Interreg

E-Trucks Europe is currently building intensively on hydrogen hybrid refuse lorries. The driveline for these refuse lorries is electric which means that they are quiet and that they don’t produce any local emissions. However, the battery pack which provides the energy for this driveline is too small and a further increase would mean a loss of charging capacity. These vehicles are therefore fitted with a fuel cell system that converts hydrogen into electricity to maintain the energy level in the battery pack. This allows the vehicles to be used for an entire day, still without producing noise or emissions.

An important problem while demonstrating the method is refuelling with hydrogen. Hydrogen filling stations are more complex than traditional diesel or petrol stations: the hydrogen often has to be produced at the location, for example, from green electricity from windmills or solar panels. This is to ensure that the process produces zero emissions. There are still too few of these stations because of their complexity and the low number of hydrogen vehicles.

The Belgian-Dutch joint venture ‘Waterstofnet’ [‘Hydrogen Network’] has now set up a project with the support of Interreg Flanders-The Netherlands in which hydrogen filling station technology will be demonstrated. Hydrogen hybrid lorries from E-Trucks Europe will now be able to carry out demonstration weeks in other locations besides the existing filling stations (in Helmond, Rotterdam and Amsterdam).

The intention is that a development path can be developed based on the experience gained for each of the demonstration sites (which include Breda and the region south of Antwerp) so that hydrogen can have every chance that it deserves in the future.