Do you think that something doggy is going on in the background re battery driven transport???

Court of The Hague agrees with the municipality: hydrogen is not 'green' enough for target group transport

The judge in The Hague ruled on January 12 in a case that was brought against the municipality of The Hague because it had excluded hydrogen – as not being 'green' enough – in the tender for target group transport, reports mobility magazine Pitane Blue.

Until the new contract starts, Noot Personenvervoer will drive the transport of target groups in The Hague with hydrogen taxis. Noot had a first with this almost three years ago. The municipality again outsourced the target group transport and excluded the use of hydrogen. Reason for the local hydrogen suppliers – BP filling station Kerkhof and OrangeGas – to go to court, but without success. According to the preliminary relief judge of the District Court of The Hague, the exclusion of hydrogen is not unlawful.

There was discussion about whether the municipality may require in the tender that the (emission-free) target group transport be carried out with battery-electric vehicles and thus whether it may exclude hydrogen-powered vehicles and whether this constitutes an unlawful act against the plaintiff. In the summer of 2021, The Hague started the tender for target group transport for the period 2022-2028. In doing so, the municipality aimed for emission-free transport based on battery-electric vehicles.

The preliminary relief judge agrees with the vision and reasoning of the municipality and states in its provisional judgment that The Hague may indeed distinguish between battery-electric and hydrogen-electric vehicles in this tender. According to the judge, the two energy carriers are not equivalent.

In contrast to the emission-free hydrogen taxis, driving on (grey) electricity is sustainable, according to the municipality. The H2Platform was surprised by the decision of the Municipality of The Hague to exclude hydrogen from the tender for target group transport. The municipality states that hydrogen is not 'green' enough. This is substantively incorrect and incomprehensible to the platform.

The Belgian hydrogen specialist Mark Pecqueur, lecturer in the Automotive Technology program at Thomas More University of Applied Sciences in Mechelen, is extremely surprised about the Hague approach: “But yes, everyone makes mistakes.” And at the same time, the hydrogen specialist notes “that the electrolobby in the Netherlands is large. I see it this way: everything that was once diesel will become hydrogen. Who would have thought that diesel would be something for passenger cars until VW came on the market with the Golf in the 1970s. A decade later they sold more diesels than petrol versions.”

“And regarding the green aspect: “People still think that we are going to make the renewable hydrogen here. The really large amounts of renewable hydrogen will come from North Africa and the Middle East. So who cares what the return is as long as it is without emissions!”

The 'Harmonisation Target Group Transport' tender, which started on 3 August, also aims to harmonize various transport flows, such as Wmo transport and student transport. The envisaged agreement has a term of six years with the possibility of extension for two one-year periods. The planned effective date of the agreement is August 1, 2022.

The District Court of The Hague ruled in the municipality's favor: hydrogen is not 'green' enough for target group transport. Forerunner Noot Passenger Transport will have to deploy the hydrogen taxis elsewhere. Photo Note Passenger transport.

Source: Translated from the magazine ‘Personenvervoer’.

TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT:

Positive effect on local air quality

The green taxi fleet has been driving around the Hofstad since 1 June 2019. The clean kilometers that the taxi fleet has now completed have a positive effect on local air quality, says Toyota. The Mirai is equipped with a fuel cell that Toyota developed itself. The Mirai converts fueled hydrogen into electricity, which then powers a 113 kW / 155 hp electric motor.

Bull’s-eye

Martijn Kersing, director of Noot Passenger Transport: “If you want to be sustainable as a transporter and be available 24/7, as required by WMO transport, you cannot avoid hydrogen. Due to the large range of the Toyota Mirai and the fact that you can fill it up quickly, we can meet all the requirements of this type of transport. An additional advantage is that the car is spacious and comfortable. A bull’s eye now, because with 1.5 million kilometers driven, the first hydrogen-powered taxi fleet in the Netherlands is justifiably a success. ”

Nice milestone in energy transition

Jan-Christiaan Koenders, Managing Director of Toyota importer Louwman & Parqui: “We are of course very proud that the Toyota’s Mirai are used so often. Our hydrogen car is therefore ideal for taxi transport: spacious, quiet, very comfortable and of course 100% electric without the car having to stand at a charging station for a long time. All praise for Noot Passenger Transport who has successfully gone off the beaten track with his choice. This is a great milestone in the energy transition. ”