Traton : Why the future of trucks is electric

Diesel trucks have dominated our roads for over a century. However, given the enormous quantities of CO₂ produced by the transportation industry, the era of fossil fuels has to end - and it will end. But what comes next? Two major candidates are commonly discussed: battery electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles. A lot is being done to promote hydrogen at the moment. At TRATON, one of the world's leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, we also reckon with Europe's transformation into a hydrogen economy - especially in hard-to-abate industries like steelworks. Yet for the majority of trucks, especially also long-haul trucks, pure electric applications will come out on top as the more cost-efficient and eco-friendly solution. This is because there is one crucial thing holding hydrogen trucks back: just about one quarter of the energy output is ultimately used to power the vehicle, with the other three quarters lost in the conversion. For electric trucks, it's the opposite.