkedIn right this moment and dropped some completely wild pro-hydrogen speaking factors, utilizing phrases like “emotional” and “inspiring” whereas making some fairly heady claims in regards to the viability and economics of hydrogen. The rant is doubly embarrassing for one more cause: the corporate’s hydrogen vans are greater than 100 million miles behind Volvo’s electrical semis.

Earlier this month, Daimler Truck AG issued a press launch entitled, “5 and a Half Occasions Across the World: Daimler Truck Gas Cell Vehicles Efficiently Full Extra Than 225,000 km (~139,000 miles) in Actual-World Buyer Operations.” Don’t hassle searching for it on Elecrektrekalthough. I didn’t run it. And I didn’t run it as a result of, frankly, a fleet of over-the-road semi vans managing to cowl slightly over half the variety of miles that David Blenkle placed on his single Ford Mustang Mach-E isn’t notably spectacular.

Within the meantime, Daimler rivals like Volvo, Renaultand even Tiny Motiv are racking up tens of millions and tens of millions of all-electric miles and MAN Truck CEO Alexander Vlaskamp is saying that it’s unattainable for hydrogen to compete with batteries. Heck, even Daimler’s personal eActros BEV semi vans are placing up higher numbers than these hydrogen offers.

So, why then is Rådström pouring on the hydrogen love over on LinkedIn?

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For some cause – posts about hydrogen all the time fire up feelings. I feel hydrogen (not “as a substitute of” however “in parallel to” electrical) performs a job within the decarbonization of heavy obligation transport in Europe for 3 causes:

1. If we might go “electrical solely” we have to get the electrical grid to a stage the place we are able to construct sufficient charging stations for the 6 million vans in Europe. It would take a few years and be extremely costly. A hydrogen infrastructure in parallel will likely be inexpensive and also you don’t want a grid connection to construct it, placing 2000 H2 stations in Europe is comparatively simple.
2. Europe will depend on import of power, and it may very well be transported into Europe from North Africa and Center East as liquid hydrogen. Higher to make use of that straight as gasoline than to make electrical energy out of it.
3. Some use instances of our clients are higher fitted to gasoline cells than electrical vans – the gasoline cell truck will permit increased payload and longer ranges.

At European Hydrogen Week, I noticed firsthand the power and ambition behind Europe’s net-zero objectives. It’s inspiring—but additionally a wake-up name. We’re not transferring quick sufficient.

What we want:

• Massive-scale hydrogen manufacturing and transport to Europe
• A sturdy refueling community that goes past AFIR
• And actual political help to make it occur – we want sensible, environment friendly regulation that clears the trail as a substitute of including hurdles.

To indicate what’s attainable, we introduced our Mercedes-Benz GenH2 to Brussels. From the tip of 2026, we’ll deploy a small sequence of 100 gasoline cell vans to clients.

Let’s construct the infrastructure, the momentum, and the partnerships to make zero-emission transport a actuality. ? and let’s attempt to keep away from a number of the errors that we see now whereas scaling up electrical. And let’s cease the talk about “both or”. We want each.

Karin Rådström

Commenters had been fast to level out that Daimler just lately obtained €226M in grants from German federal and state governments to construct 100 gasoline cell vans – however, whereas Daimler for certain doesn’t wish to give again the cash, it’s additionally fairly tough to consider that Rådström’s pro-hydrogen posturing is honest.

Particularly since most of it looks like nonsense.

We’re not doing any of that

On the danger of sounding “emotional,” Rådström’s claims that constructing a hydrogen infrastructure in parallel will likely be inexpensive than constructing {an electrical} infrastructure, and that “you don’t want a grid connection to construct it,” are objectively false.

Additional, if her declare that “placing 2,000 H2 stations in Europe is comparatively simple” isn’t outright laughable, it’s value noting that Europe had simply 265 hydrogen filling stations in operation in 2024 (and solely 40% of these, or about 100, had been able to serving HD vans). On the similar time, the IEA reported that there are practically 5 million public charging ports already in service on the continent.

Subsequent, the declare that, “Europe will depend on import of power, and it may very well be transported into Europe from North Africa and Center East as liquid hydrogen” (emphasis mine), is equally doubtful – particularly when confronted with the truth that, in 2023, wind and photo voltaic already equipped about 27–30% of EU electrical energy.

I’ll agree, nevertheless, with one in all Rådström’s claims. She notes that, “some use instances of our clients are higher fitted to gasoline cells than electrical vans – the gasoline cell truck will permit increased payload and longer ranges.” That’s debatablehowever broadly accepted as true … for now. Daimler’s personal analysis into lighter, extra energy-dense, and lower-cost solid-state battery know-hownevertheless, could imply that it received’t be true for lengthy, nevertheless.

Until, in fact, Mercedes’ solid-state batteries don’t work (and she or he would know extra about that than I’d, as a mere blogger).

Electrek’s Take

As you possibly can think about, Karin Rådström publish generated fairly just a few feedback on the Elecrektrek watercooler. “Insane to assert that constructing hydrogen stations could be cheaper than constructing chargers,” stated one fellow author. “I’m effective with hydrogen for lengthy haul heavy obligation, however mendacity to get us there’s idiotic.”

One other remark I preferred stated, “(Rådström) says that chargers should be on the grid – you have already got a grid, and it’s in all places!”

On the finish of the day, I’ve to echo the phrases of one in all Mercedes’ storied engineering companions and OEM suppliers, Mahle, whose Chairman, Arnd Franz, who that constructing out a hydrogen infrastructure received’t be attainable with out “blue” H comprised of fossil fuels as just lately as final Apriland perhaps that’s what that is all about: fossil gasoline automobiles are the place Daimler makes its largest income (for now), and muddying the waters and enjoying up this concept that we’re in some form of “messy center” transition makes it simply simple sufficient for a reluctant fleet supervisor to say, “perhaps subsequent time” in relation to EVs.

We, and the planet, will endure for such cowardice – however perhaps that’s an excessive amount of malicious intent to ascribe to Ms. Rådström. Perhaps that is only a easy “Hanlon’s razor” situation and there’s nothing a lot else to learn into it.

Tell us what you consider Rådström’s pro-hydrogen feedback, and whether or not or not Daimler’s shareholders needs to be involved in regards to the high quality of the analysis behind their CEO’s public posts, within the feedback part on the backside of the web page.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Karin Rådström, through LinkedIn.

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