BUSINESS ROZHOVOR

A Revolutionary

Hydrogen Vehicle

on a Traditional Tatra Chassis

The Green Deal, Digitization, Autonomous and Assistant Systems. All of this and much more have

a big influence in the development of modern road transport. Not only is pressure towards change

coming from legislative institutions, but also from vehicle drivers and operators. TATRA has always

followed modern trends and supplied the collective treasure trove of global automotive construction

with new, unique and effective solutions.

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 segment of the automotive industry regarding the most

suitable, future-oriented fuel source. The top contenders currently include fully battery-powered electric

vehicles (BEV), fuel cell electric vehicles with hydrogen cells (FCEV) and some manufacturers are even

in favor of keeping traditional combustion engines,

but replacing regular gas with hydrogen.

„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 affecting the

rigidity of the entire chassis The compatibility of

this solution with a multi-stage gearbox gives us

the ability to manufacture this new chassis on our

current assembly line.“

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 containing gaseous hydrogen.

One of FCEV’s big advantages is the very short refuel time it requires, as filling the pressure tanks with

hydrogen only takes around 15 minutes. In the best

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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 Center, VŠCHT Prague and Devinn Jablonec n. N.

“

We want to construct our own fuel

station within our company grounds.

”

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 hybrid vehicle. There is no one single universally applicable 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 requires EU countries to construct hydrogen fuel stations every 100 km on main roads by 2028. We also