The project, named ‘Symbio H2 Central Valley Express’, involves the development of a prototype hydrogen truck - intended to match the performance of a 15-litre diesel truck - which will be tested on a 400-mile route from the second half of 2023.

The Brazilian government announced the creation of the “Program to Increase Productivity of the Road Fleet in the Country” (Renovar) when, on April 1, President Jair Bolsonaro signed Provisional Measure 112/2022 creating incentives for the replacement of old vehicles with newer ones.  

Compression system specialist Haskel International, a subsidiary of Ingersoll Rand, based in Sunderland, UK, has released a white paper stating the firm’s outlook towards hydrogen fuel and its role in decarbonising heavy goods vehicles. In the report, Haskel examines hydrogen infrastructure funding and global projects that are currently underway.

Air Liquide SAS, based in Paris, has received support from the French State, subject to a final validation by the European Commission, to launch its Normand’Hy large scale renewable hydrogen project. The electrolyser will have an initial 200MW capacity and will provide renewable hydrogen to the TotalEnergies Normandy refinery.

‘Vehicle markets worldwide are seeing governments introduce legislation to fast track the shift in powertrain type from vehicles with traditional combustion engine technology to vehicles powered using zero emission electric drive systems,’ writes Voith Turbo of Heidenheim in a recent press release.

Sales of light commercial vehicles weighing less than or equal to 3,500 kg in Italy were up 14.9% in 2021 on the year before, growing from 159,590 units to 183,320, according to figures collated and provided by ANFIA.

Sales of medium and heavy trucks (weighing more than 3,500kg) in Italy, according to ANFIA, grew by 5% over pre-pandemic levels, increasing from 23,606 in 2019 to 24,776 in 2021.

The Ecuadorian commercial vehicle market showed its  best performance in the last seven years in the first quarter of 2022 with sales of 2,853 units.

The Israeli designer of zero-emission vehicle platforms has appointed Josh Tech as Chief Operations Officer, replacing Michael Charlton, who will now serve as strategic advisor on manufacturing.

Hyliion Holdings Corporation, based in Austin, Texas, has announced the appointment of Cheri Lantz to the role of Chief Strategy Officer. Most recently, Lantz served as Vice President of Strategy for the Transportation Solutions Segment at TE Connectivity, where she was responsible for helping shape a forward-looking strategy within the automotive, commercial vehicle, and sensors industries.

Just over six months after the launch of its first 100% electric truck model, VWCO has already provided more than 16,000 training courses to the most diverse audiences, with the aim of qualifying everyone involved in the production chain to accelerate introduction of electrification. 

BYD Inc, the US subsidiary of Shenzhen, China-based BYD Auto Co Ltd, has announced the appointment of Michael Stafford to the role of Director of Business Development. In his role, Stafford will lead the company’s battery electric truck team.