Colruyt Group experiments with new type of hydrogen truck
Belgian leading retailer Colruyt Group is moving further towards decarbonisation of its supply chains. It has been testing another type of hydrogen-powered truck. After examining a 44-tonne hydrogen vehicle in 2020, the company is checking the opportunities of a 27-tonne hydrogen-electric lorry for delivering goods.
The innovative truck that powers from both batteries and hydrogen is based on a DAF CF Electric 27-tonne vehicle. VDL Groep from the Netherlands equipped it with fuel cells to increase its cruising range compared to the all-electric vehicles. The lorry is mainly powered by hydrogen. While driving the truck, its batteries recharge with the electricity generated by the hydrogen fuel cell. In the past few months, Colruyt Group has tried the vehicle on the roads of Belgium. Afterwards, it will check its advantages in France during another one-month test period. The experiment is a part of the European Interreg North-West Europe H2-Share demonstration project, coordinated by WaterstofNet.
Investing in hydrogen
Since 2004, Colruyt Group has already invested 6 million euros in innovative projects with hydrogen. The Belgian retailer has been producing its own green hydrogen on the Dassenveld site for a few years now. In the distribution centre, a number of forklift trucks are hydrogen-powered. Moreover, hydrogen is being used for 20 passenger cars, which are deployed within the group. In October 2018, the group opened the first green public hydrogen filling station, the DATS 24 station in Halle that became the first fully integrated station in Belgium with a range of all possible fuels.