The vehicle, which is specially equipped for the operation, was officially handed over to Nippon Gases Deutschland and the HOYER Group today.
The industrial gases company Nippon Gases Deutschland, and the HOYER Group, a leading provider of logistics solutions for bulk liquids, already paved the way to sustainable transport solutions in the industrial gases sector five years ago, initially by using natural gas-powered transport trucks.
Today, this cooperation between the two specialists and hylane GmbH marks another step towards sustainable, environmentally-friendly transport solutions. The hydrogen-powered vehicle offers an emission-free alternative to the conventional road transport of dry ice in boxes, and emphasizes the commitment of the companies involved to innovative, sustainable technologies.
The hydrogen-powered truck was handed over at the Nippon Gases site in Hürth on January 8, 2025. Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, completed the first test run as co-driver. She thereby highlighted the importance of this technology for sustainable mobility, Germany as a business location and climate protection.
“Hydrogen can contribute towards making freight transport climate-neutral. Hydrogen-powered fuel-cell trucks have their strengths as a result of short refuelling times and long ranges, which is exactly where battery-electric drives reach their limits. Therefore, the State supports the construction of hydrogen service stations for heavy goods vehicles, and procurement initiatives such as HyTrucks.NRW. Because one thing is clear: reducing CO2 emissions in the transport sector is an important building block on North Rhine-Westphalia’s pathway to becoming Europe’s first climate-neutral industrial region,” said Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The air separation plant in Hürth is Nippon Gases Europe’s largest single production plant for air gases. The plant also houses a large filling station for all types of industrial gases and gas mixtures produced in Hürth. The company currently manufactures dry ice at the Bad Hönningen site. From 2025 onwards, the newly-built site in Zörbig (eastern Germany) will begin producing dry ice from biogenic CO2 raw gas. Dry ice is used in a wide range of applications, including in the food and beverage industry, the automotive industry, for transport cooling and to clean objects and equipment.
Christoph Laumen, Managing Director Nippon Gases Deutschland, said: “Hydrogen trucks will make an important contribution to CO₂-neutral freight transport by road in the future. As the first industrial gases company in Germany to use a hydrogen-powered truck in its logistics fleet, Nippon Gases is a pioneer in our sector. Even with the single use of this new vehicle, we expect to save around 69,000 kilograms of CO₂ in vehicle operation compared to conventional diesel trucks. In addition, we will gain important experience and knowledge that will enable us to use this CO₂-neutral transport for other product lines in the future.”