Ford Trucks, Quantron Partner to Study Fuel-Cell Technology

Ford signs a letter of intent (LOI) for an agreement with Quantron AG to provide hydrogen fuel-cell stacks for its F-Max commercial truck lineup.

The agreement states that the two companies are exploring the partnership, but that it is not yet a done deal that the Ford trucks will definitely emerge with Quantron’s system.

Quantron provides e-axles, high-power batteries, fuel-cell stacks and energy management for trucks and other commercial vehicles, thus enabling emission-free operation.

Ford and other truck makers are preparing to meet mandates from the state of California, the U.S. Department of Energy and European Union to displace diesel fuel and engines with zero-emission propulsion systems such as batteries and fuel-cells.

Additionally, Ford has stated that Ford Trucks is committed to achieving zero emissions in heavy commercial vehicle production by 2040 to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Quantron has delivered more than 200 zero-emission vehicles. While the majority of these use battery-electric propulsion, the company also has expertise in fuel-cell electric vehicles.

The F-Max is a heavy-duty truck produced by Ford Otosan. The current model was introduced in 2018. It’s a heavy-duty cabover (cab over engine) flat-nosed truck used for commercial and industrial applications. It is only available in a 4x2 axle configuration and powered by a 12.7L Ecotorq Euro 6 engine, delivering 493 hp and 1,840 lb.-ft. of torque (2500 Nm), coupled to a 12-speed ZF Traxon gearbox.

Rene Wollmann, CTO of Quantron AG, says: "Our partners want to accelerate their development of Fuel Cell-powered trucks while focusing their own resources on other areas. We are benchmarking the FCEV light-vehicle segment up to 7.5t, and in the FCEV heavy-duty segment up to 44t…Our close technical collaboration will contribute to further accelerating the widespread market introduction of fuel cell-electric commercial vehicles."