Benalu SA is a formidable presence in its home territory of France. The specialist manufacturer of aluminium tippers and moving floor semi-trailers claims that it controls 32% of the tipper market in France; a marked contrast to its performance in Italy where it sold just 30 units from its entire portfolio in 2021.

The Swedish EV manufacturer has revealed the location of its first customer operations centre in Paris, France which will deliver the company’s Truck-as-a-Service business model following customer pilots of the Volta Zero truck in mid-2022.

The French manufacturer has announced that it is preparing for the launch of a new hydrogen fuel-cell electric bus, called ‘Hycity’, which will be officially presented at European Mobility Expo in Paris on 7 June.

Renault Trucks announced its business results for 2021, showing that 51,460 trucks were delivered during 2021 – a 25% increase over the previous year.

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.

Hyvia, a joint venture between Renault Group and Plug Power based in Villiers-Saint-Frédéric, France, has inaugurated its plant at Renault Group’s manufacturing site in Flins, France. Hyvia states it is ready to begin assembly and testing of fuel cell modules based on Plug Power’s technology.

GAUSSIN SA, based in Héricourt, France, has launched what it claims is the world’s first hydrogen-powered fuel cell automated guided vehicle (AGV H2) for seaport applications.

Easymile SAS, based in Toulouse, France, has provided its autonomous vehicles in Norway with a software update focussing on features specifically relevant to Nordic conditions, including enhanced ground perception and improved rain and snow filtering. The software development has been supported through EasyMile’s partnership with Applied Autonomy AS, based in Kongsberg, Norway.

Paris-based Forsee Power SAS has announced a new ultra-modular heavy-duty battery system, titled the ZEN PLUS. Forsee says the system offers a greater energy density to support high power applications, making it suitable for buses, off-road vehicle, and heavy trucks.

Carrier Transicold SAS, based in Rueil-Malmaison, France, has opened a new, larger service centre in Germany. The firm has moved to a new location in Leipzig, nearer to the airport.

Paris-based Keolis Group has announced the creation of a wholly owned subsidiary, called Hove, for the design and deployment of digital tools to assist shared mobility. The digital product offering is targeted at public transport authorities and is based on the analysis of mobility data, aiming to improve the understanding of public mobility within a local region. Created out of a merger between Kisio Digital and the Kisi Services & Consulting data team, the new company brings together 110 mobility data staff from the Keolis Group.

The two companies plan to sell around 5,000 retrofitted trucks and buses in France by 2030, supported by over EUR1.5m raised earlier in the year by REV Mobilities.