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DiscontinuedFuel cellTractorN3 — may qualify · up to PLN 750,000

Independent heavy-vehicle dossier

Mercedes-Benz Trucks GenH2 Truck

1000 km on liquid hydrogen — the GenH2 was Daimler's most ambitious project and never went on sale.

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Mercedes-Benz Trucks GenH2 Truck — Side profile

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1,000 km

Range

tank range

40 t

Combination weight

460 kW

Continuous power

4,142 Nm

Torque

Buying decision

The EvCompass verdict

The key arguments drawn from the published data and the EvCompass editorial summary.

Liquid hydrogen gives an energy density compressed gas cannot reach, but it needs cryogenic tanks and infrastructure that barely exists in Europe. The 1000 km target was demonstrated on a road-legal prototype, so the engineering worked — what was missing was a market, not the technology. Replaced by the NextGenH2.

Strengths

  • The demonstrator covered 1,047 km on one hydrogen fill at a full 40 t combination, giving the 1,000 km target a road demonstration.

Weaknesses

  • The 70 kWh battery is a fuel-cell buffer and the vehicle has no plug, so it is not a battery-electric truck for charging.

The full picture

Specifications

Manufacturer-published facts grouped by the decisions they inform, without raw source headings.

Battery and charging

Gross battery
70 kWh
On charging
FCEV - not plug-in. Energy comes from cryogenic liquid hydrogen at -253 degC, refuelled at a dedicated LH2 station; the 70 kWh battery is a buffer, not a chargeable traction pack.

Powertrain

Powertrain
Fuel cell
Continuous power
460 kW
Peak power
660 kW
Torque
4,142 Nm
Axle configuration
4x2

Mass and load

Combination weight
40,000 kg
Payload
25,000 kg

Market and year

Production status
Discontinued
Vehicle class
N3
Measurement basis
Development target of 1,000 km and more on one fill of liquid hydrogen. Demonstrated: a road-legal prototype covered 1,047 km Woerth am Rhein to Berlin on a single fill, fully loaded at 40 t gross combination weight, tanks sealed and mileage confirmed by TUEV Rheinland (#HydrogenRecordRun, 25-26 September 2023).

This is a hydrogen vehicle — the figure describes range on one tank fill, not on a battery, and is not comparable with battery-electric range.

These are manufacturer-published figures gathered through EvCompass research.

Price and availability

What it costs and whether it is available in Poland

Published price evidence and the Polish availability answer, kept together for a buying decision.

The manufacturer publishes no price for this vehicle.

In heavy transport that is the rule rather than the exception — makers quote on request.

n/a - never offered for sale. Prototype/customer-trial vehicles only; no price was ever quoted.

Poland

Not available in Poland

n/a - never sold. Prototype and customer-trial vehicles only, operated in Germany and neighbouring countries by Air Products, Amazon, Holcim, INEOS/VERVAEKE and Wiedmann & Winz. No Polish deployment.

Charging infrastructure

Recommended chargers

Chargers matched to the vehicle's published power or to a clearly stated duty profile when that figure is missing.

This vehicle does not publish its own DC charging power. The chargers below are matched to a charging profile typical for this class of vehicle (around 375 kW), not to a figure this vehicle publishes.

Browse all chargers

Sources and research

Research notes

The sources and research notes behind the figures, claims and editorial assessment.

*** THIS IS A HYDROGEN FUEL-CELL VEHICLE (FCEV), NOT A BATTERY-ELECTRIC TRUCK. *** It is included at the request of the research brief and must be labelled clearly wherever it appears next to BEVs. It has no plug and cannot be charged; batteryGrossKwh 70 is a fuel-cell BUFFER battery, not a traction pack, and dcPeakKw/mcsKw are null by design. Powertrain (pre-series specification, per Daimler): cellcentric fuel-cell twin system, 300 kW total (2 x 150 kW), with the buffer battery able to add 400 kW temporarily; two electric motors at 2 x 230 kW continuous and 2 x 330 kW maximum, i.e. 460 kW continuous / 660 kW peak as recorded; torque 2 x 1,577 Nm continuous (3,154 Nm total) and 2 x 2,071 Nm peak - torqueNm 4142 is the TOTAL PEAK figure, the continuous total is 3,154 Nm. CONFLICT on hydrogen capacity: the September 2023 record-run release says 'two 40 kg tanks' (80 kg); the July 2024 customer-trial release says 88 kg (2 x 44 kg). The later, more detailed figure is the better one; both are Daimler's own. History: concept shown in Berlin 16.09.2020; prototypes testing from 2021 including the Brenner Pass; liquid-hydrogen prototype from 2022; 1,047 km record run September 2023; a five-truck customer-trial fleet started operations on 25.07.2024 for roughly one year with Air Products, Amazon, Holcim, INEOS/VERVAEKE and Wiedmann & Winz. Status: never entered series production. Superseded by the Mercedes-Benz NextGenH2 Truck (separate record), which moves to the eActros 600 platform, a 300 kW cellcentric twin fuel-cell system, a 101 kWh LFP buffer battery, an eAxle up to 370 kW and 85 kg of LH2, with small-series manufacture of 100 units planned from the end of 2026. 'discontinued' is used here rather than 'cancelled/defunct' because the programme fed directly into that successor rather than being abandoned.

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