French industrial gases company Air Liquide and Italian commercial vehicle maker Iveco are jointly studying the potential to roll out heavy-duty fuel-cell-electric long-haul trucks and clean hydrogen refuelling stations along major transport corridors in Europe.  

The project forms part of a wider memorandum of understanding between the two companies to promote hydrogen-powered transport.

“Air Liquide is pleased to join forces with a leader such as Iveco to explore how to set this revolution in motion. In line with its sustainability objectives, Air Liquide acts in favour of the development of hydrogen ecosystems and contributes to the emergence of a low-carbon society,” says Matthieu Giard, vice-president at Air Liquide.

“Air Liquide is pleased to join forces with a leader such as Iveco,” Giard, Air Liquide

Air Liquide’s agreement with Iveco is the latest in a growing list of alliances it has formed with the transport sector to accelerate the use of hydrogen in Europe, Asia and the US. Last month, it formed a partnership with Italian energy company Eni to explore the deployment of a hydrogen refuelling network for heavy and light fuel cell vehicles in Italy.

And in October it signed an agreement with French automotive technology company  Faurecia to develop onboard liquid hydrogen storage systems aimed at heavy-duty mobility. Air Liquide believes liquid hydrogen will be a key technology in the future development of the hydrogen sector.

The firm says its partnership with Iveco is aligned with a separate project to develop Europe’s first fleet of fuel cell electric trucks around a high-pressure hydrogen refuelling station at its Fos-sur-Mer site in southern France.

It is likely that a dual infrastructure will be required for road transport—one for battery-electric vehicles and one for fuel cell electric vehicles, Erwin Penfornis, Air Liquide’s vice-president of the Hydrogen Energy World Business Line, said on a recent hydrogen economist PE Live roundtable.

---

Author: Stuart Penson