At the 5th General Assembly meeting of the ESCALATE (Powering EU Net Zero Future by Escalating Zero Emission HDVs and Logistic Intelligence) Project, hosted by TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center (MAM) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Research Group, critical issues such as current developments in the production processes of heavy-duty vehicles, vehicle integration processes, advances in digital twin and modeling platforms, filling infrastructures and operation planning were discussed. As part of the program, participants had the opportunity to examine and evaluate TÜBİTAK MAM's hydrogen and technology development infrastructures on site.
The 5th General Assembly Meeting of the ESCALATE Project, supported by the European Union's Horizon Europe Program, was held on 20-21 November 2025 at the Gebze campus hosted by TÜBİTAK MARMARA RESEARCH CENTER (MAM).
The program started with the opening speech of Dr. Betül ERDÖR TÜRK, Leader of TÜBİTAK MAM Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Research Group and Project Coordinator, followed by the agenda sessions. During 2 full days of parallel technical sessions, important issues such as current developments in the production processes of heavy-duty vehicles, vehicle integration processes, advances in digital twin and modeling platforms, filling infrastructures and operation plans were discussed in depth. At the end of the meeting, critical decisions were taken regarding the production schedule of fuel cell-powered long-haul trucks, while the commissioning processes of pilot vehicles, homologation plans and operational routes were also updated. It also accelerated the process of preparing for the pilot operations that will take place in Finland, Turkey, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain in 2025. Within the scope of the meeting, around 70 distinguished participants from 27 executing partner organizations had the opportunity to visit TÜBİTAK MAM's hydrogen research infrastructures at the Gebze campus. During this visit, the technical information provided by the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Research Group on the high capacity fuel cell production and test center, fuel cell vehicle prototypes, hydrogen production solutions and electrolyzer systems were followed with great interest by the stakeholders.
The project was partnered by 27 leading European industrial organizations, universities and research centers, including TÜBİTAK MAM, BMC, DHL, Ford Otosan, VTT, Engie, DLR, Mercedes Benz Turkey, RWTH, DIN, SISU, Electra, AUTH and University of Surrey. In the project, TÜBİTAK MAM carries out critical tasks such as the integration of fuel cell and high-pressure hydrogen tanks, process and filling line designs, and the creation of energy algorithms in the development of the long-range fuel cell heavy-duty truck BMC Tuğra.
Holding the 5th General Assembly of ESCALATE at TÜBİTAK MAM was an important milestone that showcased Turkey's scientific and technological capacity in hydrogen technologies internationally. TÜBİTAK MAM continues its strategic contributions to Europe's net zero transformation with its domestic fuel cell studies, hydrogen safety and high pressure filling infrastructure experience.
