Avranches, France–Chereau is introducing a hydrogen-powered refrigerated trailer as part of its Inogam Evo project.

Hydrogen is a clean energy source and the total cost of ownership of this technology is realistic and relevant for a carbon-free transport business.

Chereau has overhauled its core trailer range to increase payload by 430kg, improve aerodynamics and add enhanced safety features.

The company expects to launch within 3 years the first 10 pre-series trailers with the aim of switching from 20 to 25% of production to hydrogen technology within 10 years.

Electrolysis creates hydrogen gas used to generate electricity in a fuel cell. On Chereau’s Hydrogen Power H2 vehicles, the hydrogen tanks are installed in the chassis between the side members, along with a fuel cells and buffer batteries.

The vehicles will be designed for at least two days of autonomy in long-distance and one day in distribution. Refuelling only 10 minutes.

Chereau has signed a partnership with H2SYS, already a technical partner in Chereau’s Road project, to supply the fuel cell systems for its hydrogen range.

The Chereau Hydrogen Power H2 refrigerated trailer produces its own refrigeration without any CO2 or particle emissions (the only emission being water vapour), and operates silently and does not require users to substantially modify their distribution arrangement.

Damien Destremau, chairman, Reefer Group (part of Chereau) says: “Within 10 years, 25% of our company’s production will be hydrogen vehicles, a proportion that could rapidly increase depending on the speed of deployment of the hydrogen supply network”.

“This project is, therefore, part of a global environmental approach, which can also be found on another scale on our vehicles,” he says.

“We are working in parallel on the energy efficiency of Chereau vehicles with VIP insulation (vacuum) which provides a 25% reduction in the operating time of the refrigeration units. Weight reduction is another area of ongoing progress. All of these projects represent major investments, essential to ensure that the energy transition happens as quickly as possible. This is a clear choice by our company and we are convinced that our customers will understand, support and encourage it.”

Sébastien Faivre, chief executive, H2SYS, says: “We are delighted about our partnership with Chereau, we are totally in line with H2SYS’ mission: accelerate the energy transition to de-carbonise the economy with the hydrogen vector. This industrial commitment demonstrates our common interest to have a significant impact on the carbon balance of industry, transport, logistics and, in the cold chain, change is on the way.”

The Delanchy Group, a French seafood, and fresh product logistics provider is trialing the hydrogen trailers with Chereau. Its objective is to market a mature and proven solution as quickly as possible, which is not only environmentally friendly but also economically relevant.

Brigitte Delanchy, chief executive, Delanchy Group says: “We are convinced that we need to get things moving, to drive the change and not simply wait for it. Chereau has been an important partner for Delanchy for many years, and we are pleased to be able to test under real conditions and to develop this first semi-trailer, which is powered by hydrogen, an energy we have long believed in. In line with our support for the Energy Observer project, we are thus proud to put hydrogen at the heart of our activities and in the world of road transport.”

www.chereau.com