Demonstrations of Ford Trucks’ first fuel cell-powered (FCEV) lorry will commence in 2025, according to its hydrogen storage system developer Hexagon Purus.

The F-MAX FCEV is being built as part of the Horizon Europe pan-European project Zero Emission Freight EcoSystem (ZEFES).

As a partner in the project, Ford will deliver the FCEV prototype truck that will operate as part of a larger fleet of zero-emission HGVs and collect data from real world operations.

Hexagon said the F-MAX FCEV will be developed and manufactured in Turkey and will commence European Ten-T corridor demonstrations in 2025 as part of the ZEFES project goals.

Emrah Duman, Ford Trucks’ vice president, said: “We focus our investment, R&D and innovation efforts in line with our global electrification strategy to be a leading player in the decarbonisation transformation happening in the automotive industry.

“We are very happy to have the support from Hexagon Purus as an experienced partner in our development plan of a fuel-cell electric heavy-duty truck as part of project ZEFES.”

The project will deploy a total of nine different long-haul truck configurations split into six battery electric- and three fuel-cell electric trucks.

The nine trucks will operate for 15 months and collect up to one million kilometers of driving data from real-world operations.