The Port of Barcelona collaborated with Epsilon Team, KH-7 and EVARM to present the KH-7 Epsilon, the first truck that will run on hydrogen in the Dakar rally in its next edition in Saudi Arabia, from December 31 to January 15, 2023. The KH-7 Epsilon team has the Port of Barcelona as a scientific collaborator to study the adaptation of existing industrial engines to alternative fuels and its possible implementation to decarbonize port activity.
The KH-7 Epsilon is based on a MAN 6×6 truck powered by a diesel engine that will compete in the Dakar’s heaviest and largest volume category and that EVARM, company specialized in converting professional vehicles to alternative fuels, modified to add a hydrogen engine, greater displacement and better performance for competition. The objective in the next edition is to test this technology and innovations in an environment as demanding as the Dakar and improve the truck to complete 90% of the route of the 2024 competition with only hydrogen.
Hector Calls, Head of Environmental Sustainability at the Port of Barcelona, highlighted the importance of participating in scientific collaboration projects such as the KH-7 Epsilon, with local technology companies. “The Port has to be involved in the different stages of development and implementation and promote new fuels for the transport of goods. Projects like this can provide solutions in the different stages of transition until the consolidation of the technology is achieved,” he pointed out.
“Adapting conventional trucks to run on hydrogen are realistic examples that could be implemented in current truck fleets, and the Dakar can be an exceptional test bench to trial these innovations with new fuels in extreme situations and on a standard truck that can be perfectly extrapolated to those used by carriers,” he added.
For the Port of Barcelona, the decarbonization of road transport of goods and the logistics chain is essential to reduce emissions from port activity, since around 6,000 trucks circulate daily through the port area. Taking this reality into account, the port wants to collaborate with the main carrier associations in order to find alternatives that facilitate this transition to alternative fuels.
In this sense, the Port of Barcelona has already been involved in the implementation of LNG, promoting the transformation of the port’s truck fleets to incorporate this option. Hydrogen, however, is an option for the future, allowing the use of zero-emission fuels in trucks.
Source: Port of Barcelona
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