Kawasaki, MB Energy, Daimler Truck sign up for liquid hydrogen supply chain in Europe

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, MB Energy and Daimler Truck have signed a joint development agreement to establish a liquid hydrogen supply chain to Europe via the Port of Hamburg, targeting commercial operation by the early 2030s, the companies said May 11.

The agreement, which expands upon an existing memorandum of understanding for a Japan-Germany hydrogen supply chain, will leverage the companies' expertise to assess the economic viability of a liquid hydrogen supply chain, according to the statement.

"By bringing our liquefied hydrogen technologies to Europe, we aim to support industrial and heavy-duty vehicle demand and help establish a scalable international hydrogen corridor," said Kei Nomura, executive officer and general manager, hydrogen strategy division at Kawasaki.

Kawasaki specializes in the design and manufacture of essential infrastructure, including hydrogen liquefiers, liquid hydrogen storage tanks and liquid hydrogen carrier ships, which it will utilize for this initiative, according to the statement.

The collaboration aims to establish transportation routes from potential hydrogen-producing countries to Germany and, in doing so, promote the use of hydrogen across European industries, beginning with Daimler Truck's zero-emission vehicles.

Daimler Truck plans to introduce 100 liquid hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks into customer operations by the end of 2026, with series production slated for the early 2030s, according to the statement.

Volker Ebeling, senior vice president, new energy, storage and infrastructure at MB Energy, said Hamburg is ideally positioned to become Germany's main gateway.

"We are combining MB Energy's infrastructure, our service station network and our trading expertise with Daimler Truck's next-generation hydrogen truck developments and Kawasaki's pioneering hydrogen storage and shipping technologies," Ebeling said.

In January, Kawasaki and Japan Suiso Energy signed a contract to build a 40,000-cubic-meter liquid hydrogen carrier, marking a move toward establishing a commercial-scale hydrogen supply chain.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the India renewable hydrogen term contract at $3.23/kg on May 7, up 0.6% month over month.