Air Products (NYSE: APD), Schenk Tanktransport and TNO are collaborating on the Clean Hydrogen and Road Transport Project (CH2aRT), an endeavor which will develop hydrogen trucks and a public hydrogen refuelling station. The project focuses on hydrogen in heavy-duty road transport and is subsidized by the DKTI transport scheme (Demonstration Scheme for Climate Technologies and Innovations in Transport) of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.
This project is in cooperation with the Port of Rotterdam to create the largest hydrogen refuelling station in The Netherlands, initially supplying three zero-emission trucks from Air Products, Schenk Tanktransport and other early hydrogen adopters in the Rotterdam port area. Air Products will supply and operate the refuelling station in the Botlek area and supply green hydrogen in an efficient and safe manner, while Schenk Tanktransport will use the trucks for its daily logistics operations. TNO will monitor the entire project and use the insights obtained for the further development and application of hydrogen in heavy-duty road transport.
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The allocated DKTI transport subsidy is meant to support projects for sustainable transport. The grant was created to accelerate these sustainable innovations in the transport sector.
The project also contributes to the ambitions of HyTrucks, an international consortium of various parties, which aims to deploy hydrogen in heavy road transport on a large scale by 2025 with 1,000 hydrogen-powered trucks in the triangle of Rotterdam, North Rhine-Westphalia and Antwerp. The parties, working under a memorandum of understanding, include not only Air Products but also port companies, transport companies, fuel station operators and truck manufacturers, among others.
Kurt Lefevere, Vice-President Benelux, Germany and France at Air Products:
“This partnership is very positive for Air Products as it offers the possibility, as the world’s largest producer of hydrogen, to contribute even more to the necessary deployment of hydrogen in heavy-duty road transport. It is expected that hydrogen will help meet society’s need to make transport more sustainable, based on zero or low carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The choice of hydrogen for heavy duty vehicles, compared with other technologies, allows for faster refuelling, a greater vehicle range and the transport of heavier loads. The subsidy is evidence of the commitment locally and provides even further momentum to move forward. Our technology has been used in over 250 projects around the world. In addition, Air Products has decades of expertise and experience in hydrogen production, equipment, logistics and services.”
Boudewijn Siemons, COO Port of Rotterdam:
“All modes of transport, from shipping to road transport, must be CO2 neutral by 2050. Hydrogen is a clean, viable alternative to diesel for freight transport. But then, of course, there have to be refuelling stations. I am delighted that Air Products is taking the lead in this respect by commissioning the first hydrogen filling station for trucks in Rotterdam within two years.”
Harry Schenk, Co-CEO Schenk Tanktransport:
“For Schenk Tanktransport, this collaboration is fully in line with the partnership with Air Products and gives substance to our aim to be a frontrunner as a sustainable and innovative logistics service provider. Schenk Tanktransport has been focusing on reducing CO2 emissions for years and its fleet now consists of an increasing number of trucks running on (BIO) LNG. For us, hydrogen as a fuel is the next logical step in making our company and our environment more sustainable and future-proof.”
Martijn Stamm, Director Market TNO Traffic & Transport:
“TNO’s mission is to contribute to the achievement of the zero emission targets by accelerating solutions for sustainable powertrains. Trucks based on hydrogen fuel cells are one of the ways to achieve 100 percent reduction. TNO has many years of experience in monitoring and analyzing the reliability, maintenance and consumption of trucks under various conditions. In addition to this technical analysis, TNO also looks at driver acceptance and satisfaction, and analyses the opportunities, barriers and scenarios for scaling up in practice.