Today more than 200 key hydrogen players from Belgian
Limburg, the Province of Liège, Dutch Limburg and Aachen met to support
the development of clean hydrogen in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR)
triangle. The event ‘The future of H2 economy and the position of H2 in
heavy-duty mobility’ (organised by Cluster TWEED and SPI) was held at
the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. As a result of this gathering, many of
them signed a declaration of common interests.
The declaration, called ‘The Francorchamps Hydrogen Initiative’, was
launched with the signature of Minister Philippe Henry, Vice-President
and Walloon Minister for Climate, Energy, Mobility and Infrastructure.
His presence at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps was part of the event
organized by the EMR H2 Booster project, a consortium of nine partners
who have joined forces to accelerate the development of clean hydrogen
in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine.
“We are at a key moment both in terms of energy and economy.
Seeing Wallonia launch ‘The Francorchamps Hydrogen Initiative’ to pursue
the interregional development of the hydrogen sector is a real
satisfaction. Indeed, in this short energy circuit, industry and
territories can see their energy autonomy reinforced, but also jobs and
new industrial ecosystems created. Hydrogen is an economic and
ecological opportunity that should allow the decarbonization of sectors
that are considered impossible to decarbonize,” declared Philippe Henry, Vice-President and Walloon Minister for Climate, Energy, Mobility and Infrastructure.
“Luxembourg welcomes the launch of the ‘Francorchamps Hydrogen
Initiative’, especially the emphasis placed on interregional
cooperation. I trust that the decarbonisation through renewable hydrogen
offers synergies at the level of the Benelux Union, the Grande Région /
Grossregion and also bilaterally,” stated Claude Turmes, Minister for Energy of the government of The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
The event of this 18th April is a very good sign of work and common
structuring of the hydrogen sector at the interregional level, since
many of the players present have already associated themselves with it.
The declaration could also be joined by other partners in the future.
Indeed, after a study carried out within the framework of the EMR H2
Booster project, it appeared that there was a great desire on the part
of the players to get to know each other better, straddling the regions,
and to act along three mainlines :
- EMR H2 road corridor
Development of local hydrogen production, transport and distribution
infrastructures, as well as the development of a fleet of heavy-duty
vehicles (coaches, trucks and refrigerated trailers) running on
hydrogen;
- EMR H2 river corridor
Development of hydrogen production, transport and distribution
infrastructures, as well as the development of a fleet of
hydrogen-powered barges;
- EMR H2 Ecosystem
Including the players in the entire hydrogen value chain.
The signing of the declaration was preceded by a demonstration of
various hydrogen-powered vehicles on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The
presence of these trucks was a first in Wallonia!
In addition to a fuel cell garbage truck from E-Trucks Europe and a
dual fuel diesel-hydrogen H2ice truck with tanker trailer from Altrea
Haesaerts, the demonstration included the Honda Clarity, Hyundai Nexo,
Toyota Mirai and a Mercedes GLC F-cell. The LMPH2G hydrogen-electric
prototype of the MissionH24 was also on display. (As a reminder,
MissionH24 is the collaboration between the Automobile Club de l’Ouest
and GreenGT that aims to create a dedicated category for Hydrogen
prototypes at the Le Mans 24 Hours.)
“The Euregio Meuse-Rhine event brings together participants from
the entire hydrogen value chain, and we are particularly proud to be
present with our hydrogen-powered garbage vehicle.” André Beukers, Director of E-Trucks Europe.
“We are proud to be part of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine event to
support the Francorchamps Hydrogen Initiative with our Dual Fuel H2ice
Truck. Our main objective is to continue to drive our green synchromodal
future.” Luc Haesaerts, Director of Haesaerts Luxembourg.
“I am delighted with the choice of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit
to organize this major event on the theme of hydrogen. The link between
the motorsports sector and the mobility sector was made concrete during
this day organized by the EMR H2 Booster with the presence of our
long-standing partner, the MissionH24 and its representatives, whom I
warmly thank for their enlightening presentation. The Spa-Francorchamps
circuit is positioning itself, more than ever, as a laboratory for new
technologies and innovation in its sector thanks to its particularly
technical and demanding track. This event therefore highlighted the
strong link between innovations for better sustainability in motor
sports and their declinations in the mobility sector,” said Amaury Bartholomé, General Manager of the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
The day was marked by presentations from numerous international
speakers and ended with a B2B session attended by many of the 200
participants representing the entire hydrogen value chain: production,
transport, distribution, technology, engineering, integration,
applications and end users.
Read the press release in English, French or Dutch.
More information about the declaration:
