H2Accelerate outlines hydrogen HGV work in white-paper
Growth in hydrogen technology for HGVs has been outlined by H2Accelerate following the first phase of funding for fuel cell trucks and hydrogen refuelling stations.
The H2Accelerate white-paper follows the news that the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and Connecting Europe Facility-Transport secured €30m of funding from the Clean Hydrogen Partnership for the deployment of 150 fuel cell trucks – with further funding from the Connecting Europe Facility for 8 hydrogen refueling stations. There are now 29 stations from H2Accelerate members, when including TotalEnergies additional 9 stations to the network.
The white-paper sets out expectations for the technologies to be deployed during Phase 1, in terms of trucks, refuelling stations, and upstream renewable hydrogen production as the initiatives set to demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of long-haul hydrogen trucking through the refuelling stations, located in France and the Netherlands.
A key feature of the first phase will be collecting data and feedback on the operational and financial performance of the vehicles and infrastructure, which will be used to inform the next phase of deployment, to maximise the speed at which the sector can reach full industrialisation, it said.
The stations will be supplied by renewable hydrogen, and H2Accelerate members are developing green hydrogen production capacity. For example, Shell is already operating a 10MW electrolyser in Germany as part of the Refhyne project and has taken a final investment decision on a 200MW electrolyser in the Netherlands under Holland Hydrogen 1.
The white-paper sets out the case for hydrogen production for mobility and industrial applications as complimentary off takers, which enable synergies on scale and potential hydrogen price.
Richard Ferrer, Head of Innovation & Alternative Fuels at the European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, said: “We are delighted that the Connecting Europe Facility is able to support 29 stations from members of the H2Accelerate collaboration. These high-capacity stations, distributed across key freight transport corridors, will form the basis of a sustainable refueling and recharging network across Europe. The link to Clean Hydrogen Partnership funding for 150 fuel cell trucks means that the business case for the stations will be vastly improved, ensuring that maximum value-for-money can be attained with public funding.”
Christian Nissing, Head of Business Development Europe at H2 Mobility Solutions, TotalEnergies, said: “The future of heavy-duty mobility relies on the availability of renewable hydrogen production and refuelling infrastructure. TotalEnergies is excited to take this next step. Through our projects under the H2Accelerate collaboration and funded by the Connecting Europe Facility, we are committed to bringing 29 hydrogen refuelling stations to Europe in the next few years, and being a member of H2Accelerate has enabled us to ensure these stations will see large-scale demand from fuel cell trucks.”
Image courtesy of H2Accelerate