JCB equips Mercedes 7.5 ton truck with hydrogen internal combustion engine
The UK-based company has been cooperating with Mercedes-Benz to equip a 7.5 ton truck with the newly developed and innovative engine. One of the truck’s first test drivers was JCB Chairman Anthony Bamford, who has been spearheading the company’s £100 million hydrogen project.
JCB is working a lot on hydrogen development. The engine manufacturer has recently launched its 4.8 liters hydrogen ICE to be used mainly on construction or agricultural machines. Nevertheless, the UK-based company has been cooperating with Mercedes-Benz to equip a 7.5 ton truck with the newly developed and innovative engine.
JCB and hydrogen: a quick retrofit task
According to JCB, the retrofit was completed in just days and one of the truck’s first test drivers was JCB Chairman Anthony Bamford, who has been spearheading the company’s £100 million project. “This is a giant leap forward for JCB and the rest of the world because we all have one goal: to reduce emissions. The hydrogen engine we have installed in the truck is the same as those already powering prototype JCB machines, so there is no reason we should not see hydrogen combustion engines in vehicles used on the roads in the future, including cars”, commented Lord Bamford.
JCB has already manufactured 50 hydrogen internal combustion engines in a project involving 150 engineers and they now power prototype JCB backhoe loader and Loadall telescopic handler machines. The truck at the centre of the latest project was formerly diesel-powered and the switch to hydrogen is a breakthrough which underlines that this form of power could represent a much quicker way to reach global carbon dioxide emissions targets.
