Colruyt Group first in Europe to start a test of a 44 ton “heavy duty hydrogen truck"

Colruyt Group was the first in Europe to start a test of a 44 ton “heavy duty” fully electric truck with hydrogen “range extender”. This truck was developed by VDL Groep in Eindhoven, and the test is part of the European Interreg demonstration project Hydrogen Region 2.0, which is coordinated by WaterstofNet.

While driving, the truck's batteries are recharged with the electricity generated by the hydrogen fuel cell.

In addition to its sustainable character through the use of green energy and hydrogen, this vehicle has the additional advantage that it can travel longer distances than other electric trucks - an important asset for freight transport.

Colruyt Group and VDL Groep are both partners of the Interreg project Hydrogen Region 2.0, which aims to build up knowledge and experience with large-scale hydrogen applications, including in logistics. By broadly sharing the experience gained, Hydrogen Region 2.0 wants to inspire other large logistics centers to also start using hydrogen vehicles.

Adwin Martens: “As WaterstofNet, we have been promoting cross-border cooperation between Flanders and the Netherlands on hydrogen for several years now. The collaboration between Colruyt Group and VDL within the Interreg Hydrogen Region 2.0 program is an important example of this. We are therefore very pleased with this new milestone. We see great potential for heavy transport applications on hydrogen. With this demonstration we take the lead in Europe and show hydrogen solutions, which are developed and tested in our region. This project is therefore an important step towards bringing hydrogen-powered trucks closer to the market. ”

Within the Hydrogen Region (since 2004), various other hydrogen projects have already been realized at Colruyt Group, which itself has already invested 6 million euros in hydrogen initiatives.

Just think of the green hydrogen filling station at the Dassenveld site. In addition, a number of hydrogen forklift trucks drive around in the distribution center. In October 2018, the group opened the first green public hydrogen filling station: the DATS 24 station in Zinkstraat in Halle thus became the first fully integrated station in Europe with a range of all possible fuels. The investments are in line with the Flemish hydrogen vision.

Flemish Minister of Economy and Innovation Hilde Crevits:
“In terms of sustainability, we have to pull out all the stops. We have made this an absolute priority in the Flemish Resilience recovery plan. We have now developed the very first Flemish hydrogen vision and will be investing more than 125 million euros in hydrogen technology and development in the coming years. Hydrogen has enormous potential, for example to reduce emissions from heavy transport. It is therefore an excellent thing that Colruyt supports this and uses hydrogen for day-to-day logistics operations. As a Flemish minister, I am proud that we have been able to support this. ”

Watch this video with more info about the truck (in Dutch)