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The transition to clean and sustainable transport is no longer a vision—it’s a business imperative, a climate commitment, and a technological race. At the heart of this transformation is the freight and trucking sector, one of the most complex yet vital areas to decarbonize. As the automotive industry explores electrification, a multifaceted approach is emerging—battery electric vehicles (BEVs), fuel cell hydrogen, and even combustion-based hydrogen. This is not a matter of choosing one “silver bullet” technology but rather tailoring the solution to the application, geography, and infrastructure.

Volvo and other major players are no longer in pilot mode. They are scaling up, running real-world trials of hydrogen-powered trucks—both fuel cell and combustion-based—and preparing large-scale battery electric deployments. From an equipment standpoint, the core technologies are here. What’s lagging is the broader ecosystem: the availability of refueling or charging infrastructure, the strategic role of governments, and long-term public-private cooperation.

Take Switzerland as an example. The country has taken a smart step forward by incentivizing clean truck usage—not just through direct subsidies, but through usage-based incentives that promote early adoption. Once a logistics company adopts 10 or 15 clean trucks and sees their performance, the model becomes self-propelling. Drivers themselves become ambassadors; once they experience smoother, quieter, cleaner rides, they’re reluctant to return to diesel.

But cost isn’t the only factor—driver retention and image matter too. Clean trucks, particularly electric ones, offer a competitive edge in attracting talent. In fact, transport companies are already paying a premium to shift toward cleaner fleets, not just to comply with regulations, but to future-proof their business models. Decarbonization is now aligned with competitiveness, not just compliance.

Government support plays a pivotal role, as China has demonstrated. Years of strategic state investment—blending public and private funding—have allowed Chinese industries to leapfrog in electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Asian economies have, over the past two decades, taken a national balance sheet approach: identifying sectors they want to win in, deploying capital strategically, and aligning public policy with industrial innovation. It’s a lesson Europe, North America, and India should take seriously: public investment in decarbonization must be treated as a long-term asset, not an expense.

Historical analogies prove this point. Hydropower plants built decades ago are still running profitably today—assets that were once public investments, now long-term revenue generators. The same mindset is needed for hydrogen stations, grid upgrades, and battery supply chains. We must ask: what kind of industrial competitiveness are we building for the next 30 to 50 years?

There is also no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to choosing between battery electric and hydrogen technologies. In long-haul trucking, hydrogen has clear advantages: faster refueling times and lighter weight, which preserves payload capacity. However, battery electrics make more sense in urban or regional applications where frequent charging and grid access are less of an issue. Moreover, different countries have different infrastructure advantages—pipelines in place for hydrogen, or grid reliability for EV charging.

Volvo’s approach has been pragmatic and modular. The core electric powertrain remains the same—what changes is how the electricity is delivered. In BEVs, large batteries are the source. In fuel cell vehicles, hydrogen is converted to electricity on-board. Both have intermediate batteries to manage power transients. This modularity allows the company to produce multiple truck configurations without reinventing the core architecture, making it easier to scale.

Battery technology itself is evolving. Volvo is deeply invested in the development of battery modules and packs, with proprietary software and thermal systems. While the company doesn’t manufacture battery cells at present, a planned cell production facility in Gothenburg is set to come online by 2030–2032 through partnerships. This vertical integration is vital for both cost control and supply chain security.

Hydrogen, long deemed “ten years away,” is finally arriving. Thanks to advances in material science, software, and efficiency, fuel cell systems are more commercially viable than ever before. What was once a futuristic promise now holds tangible potential, especially as regulatory pressure grows and climate urgency deepens.

In summary, clean trucking is not a question of battery versus hydrogen—it’s a case of battery and hydrogen, depending on the use case. Governments must provide the runway through infrastructure, incentives, and strategic policy. Businesses must adopt not only for cost reasons but also for resilience and reputation. And technology providers must continue investing in scalable, modular, and future-ready systems.

The road ahead is complex—but with aligned vision, strategic public-private investment, and technological plurality, the journey toward zero-emission transport is not only achievable, but inevitable.
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