In partnership with Toyota Motor Europe (TME), CEVA Logistics will test a prototype of a heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) truck.
TME’s concept truck was designed by Dutch manufacturer VDL Groep, under a five-year contract, decarbonising TME’s supply chain while providing performance information about HFCs.
CEVA will acquire the prototype and integrate it into its operations in the second half of 2023. The pilot program will enable CEVA to continue evaluating hydrogen fuel cell trucks ahead of global industrialization of fuel cell technology, which is supposed to begin at the end of 2023. The contract.
CEVA’s purchase of the prototype will be partly financed by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport through €384,000 (US$419,000) in the context of the federal financing program “Climate-Friendly Commercial Vehicles and Infrastructure (KsNI)”. The program is coordinated by Now, and applications are approved by the Federal Office of Logistics and Mobility.
According to the companies, this long-term trial will play an important role in evaluating the benefits of hydrogen for road transport and developing sustainable hydrogen infrastructure in Europe. CEVA will study the performance of hydrogen fuel cell technology compared to conventional diesel trucks and identify potential use cases. The fuel cell hydrogen truck will be allocated a dedicated flow between two TME sites and will be fueled with available hydrogen from existing stations available between the sites. With the HFC truck, CEVA expects to reduce its carbon footprint by at least 690 tons of CO22 During the five-year probationary period.
The HFC testing is part of CEVA’s efforts to implement a range of initiatives in its land operations to reduce emissions by expanding the use of electric vehicles, biogas and biofuels; testing hydrogen fuel cells and other low-carbon trucks; and transport qualified full truckload shipments to their rail solutions. In addition to testing HFC trucks, the company plans to grow its fleet of electric vehicles to 1,450 by the end of 2025. CEVA Logistics is part of the CMA CGM Group, which has set a goal to reach net zero by 2050.
“We have a long-standing relationship with Toyota Motor Europe, and playing an active role in a decarbonization project with them represents an important moment for us and our industry,” said Luc Nadal, Managing Director of CEVA Logistics in Europe. “We recently launched the European Clean Transport Network (ECTN) alliance with my company Sanef and Engie also recently announced our global commitment to a much larger fleet of electric vehicles. So today’s announcement (20 June) is just another example of CEVA’s commitment to working alongside big brands to find better ways to move road freight. We all want to benefit From every possible opportunity to decarbonize road transport in Europe and around the world.
To keep up to date with the latest logistics developments at CEVA, click here.
