CEOs 4 Climate, as actual doers, want to see long-term reforms, such as the use of green hydrogen for heavy transportation as a solution to the climate and mobility issues. “We want to break the bubble, speed up the change, and bring parties together,” says Roland Maes, the project’s manager, and driving force.
“Heavy vehicles have a hard time using batteries. Heavy batteries are both costly and inefficient in terms of energy use. These basic resources are becoming increasingly scarce, and a vehicle weighing 30 or 40 tons cannot be driven electrically,” Maes argues. “Because heavy traffic is one of our society’s most challenging issues, we’d want to collaborate with CEOs 4 Climate to focus on delivering (green) hydrogen for heavy traffic.” Then you can go on the track guilt-free, and it’s also good for the environment.
Grants
However, persuading everyone to support the initiative is difficult. Hydrogen filling stations are currently costly, and they can only be provided when there are consumers. “Transport businesses do not have hydrogen vehicles and are unlikely to purchase one because there are few or no hydrogen filling facilities in Belgium.” To do so, the government’s hydrogen transportation laws must first be finalized. As a result, everyone stares at one another and waits.”
CEOs 4 Climate aims to shatter that bubble, speed up the transformation, and bring all stakeholders together under a wide, legal framework. A Flanders Green Deal for Sustainable Mobility, for example, is now being developed. A collaboration agreement is then written based on that framework with objectives, through which subsidies can also be asked for.
Dual-fuel vehicle
The transition to sustainable transportation is a series of steps that result in a reduction in CO2. “Dual fuel trucks are a (temporary) answer. These are combustion engines in which 30 to 40% hydrogen is injected into the diesel engine. Existing tracks are converted into hydrogen trucks. As a consequence, you begin to reach the 2030 climate objective, which calls for a greater decrease in CO2. By getting people together to illustrate the need and promise, you can scale up and speed the transformation.”
In the coming months, CEOs 4 Climate will focus entirely on raising awareness among businesses through Climate Cafés, topic sessions, and other events, in order to produce specific case studies with working and steering groups.
