Loop Energy, a designer of fuel cell systems targeted for the electrification of commercial vehicles, and Rheintal-Transporte, a company that specializes in low-carbon heavy-duty transportation solutions, have entered an agreement for the development and supply of heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell range extension solutions for battery-electric trucks in Europe.
“Over the last two years, Rheintal has evaluated a range of zero-emission vehicle options and determined that pure battery-electric solutions alone will not meet either our operational demands or range requirements,” says Wolfgang Normann, principal of Rheintal-Transporte. “After a thorough review of next-generation vehicle powertrain solutions, we chose Loop Energy as our catalyst for carbon-free power as their eFlow fuel cell range extender system offers a superior blend of benefits from a battery-electric system coupled with a hydrogen fuel engine to augment its range limitation.”
As a part of the agreement, Rheintal is looking to use Loop’s eFlow fuel cell modules to expand driving range capabilities of battery-electric trucks to the levels required by its fleet of long-haul cold-chain logistics vehicles. Rheintal anticipates orders of eFlow fuel cell modules for more than 20 zero-emission hydrogen trucks and trailers over the next 24 months.
In addition to supply of its fuel cell products, the agreement provides Rheintal with full access to Loop’s complimentary Total Customer Care services. This offering provides end-to-end technical support as well as access to a network of pre-qualified channel partners specializing in hydrogen-electric power train design, supply of various sub-system components and hydrogen fuel infrastructure.