VDL wants to show that a hydrogen truck can do the same thing as a diesel truck

Dani?lle van Hout

Published: Jul. 25, 2023

The Article below is a direct translation of the article written by Dani?lle van Hout which was published on Logistiek.nl on the 25th of July 2023. Special thanks goes to Wouter van der Laak for the translation.

Link to the original Dutch article https://www.logistiek.nl/192639/vdl-wil-laten-zien-dat-een-waterstoftruck-hetzelfde-kan-als-een-dieseltruck?giftCode=uGCSg28vG7WxbcVnxbjl4EPI9BgrUt4aJqNFtIP3DYIOCzxUaSuDyQxKkW7r3twe

Dutch VDL Special Vehicles , part of industrial group VDL Groep , is building hydrogen trucks for - and with - Toyota Motor Europe to gain knowledge of hydrogen. "Our goal is not to become a truck manufacturer, but to gain knowledge of what is under the hood," said Hans Bekkers, Commercial Director VDL Special Vehicles. Four logistic service providers will drive prototypes of the truck between Toyota sites in Europe for a period of five years starting in late 2023.

Five brand-new gliders from DAF, with no engine and no gearbox, are being built into fully-fledged hydrogen trucks at the production facility in Eindhoven (Netherlands) using fuel cell technology from Toyota Motor Europe (TME). The Dutch company and TME have joined forces with the aim of accelerating the decarbonization of road transport.

That, according to the Japanese automaker's European arm, is a key factor in achieving its goal of being fully carbon neutral by 2040, and the logistics arm is an important part of that.

Previous European hydrogen project

VDL Special Vehicles has been in contact with Toyota for some time, as they both feel a need to boost the hydrogen economy, explains Hans Bekkers, Commercial Director VDL Special Vehicles. The Dutch company has built two hydrogen trucks for European subsidy project H2Haul with similar specifications to those they are now building for Toyota.

"Those trucks had caught Toyota's eye, and so they came to us with the question of whether we were interested in building a truck with a Toyota fuel cell. And that's what we started doing." The project is currently in its first phase: production. Progress is going according to plan, said Bekkers.

Radius of 200 kilometers

?According to Bekkers, one of the big problems you run into when you want to use hydrogen on the road is that there are very few repair and maintenance points that have mastered such technology. The partners have therefore agreed to opt for a limited number of trucks in a limited geographical area for the project. "After all, we provide some of the after-sales support ourselves. That is why we wanted to limit the area geographically. Keeping the truck in operation is a challenge in itself. We therefore drew a radius of 200 kilometers around Eindhoven.

"Keeping the truck operating is a challenge in itself."

The trucks are deployed in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France. They drive routes to and from the port of Rotterdam, the port of Zeebrugge, the Toyota plant in Valenciennes in Northern France, the parts distribution center in Diest, Belgium and the parts distribution center near Cologne, Germany. "These routes were chosen to ensure that if a technical problem arises, we can also act quickly."

Four logistics partners

In approaching logistics partners for the project, Bekkers said Toyota deliberately looked into its own logistics system. The company has multiple production sites, component distribution centers and specific ports where materials arrive. In between, many trucks are on the road daily with many carriers. Four of these carriers were approached for this project. Logistics service providers 美商宏鹰国际货运 , Vos Transport Group , Yusen Logistics and Groupe CAT , partners of TME, are part of the truck's field test and have purchased the truck. A fifth is also being built that Toyota itself will deploy, for demonstration and show purposes.

The four trucks will be used exclusively for Toyota transportation. Bekkers: "With this project we want to demonstrate to the outside world that the technology of hydrogen, and the hydrogen truck itself, can be used in the same kind of environment as a diesel truck. We are trying to take that step together." Bekkers believes in an emission-free future for medium and heavy on- and off-road equipment.

For yourselves, what is the purpose of participating in the project?

Bekkers: "At VDL Special Vehicles, we focus on developing and incorporating alternative powertrains for all kinds of vehicles. In this we work together with the manufacturers of these vehicles as a contract manufacturer. For us, the primary goal of the project is to gain more knowledge and experience with hydrogen technology, which we can then use in other areas. For example, we are also focusing on construction machinery, airport equipment and agricultural equipment. These are all disciplines where hydrogen can come into the picture now, or eventually. So, our goal is not so much to become a truck manufacturer, but more to acquire the knowledge of what's under the hood."

So hydrogen is really something you believe in?

"What we really believe in as VDL is that the future is zero emissions. The road to that can be achieved in different ways. We also have a lot of electric products. I don't feel it's going to be either one or the other, but a mix. And hydrogen is one of the serious contenders. So, we want to understand the technology better. And better understand where we can have an impact to get the TCO to a level that it can really be competitive with, initially, electric driving and later on with current diesel trucks. We want to demonstrate that hydrogen trucks today are of a certain level that allows them to be used in daily operations.

"Shooting technologies down in advance is not the method."

I do think it's an interesting discussion. Most people who are critical of hydrogen are critical because of the cost and because of the efficiency of a truck. This is also right, because ultimately it is not just about driving zero emission, but about doing so in an economically responsible way. But shooting down technologies in advance is not the method, I think. We need to gain experience to understand where we can improve the technology. To do that, we have to be out in the field and gain experience. And that's what we're doing now. You just need projects like this to be able to take the next step."

Do the four participating companies each drive a different route?

"All four parties have their own work. These are four individual routes, which do sometimes end up at the same points. For example, they all drive to the parts distribution center in Diest, near Brussels. And they all drive from there as well, but all in different directions."

Why was this chosen? Do the routes differ greatly?

"No. It's mainly to be able to compare the four different deployments of four different companies. But these are not different deployments in terms of geographic challenges, mountains or anything like that. We want to keep it in that closed geographical area, so we can do that in a controlled way. Within the area, we chose multiple routes so that not all the trucks are going to run the same route and therefore you get very similar results. But in terms of geography and challenges on the route, they are close to each other.

Were these four companies deliberately chosen?

"We looked at which partners of Toyota might be interested in doing something with a hydrogen truck. That's where these companies came out. We are always looking for a coalition of the willing. Which partners are willing to contribute? Based on that, the logistics department at Toyota Motor Europe made the selection. These kinds of companies are also very aware of the fact that something has to be done, and so they themselves have a motivator to get into this project and gain experience."

What are the challenges you are facing now?

"There are several. The cost of hydrogen truck components is currently still many times higher compared to a diesel truck. Especially if users want to end up with equal costs or preferably even less. That is just very difficult right now. Another challenge we have is how to get the hydrogen. The routes chosen were also chosen based on the availability of hydrogen refueling stations. Currently, the price of hydrogen is very high. It has gone up because of the war with Ukraine, as have energy prices. But at the moment, unfortunately, we are not seeing the downward effect seen in energy prices being reflected in hydrogen prices. Hydrogen remains relatively expensive and that also does not help in achieving a favorable TCO.

"If you are going to innovate then you run into the limits of what is possible."

And the final challenge, besides building a truck, is making sure the truck remains deployable. Very little is available in the area of hydrogen repair and maintenance. Also because laws and regulations in this area are still limited. But that, on the other hand, is also part of the project.

"When you start innovating you run into the limits of what is possible. Through trial and error we get further together."

How do you look at the future of the project?

"For us, it's important to gain experience. The main lessons for us are really in engineering and building the trucks. We will have mastered that experience before the end of the year. After that, it will be very interesting to see how the trucks hold up. What is the reliability, and which issues are we still running into? We're talking about a product that's relatively early in its life cycle, so we're going to encounter teething problems, and we just have to deal with them properly. Make sure we understand where they're coming from, address them and resolve them. That's the exciting piece for us: deployment.

"When you gain experience you are always successful."

When is this project successful?

"I think successful is the wrong word. The wrong KPI to put it that way. We have brought together a number of parties who believe in the future of hydrogen. To collectively gain experience and learn from it. If you want to measure the success of a project, I think the moment we gain experience, we are always successful. Whatever experiences are. We all get smarter from it. The objective is to really deploy the trucks fully and see them running. And that makes the project successful by definition, in my view. Of course, logically, you also want to take follow-up steps if it succeeds, a broader rollout, for example, and then it's nice if the project ends positively, but that will always be our goal, because otherwise you shouldn't start the project."