The Urban Community of Dunkirk (CUD) will order multi-purpose trucks and household waste bins (BOM) retrofitted with hydrogen by GCK. This decision is part of the urban area’s desire to develop a hydrogen sector in its territory.
CUD aims for carbon neutrality by 2050 thanks to its hydrogen and CO hub2. By 2050, the emission of 13.7 million tonnes of CO2 will be avoided each year. The CUD will host several renewable hydrogen production projects. The first site, H2V59, will produce nearly 28,000 tonnes of renewable H2 per year by electrolysis. To supplement this production for industry, the CUD will also install a renewable hydrogen production station that will open at the end of 2024. It will be intended for heavy mobility, in particular for buses in the public transport network and household waste collection vehicles..
The CUD has called on the GCK Group subsidiary, GCK Mobility, to convert its heavy-duty vehicles with internal combustion engines into electric vehicles powered by a fuel cell. GCK Mobility will retrofit the chassis of the Renault D-Wide 26 tonnes, a model used for various types of vehicles. It will add an electric motor with a maximum power of 350 kW, powered by a fuel cell reaching a maximum power of 75 kW. These tipper trucks, carrying 22 kg of hydrogen, will have a range of 7 hours for journeys between recycling centres and the collection centre. As for the BOMs used for door-to-door collection, they will have a range of 6 hours with 15 kg of hydrogen on board. The entry into service of these vehicles is planned for 2025, as soon as the necessary approvals have been obtained.
