The first 40-ton hydrogen-powered delivery truck designed in Switzerland was presented in Geneva. In response to the climate emergency, this vehicle emits no CO2 emissions, but water vapor.
Jean-Luc Favre, president of the Nomads Foundation, on the occasion of the presentation of the truck, said:
t was presented as part of the 23rd edition of the European Conference on Energy Transition, which is taking place in Geneva until.
The GoH! (Generation of Hydrogen) is the result of a collaboration between the Nomads Foundation and four companies: Migros, which wants to reduce its carbon footprint, the developer of electric-hydrogen propulsion systems GreenGT, the Geneva Industrial Services (SIG), for energy, and the group specializing in trucks LARAG.
Local and sustainable energy
The truck runs on an electric-hydrogen powertrain. With a power of 500 horsepower, it has a range of 600 kilometers, said Jean-François Weber, CEO of GreenGT. It releases less than a liter of water per kilometer in the form of steam at 80 degrees, much less than the 150 degrees emitted by a car, he said.
The energy used to run this truck will be local and sustainable. The GIS will invest 20 to 30 million francs to produce, by 2024-2025, hydrogen by electrolysis from waste incineration, said their director Christian Brunier.
Christian Brunier, said:
Hydrogen doesn’t address all the problems, but it’s the alternative for trucks.
The prototype truck cost more than a million francs.
Jean-François Weber, CEO of GreenGT, said:
Its selling price will be two to three times higher than that of a diesel truck.
“But this additional cost will be offset by the lower price of hydrogen, which is known and stable,” Weber said.
Skills
Announced in November 2019, the GoH! is concretized. The partners all stressed the importance of anticipating training for the energy transition. “We must define, with the schools, the necessary skills,” argued Jean-Luc Favre.
In his introduction to the presentation of this truck, Antonio Hodgers, Geneva State Councillor and Co-President of Greater Geneva, noted the role of private companies and innovation in the ecological transition:
The State cannot do everything, but it can set the framework conditions.
“The companies that will be successful tomorrow will be those that have reduced their carbon footprint.”
