JCB converts Mercedes truck to hydrogen

JCB has installed one of its hydrogen engines into a 7.5 tonne Mercedes truck.

The retrofit was completed in a matter of days, it says, with JCB chairman Anthony Bamford becoming one of the truck’s first test drivers.

Lord Bamford (pictured below), who has been spearheading the company’s £100 million hydrogen project, said: “This is a giant leap forward for JCB.

“The hydrogen engine we have installed in the truck is the same as those already powering prototype JCB machines, so there is no reason we should not see hydrogen combustion engines in vehicles used on the roads in the future, including cars.”

The internal combustion engine used in the truck is the same as those already powering JCB prototype construction and agricultural machines.

JCB has manufactured 50 hydrogen internal combustion engines in a project involving 150 engineers, and they now power a prototype JCB backhoe loader and Loadall telescopic handler machines.

Lord Bamford and the JCB hydrogen engine

The truck at the centre of the latest project was formerly diesel-powered and the switch to hydrogen is a breakthrough which underlines that this form of power could represent a much quicker way to reach global carbon dioxide emissions targets, says JCB.

Last year, JCB unveiled a mobile hydrogen refueller which provides a way to refuel machines on site.

JCB’s hydrogen internal combustion engines are manufactured at JCB Power Systems in Derbyshire.