ZeroMission's The Future of Fleet Management Podcast - Unlocking the Future of Fleet Management for ICE and Electric Vehicles
Welcome to Plugged In, the podcast where fleet transformation gets real. Powered by ZeroMission, we explore the fast-evolving world of low and no emission transport. From battery electric to hydrogen, biofuels to blended fleets, to the demands of ESG regulations. We dive into how organisations are navigating the shift to sustainable mobility.
Each episode brings you insights from frontline fleet managers, tech experts, policy shapers, and innovators on how they’re planning, adapting, and succeeding with mixed-fuel strategies. Whether you're managing a national fleet or just starting your zero-emission journey, Plugged In delivers the practical tips, real-world stories, and bold ideas you need to stay ahead.
Smarter fleets. Cleaner air. One conversation at a time
ZeroMission's The Future of Fleet Management Podcast - Unlocking the Future of Fleet Management for ICE and Electric Vehicles
Daimler Takes the Wheel: Building Its Own Hydrogen Highway Through Hamburg
In this episode, the ZeroMission team dives into one of the biggest moves in clean transport this year, Daimler Truck’s bold step to kickstart Europe’s hydrogen supply chain.
After years of proving hydrogen trucks can deliver real freight and long-haul reliability, Daimler has stopped waiting for the perfect infrastructure plan and started building one. Partnering with Hamburg’s port authority (HHLA) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, they’re setting out to bring green liquid hydrogen into Europe through Hamburg and distribute it by road and rail.
We unpack what this means for fleets, ports, and the entire zero-emission logistics ecosystem, from the end of the “hydrogen chicken-and-egg” debate to the start of real hydrogen corridors across Europe.
Tune in to hear how global OEMs, port operators, and digital intelligence platforms like ZeroMission’s éxō are reshaping how fleets move, refuel, and operate, one partnership at a time.
Listen now to find out why Hamburg might just become the gateway to Europe’s hydrogen future.
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Connect with our team Alan Crowley, Kevin Christopher, Brenda Shanahan, Stephen Breen, Liam Nolan, Callum Hennessy Cian Kavanagh, Niamh Quinn
For years, the conversation around hydrogen trucks has been dominated by a single, frustrating question: what’s the point of a truck with no fuel to run on?
Daimler Truck has just provided a very clear answer to build the supply chain yourself.
Hydrogen Moves – But Infrastructure Doesn’t
At ZeroMission, we’ve watched the evolution of hydrogen freight with interest and, at times, impatience. Hydrogen trucks work. They’ve been tested, proven, and pushed to their limits. Daimler’s prototypes alone have clocked over 225,000 kilometres, hauled real freight, and even crossed Germany on a single tank. The technology isn’t the problem.
The missing link has always been the infrastructure. Pipelines are years away, refuelling hubs are scarce, and large-scale hydrogen distribution remains more a topic of conferences than construction.
Until now.
Daimler Stops Waiting
This week, Daimler Truck announced a landmark agreement with Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), the port authority of Hamburg, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
The goal? To explore how green liquid hydrogen can be imported through Hamburg, Europe’s second-largest port, and distributed inland via road and rail.
It’s a memorandum of understanding for now, not a concrete project but the intent is clear:
Daimler is no longer waiting for someone else to solve the hydrogen puzzle. It’s taking the first steps to put the missing pieces together.
A New Alliance of Energy and Motion
The partnership is a logical, powerful trio:
- HHLA brings the port infrastructure and logistics expertise.
- Kawasaki brings deep experience in hydrogen shipping, having already launched the Suiso Frontier, the world’s first liquid hydrogen carrier.
- Daimler brings the trucks and the demand, the fleets are ready to run.
Together, they’re mapping out a future where hydrogen can actually flow from ship to shore to road.
As Dr Andreas Gorbach, Daimler’s Head of Truck Technology, put it:
“Hamburg can also become Europe’s gateway to the world of hydrogen.”
Polite, perhaps, but beneath it is a message: Europe has talked long enough it’s time to act.
The Chicken-and-Egg Era Is Ending
Hydrogen technology is ready across the board. Cars from Toyota and Hyundai, diggers from JCB, trucks from Daimler and Iveco, even BMW’s own logistics fleet they all work.
The bottleneck isn’t engineering; it’s energy distribution. Daimler’s move signals a broader industry shift from waiting for infrastructure to building it through partnerships.
It’s not a final plan yet, but it’s a clear signal: the era of talking about hydrogen is over. The era of doing something about it has begun.
ZeroMission’s Take
At ZeroMission, we see this as a pivotal moment for fleet decarbonisation. For hydrogen to play its role in clean, long-haul transport, OEMs, port authorities, energy suppliers, and digital twin platforms like ours must align data, demand, and delivery.
Because smart transport isn’t just about vehicles, it’s about the ecosystem that fuels, tracks, and optimises them.
Daimler’s step into hydrogen logistics marks a turning point from potential to progress.
Hydrogen can’t wait for perfect conditions. Neither can the planet.
And in Hamburg, the future of clean freight may have just found its first real gateway.
