Fuel cell truck for hauling the milk

Hyzon Motors has delivered its first 55-ton milk truck to Transport Groep Noord, a carrier providing transport for multinational dairy company Royal FrieslandCampina N.V.

Hyzon Motors Inc., a global supplier of zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell-powered commercial vehicles, announced the delivery of its first 55-ton milk truck to Transport Groep Noord, a carrier providing transport for multinational dairy company Royal FrieslandCampina N.V.

The 55-ton vehicle, a HyMax 450 Puller built on a Class 8 DAF truck chassis, is expected to have up to 520 km range with motor power up to 550 kW capacity. Transport Groep Noord plans to operate the truck on specific routes in the North of the Netherlands, where the first hydrogen-powered milk delivery took place recently in a Hyzon truck.

Transport Groep Noord operates 25 trucks for FrieslandCampina, which aims to transition its entire fleet to zero-emissions vehicles.

With branches in 38 and brands in over 100 countries, FrieslandCampina is one of the largest dairy cooperatives in the world. In its sustainability program ‘Nourishing a better planet,’ FrieslandCampina sets ambitious goals, including CO₂-neutral production in the year 2050. As an intermediate step the dairy company wants to have reduced the greenhouse gas emissions by more than one third by 2030.

“Over five years ago, FrieslandCampina started using liquid natural gas as a cleaner fuel and we successfully stimulated filling stations all over the Netherlands to supply this type of fuel,” said Hans Wieleman, FrieslandCampina’s Milk Logistics manager. “Now we try to do the same with hydrogen, in close cooperation with Hyzon and Transport Groep Noord. Transport is and will remain important to further increasing sustainability at FrieslandCampina.”

For applications in which payload is critical such as milk, beverage, and water transport, hydrogen-powered vehicles provide a compelling solution for zero-emissions transport, Hyzon said. Hydrogen-powered trucks can carry 2 to 5 tons more payload than battery electric trucks due to lower weight of hydrogen fuel systems.

“FrieslandCampina’s commitment to decarbonizing their operations can serve as a model for transitioning commercial transport to hydrogen-powered vehicles,” said Hyzon CEO Craig Knight. “Its existing successes demonstrate that reducing emissions is possible in the short-term. Deploying Hyzon’s hydrogen fuel cell-powered trucks to a global company like FrieslandCampina provides another tangible example that companies can make a real impact in reducing fleet emissions right now.”