Commercial vehicle manufacturer MAN Truck & Bus has commissioned MAHLE to supply components for the hydrogen engine of its MAN hTGX truck. The vehicle was recently crowned winner of the Truck Innovation Award 2025. The direct-injection engine with 6 cylinders has 16.8 L displacement and produces 383 kW power output.

The engine will be equipped with the MAHLE hydrogen power cell unit, consisting of piston, piston rings, piston pin and cylinder liner. Further components from MAHLE will also be used in the valve train.

MAHLE hydrogen power cell unit.

MAN plans to build around 200 units of its truck, classified as a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV), for selected markets from 2025. The use of hydrogen in the combustion engine is an important lever for decarbonization, especially in the commercial vehicle sector. In addition to electrification, sustainable combustion engines that run on renewable fuels are an important strategic field for the MAHLE Group.

MAN hTGX

MAHLE has succeeded in developing its engine components to meet the specific requirements of hydrogen operation. The tests at the company’s hydrogen test center in Stuttgart back up the high maturity level and already convincing suitability for series production of modern hydrogen engine technology. Due to the MAHLE hydrogen power cell unit, in particular the oil consumption of the motor and the blow-by (the leakage of hydrogen gas into the crankcase) can be reduced to a minimum. This enables a robust and failure-free operation of the motor.

The automotive supplier is currently working on almost 30 hydrogen engine projects for customers in the on- and off-highway sector. With the current contract from MAN Truck & Bus, another vehicle manufacturer is now going into series production using MAHLE components. Further series launches with other customers are planned to follow in 2025.