High-voltage and hydrogen expertise in workshop practice

The number of alternatively powered Commercial vehicles is growing. This raises a quiet question in many workshops: Who will maintain, test and repair these vehicles when they are parked outside the gate tomorrow? High-voltage systems require their own safety and work rules. Fuel cells also bring with them the requirements of working with hydrogen. Any independent truck workshop that wants to remain fit for the future therefore needs staff who are proficient in these technologies. And not just in theory, but in daily practice on the vehicle.

This is exactly what Alltrucks and the BHFM Technologies GmbH have joined forces. The aim of the cooperation is to offer practical training courses on high-voltage and hydrogen systems throughout Europe - directly on the truck, with a real workshop focus. This is made possible by Alltrucks partner company Boeckels from Willich, which has been working closely with BHFM since 2023. If you want to take a broader look at the topic, the magazine also contains background texts on High-voltage work in the lorry workshop, to the eTruck workshop and to the Training in the commercial vehicle sector.

The transformation of drive technologies in heavy commercial vehicles is no longer a side note. Manufacturers are bringing battery-electric tractor units, distribution lorries and city buses into series production. In addition, the first Hydrogen fuel cell lorry already travelling in fleets. As a result, the content of workshop work is shifting. It is moving away from purely mechanical repairs towards high-voltage, storage and energy management systems.

Working on high-voltage components requires several steps. Firstly, the vehicle must be de-energised. Then it must be correctly checked that it is de-energised. In addition, the person working on the vehicle must use the necessary protective equipment and tools safely. What can be described in one sentence has many facets in practice - from gluing colour-coded barriers to measuring insulation. Anyone who goes through these steps under instruction on a real vehicle will therefore remember them more reliably than after any PowerPoint slide.

Fuel cell drives add a further safety and process level. This includes handling pressurised gas, understanding the fuel cell stack architecture, the diagnostic logic in the event of power loss and the interfaces to the high-voltage buffer battery and drivetrain. These components are now a reality in series-produced lorries. The workshop side must therefore catch up.

A free Lorry workshop lives from the fact that it can cover many brands and drives. This is precisely the strength of the Alltrucks network. With high-voltage and hydrogen expertise in the team, this range also expands as an operational prerequisite for alternative drive systems to be accepted in the workshop at all.

The co-operation combines two strengths. Alltrucks brings the European workshop network and access to partner companies with a wide variety of profiles. BHFM Technologies, on the other hand, contributes its aftersales expertise in zero-emission drive and storage technologies - high-voltage battery systems, hydrogen fuel cells and industrial battery storage systems.

BHFM Technologies, based in Willich, Germany, specialises in after-sales and services for zero-emission drive and storage technologies. The company supports manufacturers, workshops and fleet operators in the maintenance and repair of battery systems. It also operates its own repair centre, where repairs are regularly carried out for well-known manufacturers. This practical knowledge is therefore directly incorporated into the training content. The training courses are therefore not theoretical courses that are bought in from somewhere else. Instead, they are created in the same organisation that repairs the components on a daily basis.

Alltrucks is Europe's leading multi-brand workshop network for commercial vehicles. It was founded in 2013 as a joint venture between Bosch and Knorr-Bremse and today has around 650+ independent partner businesses in 18 countries. The services used to qualify, equip and network workshops are provided via the system centre in Munich. The BHFM cooperation thus fits into this logic: it is a building block in the toolbox with which the network keeps its partners fit for the future.

The first practice location of the co-operation is Theo Boeckels Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH in Willich in the Lower Rhine region. The family business was founded in 1960 as the general agency for Kässbohrer. Today, Boeckels covers the complete range of services as Omniplus Busworld for the Daimler bus brands Mercedes-Benz and Setra. The company is also a service partner for buses, commercial vehicles, semi-trailers, trailers and bodies. With its own body shop and paint shop, the range of services extends from accident repairs to complete bodywork and superstructures.

Over 65 years of experience in maintenance, repair and vehicle construction form the basis. What also makes Boeckels special for the cooperation is the decision to open up its own knowledge and infrastructure for training courses at other workshops. The company is actively shaping the transition to alternative drive systems and has specialised in battery and hydrogen systems with BHFM since 2023. The location is therefore the obvious address.

The difference to traditional training courses can be experienced physically: no seminar hotels, no generic demo vehicles. Instead, there is a lifting platform, high-voltage workbench and fuel cell components in the condition in which they will be touched during operation. This environment therefore changes how quickly content sits - especially with safety routines that cannot be improvised in reality.

The theoretical content is deliberately reduced to the essentials. The aim is therefore to train mechanics in such a way that they can safely master the new technologies - with technical depth and practical expertise.

The training courses are divided into several modules. However, which of these make sense for your own workshop depends on the team's prior knowledge, the vehicle mix of the customer base and the desired service profile. To minimise the effort involved in pre-selection, access is therefore via the familiar Alltrucks channels.

In addition to the Willich site, two further training centres are planned for Bremen and Munich. A mobile training team will also serve the European market. This means that workshops in regions that are not within reach of a fixed location will also have access to the same content and components.