The Port of Bilbao is hosting a pilot test for a H2TOW hydrogen-powered tow tractor designed to decarbonise high-intensity port operations.
Bilbao is the first operational demonstrator to host real-world testing of the H2TowTractor, which is equipped with a retrofit kit that can be easily installed on existing vehicles, without the need for a complete overhaul of industrial fleets.
Key objectives of the H2TOW project are to increase the uptake of hydrogen as an energy carrier in industrial transport, improve the acceptance and perceived safety of hydrogen and facilitate the transition by reducing costs and regulatory barriers.
Clever retrofit
The kit, which has been applied to a ATA E405AC tow tractor, aims to meet the operational needs of ports, airports and other high-intensity environments, where high power requirements and long recharging times undermine the efficiency of conventional electric vehicles.
One of its benefits is that it’s plug-and-play technology, based on a retrofit kit that combines an optimised fuel cell and a lithium-ion buffer battery. The system can be easily fitted to vehicles with similar characteristics, reducing investment in new fleets and streamlining regulatory processes.
Consortium partners of the H2TOW project, funded by EIT Urban Mobility, are the AESS (Modena Energy and Sustainable Development Agency), ATA TOW Tractors, Arco Technologies S.R.L., the CAAB (Agro-Food Center of Bologna) and the Basque Mobility and Logistics Cluster.
The Port of Bilbao is supporting the trials as part of its efforts to decarbonise port activity and Bunge Ibérica is hosting the first demonstration at its terminal.
Renewable hydrogen has been supplied by Petronor, while IBIL, co-owned by Repsol and the Basque Energy Agency (EVE), will dispense green hydrogen on site and manage refuelling operations. IBIL focuses on mobility using renewable hydrogen.
Bilbao is throwing its weight behind the potential of electrification and alternative fuels for powering port equipment.
Its recent ‘Hydrogen Solutions’ workshop, organised by the Basque Mobility and Logistics Cluster, focused on the deployment of hydrogen as an energy carrier for sustainable mobility and logistics.
The H2TowTractor took centre stage at the workshop, as well as the H2 mobility ecosystem in Bizkaia, the development of renewable hydrogen, storage and distribution technologies and the conversion of an RTG port crane to fuel cell technology.
