A Revolutionary Hydrogen Vehicle on a Traditional Tatra Chassis
12 ǀ POSITIV 4/2022
BUSINESS ROZHOVOR
A Revoluonary
Hydrogen Vehicle
on a Tradional Tatra Chassis
The Green Deal, Digizaon, Autonomous and Assistant Systems. All of this and much more have
a big inuence in the development of modern road transport. Not only is pressure towards change
coming from legislave instuons, but also from vehicle drivers and operators. TATRA has always
followed modern trends and supplied the collecve treasure trove of global automove construcon
with new, unique and eecve soluons.
TATRA TRUCKS announced their development
of a hydrogen powered truck not too long ago.
Why have you decided to go down this path?
Is hydrogen the fuel of the future?
Currently, there is a large discussion within the seg-
ment of the automotive industry regarding the most
suitable, future-oriented fuel source. The top conten-
ders currently include fully battery-powered electric
vehicles (BEV), fuel cell electric vehicles with hydro-
gen cells (FCEV) and some manufacturers are even
in favor of keeping traditional combustion engines,
but replacing regular gas with hydrogen.
In order to determine whether BEV‘s or FCEV‘s are
more appropriate, we need to specify the vehicle’s
operation specifications. Tatra operates within the
heavy off-road vehicle segment for which FCEV
seems to be a better fit. This technology powers
the vehicle’s drive through electricity produced
from on-board hydrogen fuel cells. This means that
other than a traction electric motor, battery and
fuel cells, the vehicles also have pressure tanks con-
taining gaseous hydrogen.
One of FCEV’s big advantages is the very short refu-
el time it requires, as filling the pressure tanks with
hydrogen only takes around 15 minutes. In the best
possible scenario, BEV‘s take at least four times
longer to refuel, meaning that FCEV‘s offer the end
user more flexibility and business efficiency.
What is your estimate on when this new vehicle
might reach regular use? Is the development
of the hydrogen Tatra truck based solely in
Kopřivnice, or are you collaborating with
someone on this project?
The first prototype of the truck will be produced
in the second half of 2023, and operational tests
will take place in 2024. This is an entirely new drive
technology for us, so we are collaborating with
other research institutions. We are working with
institutions such as ÚJV Řež, the Řež Research Cen-
ter, VŠCHT Prague and Devinn Jablonec n. N.
Do you also plan on developing other vehicles
powered by alternative fuel sources?
We are also preparing the construction of an electric
vehicle with a range extender (REx) as well as a hyb-
rid vehicle. There is no one single universally appli-
cable solution. One technology has an advantage
in difficult terrain, where another is for operation
within urban environments. For fire departments
and their demands for use, and also within the army,
are yet another entirely different story.
The storage and transportation of hydrogen are
fairly complicated matters. What is your strategy
for fuel logistics?
The European parliament approved a bill that requi-
res EU countries to construct hydrogen fuel stati-
ons every 100 km on main roads by 2028. We also
“
We want to construct our own fuel
staon within our company grounds.
”
„The advantages of this, other than the fact that we
get to keep our Tatra chassis, are that the electric
motor can be placed within the protected zone
above the spinal carrier pipe without aecng the
rigidity of the enre chassis The compability of
this soluon with a mul-stage gearbox gives us
the ability to manufacture this new chassis on our
current assembly line.“