Delhaize Belgium is testing a dual-fuel hydrogen truck to transport goods from its distribution centre in Zellik to supermarkets in the Antwerp region.
The truck joins the fleet of the Van Moer Logistics, which provides logistics services in the Antwerp region.
In June of this year, CMB.TECH introduced the hydrogen truck prototype and multimodal hydrogen filling station in Antwerp.
The trial will be conducted for 12 months before examining how the technology can be further rolled out in Van Moer Logistics' 500-truck fleet.
"We were looking for a reliable and stable partner who was willing to go through the test phase of our hydrogen truck with us," said Alexander Saverys, CEO of CMB.TECH.
"Van Moer Logistics shares our vision to reduce emissions from the transport industry with financially feasible and reliable technologies. Testing this first CMB.TECH hydrogen truck is the first step towards a rapid scale-up and roll-out of more similar trucks on European roads in 2022."
How It Works
The dual-fuel hydrogen truck mixes hydrogen as fuel in its converted diesel engine to consume less diesel and produce less CO2.
If necessary, the engine can also operate entirely on diesel.
The truck also cuts nitrogen oxide emissions by around 70%.
The truck has a range of 500 kilometres with a full tank of hydrogen, and, if necessary, it travels another 3,000 kilometres on diesel.
Jo Van Moer, founder and CEO of Van Moer Logistics, added, "The dual-fuel functionality makes this truck so interesting; the goal is to drive 100% on hydrogen, but in daily life on the road, you must consider unpredictable factors such as traffic jams and waiting hours.
"Thanks to the diesel reserve, we don't have to worry about the truck running out of fuel in the middle of its journey. By applying this technology to the new trucks, we buy today, we can continue to operate in the usual way, but enable the scale-up of hydrogen refuelling stations and the associated infrastructure."
In April of this year, Delhaize Belgium announced that all of its 763 stores in the country achieved CO₂ neutrality and it aims to make its entire operation in the country CO₂ neutral by end of 2021.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Dayeeta Das. For more Supply Chain news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
