CORDIS

H2Haul brings together two major European truck OEMs (IVECO/Fiat Powertrain Technologies and VDL) and fuel cell suppliers (ElringKlinger and Powercell) to develop and demonstrate fleets of heavy duty (26–44t) trucks in day-to-day commercial operations at four sites across four countries. The consortium includes hydrogen infrastructure providers (Air Liquide and H2Energy) who will put in place refuelling facilities and reliable hydrogen supplies at each of the demonstration sites. The vehicles will be integrated into the fleets of several high profile retailers with a strong interest in and commitment to adopting fuel cell HGVs (Carrefour (South of France), Colruyt (Belgium), Coop (Switzerland)), and used in logistics operations (by DHL for BMW in Germany and by Air Liquide (France)). The Air Liquide truck will be used as part of the company’s existing hydrogen logistics operation and thus represents an important step forward for this sector: fuel for zero emission mobility being delivered by a zero tailpipe emission vehicle. Seven of the vehicles deployed in this project will be 26t rigid (solo) trucks, and nine will be tractor units for 44t articulated vehicles. The development and homologation of these variants provides an excellent foundation for wider roll-out beyond the project by maximising the potential customer base and achieving synergies in terms of component design, integration, and vehicle engineering.

The overall objective of H2Haul is to prove that hydrogen trucks can be a practical zero emission and zero carbon solution for much of Europe’s trucking needs and in so doing pave the way for commercialisation of fuel cell trucks in Europe. This overall objective leads to a series of sub-objectives:
• Develop long-haul heavy-duty (26 and 44t) fuel cell trucks that meet customers’ requirements in a range of operating environments
• Homologate three fuel cell truck types to certify that they are safe to use on Europe’s roads
• Install hydrogen refuelling infrastructure at each of the demonstration sites and put in place arrangements for high reliability hydrogen supplies that maximise environmental benefits
• Drive the fuel cell trucks for over one million kilometres during normal commercial operations, proving the viability of the technology
• Demonstrate high reliability of fuel cell heavy-duty trucks compatible with mainstream trucking operations under normal operating conditions
• Monitor the performance of the vehicles and infrastructure throughout the operational phase to provide definitive evidence, validated by third parties, on the availability, efficiency, and environmental benefits of fuel cell trucks
• Develop the business case for further roll-out of heavy-duty fuel cell trucks
• Prepare the European market for further roll-out of fuel cell trucks through (i) the development of innovative commercial models and (ii) disseminating information from the project to a wide audience of relevant stakeholders

Key progress during the first year of the project includes:
• Discussions have progressed between truck OEMs and fuel cell systems providers to develop initial fuel cell truck specifications and designs. Furthermore, the truck OEMs have worked with the demonstration site partners to define specific requirements at each site, as per the HRS designs and the truck mission profiles.
• The HRS in Hunzenschwil, Switzerland, is fully operational and able to refuel trucks at 350 bar. Two trucks are able to refuel back-to-back, and the operator is in the process of upgrading the storage capacity for increased back-to-back refuelling capacity within the next year.
• All other HRS are under development, with technical specifications defined and the first detailed HRS designs being prepared by partners. The risk and safety assessments have commenced at the Belgian site in Ollignies.
• The H2Haul Performance Assessment Framework was developed, with all partners agreeing upon the data to be collected for analysis as part of the project.
• A Data Management Plan was developed in line with the Performance Assessment Framework, to ensure that project data is findable, openly accessible, interoperable and re-usable (H2020 FAIR principle).
• The objectives, tools, and targets for the dissemination activities have been set out in the dissemination strategy, and the project gained significant interest with the first press release and website launch.
• The management structure of the consortium and General Assembly was finalised at the start of the project, as well as the planned reporting structure and timelines. The Overall Project Plan was submitted, setting out the work plan and risk register to be regularly monitored.

All targets are on track. See technical report Part B for further details.