- Power
- 300–480 kW
- Price
- from PLN 221,079–305,380
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.
Image 1 of 2
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.
- Power
- 360 kW
- Price
- PLN 307,500
- Power
- 160–240 kW
- Price
- from PLN 189,511–217,254
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.
Data confidence
HIGH
Sources
- https://www.daimlertruck.com/en/newsroom/pressrelease/daimler-truck-hydrogenrecordrun-mercedes-benz-genh2-truck-cracks-1000-kilometer-mark-with-one-fill-of-liquid-hydrogen-52369346
- https://www.daimlertruck.com/en/newsroom/pressrelease/fuel-cell-trucks-deployed-in-real-life-operations-start-of-initial-customer-trials-with-mercedes-benz-genh2-trucks-52775389
- https://www.daimlertruck.com/en/newsroom/pressrelease/development-milestone-daimler-truck-tests-fuel-cell-truck-with-liquid-hydrogen-51975637

