By the end of the year, Ford will deploy a fuel cell version of its F-Max, under development at its Turkish subsidiary Ford Otosan, within the framework of an EU incentive. The 44-tonne truck features fuel cell stacks from Canadian specialist firm Ballard.
Together with Volvo, Scania, and Renault, Ford Trucks is a member of the European ZEFES project (Zero Emission Freight Eco System), a development hub aiming at creating a pathway for long-haul BEVs and FCEVs. The project, worth 23 million euros, is funded by the European Commission.
Two fuel cell stacks
Ford’s first result is a hydrogen-converted F-Max, running a pair of Ballard fuel cell stacks of 120 kW each, called FCMove-XD. The truck will be developed and assembled in the Turkish factory of the brand. Both parties have also signed a memorandum of understanding, which must elevate Ballard to the preferred supplier when series production is due. Full specifications haven’t been released yet.
Ballard actually revealed the news about Ford’s hydrogen truck. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Ford Trucks to facilitate market adoption in Europe,” acknowledged David Mucciacciaro, Ballard’s Chief Commercial Officer. “Ford Trucks is an important ‘platform’ win for Ballard and a key partner for our high growth potential truck vertical.”
Ford is not the only partner for Ballard in the heavy-duty sector, who also supplies specialist converter Quantron, and First Mode, a manufacturer of mining haul trucks.
“Thrilled”
“Our first Fuel Cell Electric-powered Vehicle F-MAX, which we will develop as part of the ZEFES project, will be a significant milestone,” commented Ford Trucks’ Vice President Emrah Duman. “We are thrilled to be working with Ballard on this critical project.”
In 2025, nine different vehicle concepts (four FCEVs and five BEVs) will run over 1 million kilometers across EU corridors in real daily operations under the ZEFES project. They will be guided and validated by a digital platform; to be developed within the project.
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