TotalEnergies joins H2Accelerate

TotalEnergies is the latest H2Accelerate partner to have been welcomed to the group as a key future supplier of green hydrogen and owner of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure for trucking. The participants of H2Accelerate comprise both hydrogen producers and infrastructure operators, and vehicle manufacturers and TotalEnergies is the latest member of the team to join the H2 movement.

“The environmental and practical benefits of driving on hydrogen (H2) make it one of the most promising alternative fuels for tomorrow’s sustainable mobility, particularly in long-haul road transport,” commented John Wilson, Vice President, Gas Mobility at TotalEnergies Marketing and Services. “To meet the 2030 emission reduction targets for this segment, we must work together across the H2 value chain to ensure that this energy, the vehicles and the required infrastructure are in place as soon as possible. This is what H2Accelerate is striving for. Becoming a member will help us in our goal to develop hydrogen refuelling stations for trucks in Europe, and beyond, and is another step towards our Climate Ambition to reach Net Zero emissions by 2050 together with society.”

“It is clear that pan-European cooperation is necessary to drive the deployment of hydrogen infrastructure at the required scale, and the participation of a major player such as TotalEnergies marks yet another milestone in the decarbonisation of the heavy-duty trucking sector,” added Ben Madden, Spokesperson for the H2Accelerate Collaboration.

The white paper on the ‘Need for hydrogen trucking’ sets out the underlying arguments in favour of the use of hydrogen to decarbonise long-haul trucks. The evidence for two key aspects of the case for hydrogen are discussed within the paper:

• The role of hydrogen in facilitating rapid and enhanced renewable energy deployment, by allowing the large-scale storage and distribution of renewable energy;
• The need for hydrogen as the only zero-carbon zero-emission fuel in the heavy-duty trucking sector which can provide a combination of fast refuelling and very long range between refuels.

By demonstrating that hydrogen will form an essential part of an energy system powered by renewables, and that hydrogen is able to serve the needs of truck operators on long-haul routes, the paper shows that hydrogen is a powerful tool to decarbonise long-haul trucking.

The H2Accelerate participants intend to publish further white papers on expectations for the uptake of hydrogen trucking and the requirements for policy support. These are intended to inform decisions which can help move Europe towards a commercially sustainable hydrogen trucking system during this decade.  These papers will be published through the H2Accelerate website throughout the year.

“While ambitious targets have already been set for the deployment of hydrogen trucks over the coming 10 years, this cannot be achieved without an acceleration of deployment on the ground,” continued Madden. “The publication of the first H2Accelerate white paper shows the unification of companies of significant scale and influence behind the vital importance of hydrogen in both sustainable energy systems and in long-haul trucking.  With the right policy support in place, we believe that the companies involved in H2Accelerate can act as a catalyst for the transition to decarbonised trucking.”