Entrepreneurs must all switch to emission-free mobility. As of today, the first hydrogen-powered vans are driving around our country.
Those stubborn entrepreneurs all keep buying stinking diesel vans. But in the end they will have to believe it. Contractors, plumbers and movers must also eventually switch to emission-free mobility.
But yeah. Range, towing capacity, loading times, all things that make switching difficult. An electric commercial vehicle is not the solution for everyone. You can overcome a number of disadvantages of a fully electric commercial vehicle by opting for a hydrogen-powered one.
At the end of last year we wrote extensively about developments in this area at a number of car manufacturers, but today the time has really come, the first hydrogen-powered vans have been sent onto the road by André van Schie, deputy of the province of Utrecht.
![hydrogen vans](https://www.autoblog.nl/files/2023/10/waterstof-1600x900.jpg)
First hydrogen delivery vans
This gives the province of Utrecht a national first. Pot Removals and Technical Installation Company Warmtebouw have put the first hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles into operation in our country.
Of course, it is more expensive to purchase and drive a hydrogen bus than a diesel variant. But there is a chicken or the egg, and these entrepreneurs who run ahead of the troops get some support. A piece of subsidy from the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union (ERDF) ensures that the cost difference with a diesel bus is covered.
That project has been baptized HyVan and is intended to help six regional entrepreneurs with eight hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles. The subsidy was applied for by Fountain Fuel as secretary on behalf of the project and Allied Waters from Nieuwegein.
The province is in favor
In any case, the province of Utrecht really likes it. Hydrogen-powered mobility is not something of the future but of now, according to the province.
A message that we want to convey clearly to everyone in our region and SMEs in particular. Because this is where it happens. With the arrival of both filling stations and vehicles, the Utrecht region is well on its way to becoming the hydrogen heart of the Netherlands.
Regina Horbach, sustainable mobility advisor for the province of Utrecht, knows how to sell it well.
Utrecht is not alone. The outgoing cabinet will allocate 125 million euros over the next four years to stimulate hydrogen as a fuel. From March 2024, companies can apply for a subsidy for the purchase of hydrogen trucks and vans and the construction of H2 filling stations.
The idea is to realize about 40 gas stations in the Netherlands. The ambition is to create a national network. Because having a bus in front of your door is nice, but if you have nowhere to refuel, it is not very efficient.
Is this article Hydrogen-powered vans a success? first appeared on Autoblog.nl.
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