100 hydrogen trucks are expected to be on the Norwegian roads during 2025. “And if everything goes well, we will move on to mass production in 2026,” says Johnny Martinsen, Head of Product at MAN Truck & Bus Norway AS, while presenting their new truck – MAN hTGX.
A zero-emission milestone
The launch of the hydrogen truck to the Norwegian roads marks a milestone on the way towards zero-emission transport in the Nordics. The process started at the exhibition IAA Transportation in the German city Hannover in 2022 when Next Wave and their partners had the first meeting with the German truck producer, MAN. “Since then the ball has been rolling and I´m delighted to see the first truck already in Norway,” says Lin April Løstegård from Norsk Hydrogenforum, lead partner of Next Wave.
Early test market for new solutions
One of the aims of Next Wave is to establish the Nordics as an early test market for new green mobility solutions, and the launch of the hydrogen trucks is a concrete example of that. Without the work from Next Wave and their partners, the trucks might have found their way to other markets before the Nordics.
“Norway has been vital for MANs decision to produce the hydrogen truck. Together with the Norwegian H2Truck project we have developed an eco-system that is ready for deployment of hydrogen trucks. This has been important for MAN, and it is therefore not a coincident that approximately 50% of the trucks in the first small production series will be deployed in Norway,” says Lin April Løstegård, and continues:
“I believe our work is of great importance for the Nordics and Europe in general. MAN is the first OEM to produce a larger volume of hydrogen trucks that can decarbonize the most challenging transports. This will pave the way for zero-emission transport in European countries."
"The support from Nordic Innovation has been essential for making this happen,” she concludes.
MAN will also deliver 20 hydrogen trucks to the Icelandic market in 2025.
About Next Wave
Nordic Innovation has supported Next Wave since 2019. The aim of the project is to provide infrastructure for a largescale deployment of hydrogen vehicles and mobilize transport companies to use the vehicles. The goal is to stimulate the global technological lead of the Nordic countries by pushing forward the very first hydrogen infrastructure rollout for larger vehicles.
In 2024 Next Wave moved into a new phase. In this phase the project will also investigate the opportunities for developing zero-emission transport between the Nordics and Europe through a ‘green corridor’ based on hydrogen trucks and hydrogen ships.