An all-star line-up of vehicle manufacturers, technology and infrastructure providers have signed a coalition statement certifying their joint commitment to slashing greenhouse gas emissions in the European transport and logistics industry by 90 per cent within the next 30 years, through the widespread adoption of hydrogen fuel cell trucks.
In a joint statement today, the Coalition outlined its strategy for supporting the European Union’s plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and how various industry and government stakeholders could do their part to ensure the Coalition is able to achieve its stated strategy.
The Coalition includes the likes of Toyota, Hyundai, Honda, HYZON Motors, Ballard, Michelin, Total, Engie, Shell and BMW Group to name a few, and covers original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), fuel cell and hydrogen technology providers, refuelling infrastructure and hydrogen providers, truck
operators, road freight services users and related industry associations.
In its joint statement, the Coalition said it was of the strong view that fuel cell and hydrogen (FCH) heavy-duty trucks in the logistics industry can serve as a trailblazer for hydrogen applications by showcasing strong environmental and commercial benefits in Europe.
“As part of our transition to zero emissions powertrains, we commit to the joint target for the transport sector in Europe to deploy up to 100,000 FCH heavy-duty trucks from 2030 onwards as highlighted in the study supported by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, as well as up to 1,500 hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS) closely synchronised with FCH heavy-duty truck developments and roll out until 2030,” it stated.
“We intend to do so by cross-industry collaboration, introducing new products and business models, use FCH trucks for our logistics service offerings and establish the respective HRS networks and fuel supply chain to kick-start and speed-up their deployment.
“We herewith express our commitment and willingness to contribute to the decarbonisation of the European transport sector by heavily investing in the development, production and deployment of FCH trucks, to create demand for large amounts of green hydrogen and to build and operate the respective HRS infrastructure.
“To achieve the necessary scale effects and to reach expected cost reductions through technical optimisations until fuel cell trucks and hydrogen reach competitive market prices, we intend to support commercialisation by a concerted push to the market.”
HYZON Motors Chief Executive Officer Craig Knight said the names behind the Coalition were an incredibly strong indication of how serious the industry is about making a significant, sustained and meaningful impact on our future.
“This is a landmark mission statement by the parties that have signed this document and HYZON is proud to be part of the decarbonisation plans in Europe.
“We agree wholeheartedly with the EU’s carbon neutrality target and the only way that is going to be achieved is with widespread industry collaboration, government support and access to funding instruments, not to mention ever-growing acceptance and adoption of these critical clean energy technologies.
“We look forward to what the future holds for Europe but it doesn’t stop there for HYZON; it is our hope that other regions take serious note of this Coalition’s mission statement and ask themselves how they can take this framework and set their own ambitious – albeit achievable – long term targets.”
SOURCE: HYZON Motors
