Hydrogen testing at PSA Antwerp

After a successful test period at the Antwerp Euroterminal in Beveren, a proof-of-concept Terberg hydrogen tractor has arrived at PSA Antwerp for another two weeks of testing in combination with a mobile hydrogen filling station. The tractor will be handling containers at the terminal.

The test period in Belgium is part of the Hydrolog project by the Flanders Institute for Logistics (VIL), and the test results will be used in the further development of the concept tractor.

At the end of 2020 and during the first half of 2021, the tractor was tested at two sites in the Netherlands (UWT Rotterdam and CTU Utrecht) before it was shipped to Belgium for additional testing at three customer sites (a distribution centre, Antwerp Euroterminal and PSA Antwerp).

After the Beveren tests, Yves de Larivière, managing director of Antwerp Euroterminal, commented: "Both the vehicles we have tested, a forklift truck and this tractor, really meet our needs, and we can use them fully operationally."

Remy de Bruijn, Terberg business development manager, says: "We asked the drivers to get the most from the vehicle, to get sufficient data."

Some 18 Belgian companies are working together to promote hydrogen as a transport fuel, with support from the Belgian government.

Terberg will use the results of the tests to refine the design and build the preproduction series in 2022. Commercial introduction of the hydrogen-powered tractor is planned for 2023.