Nippon Gases Deutschland and the HOYER Group bring into operation the first H₂-powered truck to transport dry ice. The vehicle, which is specially equipped for the operation, was officially handed over to Nippon Gases Deutschland and the HOYER Group.

The industrial gases company Nippon Gases Deutschland, and the HOYER Group, the leading provider of logistics solutions for bulk liquids, already paved the way to sustainable transport solutions in the industrial gases sector five years ago, initially by using natural gas-powered transport trucks. Today, this cooperation between the two specialists and hylane GmbH marks another significant step towards sustainable, environmentally-friendly transport solutions. The H₂-powered vehicle offers an emission-free alternative to the conventional road transport of dry ice in boxes and emphasizes the commitment of the companies involved to innovative, sustainable technologies.

The H₂-powered truck was handed over at the Nippon Gases site in Hürth on January 8, 2025. Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, completed the first test run as co-driver. She thereby highlighted the importance of this technology for sustainable mobility, Germany as a business location and climate protection.

“H₂ can contribute towards making freight transport climate-neutral. H₂-powered fuel-cell trucks have their strengths as a result of short refueling times and long ranges, which is exactly where battery-electric drives reach their limits. Therefore, the State supports the construction of H₂ service stations for heavy goods vehicles, and procurement initiatives such as HyTrucks.NRW. Because one thing is clear: reducing CO₂ emissions in the transport sector is an important building block on North Rhine-Westphalia’s pathway to becoming Europe’s first climate-neutral industrial region,” said Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The air separation plant in Hürth is Nippon Gases Europe’s largest single production plant for air gases. The plant also houses a large filling station for all types of industrial gases and gas mixtures produced in Hürth. The company manufactures dry ice at the Bad Hönningen site. From 2025 onwards, the newly-built site in Zörbig (eastern Germany) will begin producing dry ice from biogenic CO₂ raw gas. Dry ice is used in a wide range of applications, including in the food and beverage industry, the automotive industry, for transport cooling and to clean objects and equipment.

Christoph Laumen, Managing Director Nippon Gases Deutschland, said, “H₂ trucks will make an important contribution to CO₂-neutral freight transport by road in the future. As the first industrial gases company in Germany to use a H₂-powered truck in its logistics fleet, Nippon Gases is a pioneer in our sector. Even with the single use of this new vehicle, we expect to save around 69,000 km of CO₂ in vehicle operation compared to conventional diesel trucks. In addition, we will gain important experience and knowledge that will enable us to use this CO₂-neutral transport for other product lines in the future.”

The HOYER Group is a leading logistics services provider in the H₂ sector and is actively involved in ramping-up H₂ mobility, including supplying service stations. HOYER undertakes the handling and transport of industrial gases and dry ice for Nippon Gases. Using the H₂-powered truck not only reduces CO₂ emissions, but also allows the international logistics specialist to gather operational experience in deploying additional trucks at an early stage.

According to Axel Remplewski, Executive Director Global Gas Logistics of the HOYER Group, “The new truck has a range of up to 450 km and can be fully refueled in under 15 min. These features make it ideal for everyday use to transport dry ice, which is essential in many industries, including the food and pharmaceutical industries.”

Björn Schniederkötter, Chief Executive Officer of the HOYER Group, said, “As an internationally active family business, the HOYER Group takes its responsibility for the future of current and subsequent generations seriously. Together with our customers, we want to shape the future of logistics sustainably and to think and act in generational terms. For HOYER, sustainable social, ecological and economic behavior is practiced in everyday life.”

The new H₂ truck is equipped with state-of-the-art technology that enables emission-free, efficient transport. The truck is a Hyundai ‘XCIENT Fuel Cell’ vehicle. hylane has equipped the vehicle with a dry box and air ducts, enabling it to meet the requirements of Nippon Gases and the HOYER Group for transporting dry ice.

According to Sara Schiffer, Managing Director of hylane GmbH, “We are delighted that Nippon Gases, in cooperation with the HOYER Group, is the first industrial gases company to use one of our H₂ trucks in dry ice logistics. This underlines the versatility of our trucks and shows that H₂-powered vehicles are a practical, sustainable alternative to diesel trucks.”