Frankfurt (Reuters) – The truck manufacturer Daimler Truck wants to promote the export of clean hydrogen to Europe together with the green energy producer Masdar from Abu Dhabi.
The Dax group signed a letter of intent with Masdar on Thursday to examine the feasibility of exporting liquid hydrogen from the United Arab Emirates to Europe. “We want to be a catalyst,” said Daimler boss Martin Daum. “We need demonstrable proof for our customers that we will have green hydrogen available in 2030.” It’s not about being part of the value chain yourself – for example, paying for shipping or investing more in the refueling infrastructure.
Masdar was founded in 2006 to produce renewable energy in the oil-producing country. The company has developed projects worth more than $30 billion in more than 40 countries. Masdar aims to produce one million tons of green hydrogen by 2030. To this end, the company entered into partnerships with, among others, the hydrogen investor Hy24 and the oil giant Total from France, the oil and gas group OMV and the electricity supplier Verbund AG from Austria. Masdar wants to use this to set up hydrogen production in Spain.
Daimler wants to ensure that enough of the sustainable fuel, which is also urgently needed in industry and shipping, is used to refuel trucks. In addition to battery-electric drives, the world market leader for heavy trucks is also developing those with fuel cells that convert hydrogen into energy. The Swabians want to sell at least 10,000 hydrogen trucks per year from 2030. They would need 100,000 tons of fuel per year alone. In order to meet EU regulations for reducing CO2 emissions, Daimler Truck will have to sell around 50,000 electric trucks a year from 2030, said Daum.
(Report by Ilona Wissenbach. Edited by Olaf Brenner. If you have any questions, please contact the editorial team at [email protected])