FrieslandCampina has announced that it has introduced its first 50-tonne, hydrogen-powered milk truck in a bid to make transportation more sustainable.
Over the last decade, the Dutch dairy group reduced CO2 emissions per kilometre of transport between farms and production locations by 18.1%.
It was achieved through various initiatives, including electric pumping when loading the milk at the farm, the use of green electricity generated by member dairy farmers, and solar cells on the milk trucks.
Hydrogen-Powered Milk Trucks
Presently, only the Groningen region in the Netherlands has the infrastructure to support the operation of hydrogen milk trucks, the company added.
FrieslandCampina is exploring possibilities to extend it to other parts of the country to accelerate the use of hydrogen in transport.
Hans Wieleman, manager of milk logistics at FrieslandCampina, stated, “We keep challenging and improving ourselves step by step. Over five years ago, FrieslandCampina started using liquid natural gas (LNG) as a cleaner fuel for the milk trucks and we - successfully - stimulated filling stations all over the Netherlands to supply this type of fuel.
“Now we try to do the same with hydrogen in close cooperation with producer Hyzon and carrier Transport Groep Noord. Transport is and will remain important to further increase the sustainability at FrieslandCampina. We want to minimise the environmental impact of our milk trucks together with the parties involved.”
Sustainability Programme
FrieslandCampina has pledged CO2-neutral production by 2050 as part of its sustainability programme – Nourishing a better Planet.
It also aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by more than one-third by 2030, with 2015 as the reference year.
FrieslandCampina has identified the improvement of sustainability in transport as an important factor in achieving its goals.
The company described the addition of the first hydrogen-powered milk truck as a “next step” in the use of cleaner fuels.
© 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.
