IAA 2026: FAW Is Not Done Surprising Us Yet!

After its tractors designed for Europe and its astonishing TL.X concept, FAW Trucks unveiled another project in Hanover, this time developed with Shell: an immersion-cooled battery, tested on the Starship 3.0 Hybrid truck.

A Battery That Takes a Bath

I told you after my visit to the FAW stand: this Chinese manufacturer deserves to be watched. Its trucks are no longer simply curiosities displayed at IAA. And behind the vehicles, there is also work being done on technologies that could equip the next generations of heavy-duty trucks.

Together with Shell, FAW has developed a battery pack whose cells are immersed in an electrically insulating liquid. The idea? To dissipate heat over a larger surface area than with conventional cooling. When a truck is subjected to repeated high loads or high-power charging phases, maintaining the batteries at an even temperature becomes essential to preserve their performance and lifespan.

Promising Results, but Still Preliminary

This pack was installed on the Shell Starship 3.0 Hybrid, a laboratory truck presented on the FAW stand at IAA. The initial tests are encouraging: the partners report a 0.8% gain in energy efficiency at vehicle level and a potential improvement in battery lifespan of up to 32%. They also report an improvement in the truck’s ability to climb a slope. However, caution is required: these are preliminary results obtained on a demonstrator. The final data will only be communicated once validation has been completed.

FAW Is Also Working on Hybrid Technology

What interests me here is not just the cooling liquid. It is the approach. FAW and Shell are working together on a hybrid truck, while some would already like to reduce the future of transport to all-electric. The technology is being studied for future FAW hybrid commercial vehicles; no commercialisation has been announced at this stage.

As I walked around IAA, I was struck by the quality of FAW’s trucks and by the group’s determination to establish itself in Europe. This project shows another facet of this offensive: the manufacturer is not only working on the appearance of its cabs or on a technical specification designed to generate attention. It is also focusing on battery management, a decisive factor for reliability and operating costs.

Now we need to see whether this solution will deliver on its promises outside the laboratory truck, and at what price. You know me: before calling it a revolution, I would like to see the final results and, one day, the truck at work. But one thing is certain: FAW is not done surprising us yet.

Florian Engel and Fabien Calvet