VDL, TNO, the municipality of Helmond and Automotive NL are some of the partners in the project ‘H2Share’. Within ‘H2Share’, a 27 ton rigid truck on hydrogen and a flexible low energy mobile H2 refueler will be built and demonstrated. The project was submitted by WaterstofNet at Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) for a grant and recently received approval.
The objective of ‘H2Share’ is to facilitate the development of a market for low-carbon heavy duty vehicles on hydrogen (H2) for logistic applications and gain practical experience in different regions in North West Europe, creating a transnational living lab and a basis for the development of a zero-emission heavy-duty vehicle industry in this area.
According to Wouter van der Laak (Waterstofnet), evidence from the logistics sector shows a strong growing interest in zero-emission vehicles to reduce environmental impact and emissions which have a negative impact on air quality. “This particularly is the case for the EU where the logistics sector contributes 25% of total transport sector CO2 emissions and traffic causes a significant part of the total pollution.” In urban areas, zero-emission logistics can be operated by battery-electric trucks.
In urban areas, zero-emission logistics can be operated by battery-electric trucks, Van der Laak said. “However, for large heavy duty vehicles which travel longer distances electric trucks with a fuel cell range extender on hydrogen can be a zero-emission solution. In the EU such vehicles are not yet commercially available but have huge potential.”
‘H2Share’ aims to unlock this potential in a transnational project with members from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. A 27 ton rigid truck on hydrogen will be built by VDL and a flexible Low energy mobile H2 refueler will be built by Wystrach GmbH. The goal is to demonstrate the truck at 6 locations in Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, and France.
‘H2Share’ stands for ‘Hydrogen Solutions for Heavy duty transport Aimed at Reduction of Emissions in North West Europe’.
The project will run until March 2020 and will be coordinated and disseminated by WaterstofNet. Partners are VDL ETS (The Netherlands), Wystrach (Germany), VDL Bus Chassis (The Netherlands), Automotive NL (The Netherlands), TNO (The Netherlands), Hydrogen Europe (Belgium), e-mobil BW (Germany), Automotive NL (The Netherlands) and WaterstofNet (Belgium). Subpartners are the municipality of Helmond and VIL (Belgium). Associated partners are Deutsche Post DHL Group (Germany) & DHL International BV (The Netherlands), Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment (The Netherlands), Breytner BV (The Netherlands), CURE (The Netherlands) and Colruyt Group (Belgium).
Picture: electric truck by VDL
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