Ford Trucks and Canada’s Ballard Power Systems are collaborating to develop a hydrogen fuel cell powered truck based on the award-winning Ford Trucks F-MAX model.

The companies have signed a letter of intent for two of Ballard’s FCmove-XD 120kW fuel cells to be used during prototype truck development.

Ford Trucks, the global brand of Turkey-based Ford Otosan, plans to integrate the fuel cells into the F-MAX 44-tonne long-haul tractor truck. The development will be done in Turkey with the aim to begin European Ten-T corridor demonstrations in 2025 as part of the European Union’s Horizon Europe ZEFES (Zero Emission Freight EcoSystem) project goals.

In the EU-funded ZEFES project, four truck OEMs, two trailer OEMs, suppliers, logistic operators, and research partners are working together towards the overall goal of accelerating the integration of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) for long distance heavy transport.

This work plans to focus on efficiency improvements, mass production capabilities, and demonstrating the use of the technologies in daily operations. In 2025, nine different vehicle concepts (four FCEV and five BEV) are expected to run over 1 million kilometres across EU corridors in real daily operations, guided and validated by a digital platform (to be developed within the project).

This project is expected to be a significant step forward for ZEV adoption in Europe’s freight transport ecosystem. Vehicles are expected to carry over 40 tonnes for distances up to 750km, averaging 500km in daily operation.