Essen (energate) - The energy company Eon has won its first customer for its new business model in the heavy goods transport sector. The logistics service provider Richter Group from Wesel (North Rhine-Westphalia) wants to decarbonise its fleet of 160 trucks and gradually replace the diesel vehicles with fuel cell trucks. Eon is to supply both the green hydrogen, including the refuelling infrastructure, and the H2 trucks. According to the Essen-based company, the first 20 vehicles are supposed to be flotted in the coming year. The complete fleet conversion is planned for the next four to five years.
The order could be even larger for Eon and the truck manufacturer Nikola. Richter Group announced that it also wants to bring its logistics partners on board. Then up to 750 more hydrogen trucks would be needed in the same period, Eon looked ahead. A first refuelling facility is to be built on the Richter Group site in Wesel. "We plan to supply up to 225 tonnes of green hydrogen per year for the first 20 hydrogen-powered trucks and we will significantly increase this amount over the next four to five years," reported Gabriel Clemens, CEO of Eon Green Gas.
Joint venture in formation
Eon had newly entered the hydrogen-based heavy-duty transport business in December, offering an integrated solution including tank infrastructure. The group's declared goal is to
make green hydrogen in heavy-duty transport and fuel cell trucks competitive by 2024. Eon is cooperating with the US vehicle manufacturer Nikola. The operational business is to be the responsibility of a joint venture that the two companies intend to establish in the near future. The joint venture has not yet been named. Initially, the partners want to
bring 5,000 Nikola H2 trucks onto the market. /dz
