A step towards the energy transition in truck transport
Five Icelandic companies have signed a letter of intent (LOI) to purchase hydrogen-powered MAN hTGX freight trucks. These are heavy-duty trucks, 44/49 tons. ON Power produces hydrogen at the Hellisheiði Geothermal Power Plant to power the trucks, and Blær, the Icelandic Hydrogen Association, distributes it. The LOI to purchase the trucks was signed at the Hellisheiði Geothermal Power Plant yesterday, April 29th.
The effort unites the truck manufacturer, importer, customers, and companies producing and distributing the energy source in one of Iceland’s most significant energy transition projects.
“ON has been a leader in the Icelandic energy transition and is aware that there is more than one path to the energy transition. ON is the sole hydrogen producer in Iceland. The hydrogen station VON, located at the Hellisheiði Power Plant, has produced hydrogen for transport since 2020. VON’s annual capacity is about 100 tons of hydrogen, enough for about 800 hydrogen passenger cars per year or five to seven large hydrogen trucks,” said Hólmfríður Haraldsdóttir, ON’s Energy Sales Expert.
One of Iceland’s largest single-energy transition projects
Contracts for the import of the trucks and the LOI to purchase them have been under negotiation by Iceland New Energy (Íslensk NýOrka) for about 18 months. Kraftur represents MAN in Iceland, and the companies buying the first trucks are BM Vallá, Colas, MS, Samskip Iceland, and Terra. Blær is building a new hydrogen station to service trucks and passenger cars in connection with the agreement.
This is one of Iceland’s largest single-energy transition projects. The fuel consumption of 20 trucks equals over a thousand passenger cars. We can estimate an annual saving of burning 700,000 litres of diesel.
“ON Power welcomes this project and this important step towards increased hydrogen use in Iceland’s transport. We envision that VON will hopefully be a good springboard for the continued energy transition with hydrogen,” Hólmfríður said.
A huge impact on reducing emissions
In early April, MAN announced the production of the hTGX hydrogen-powered trucks. The trucks run on combustion engines using hydrogen, so all maintenance and care are comparable to those of companies already operating. Initially, at least 200 trucks will be manufactured and sold in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, and selected markets outside Europe.
The trucks’ ranges are up to 600 kilometres, which makes them competitive with conventional diesel-powered trucks. Trucks of this size are among the most fuel-consuming vehicles worldwide, driven long distances yearly. Therefore, the energy transition in heavy transport has a huge impact and will significantly reduce emissions in Iceland.
Kraftur has secured 20 trucks for Iceland next year and the year after, with the first trucks arriving in spring 2025. The hope is that more companies will choose to use emission-free big trucks.