The EHRIN partners met for this first time at the Province of Drenthe, Assen on 27 & 28 June 2023. On the first day of this event, the group created a roadmap, a joint plan for the coming 18 months, which is the duration is the project.
On the second day, the partners paid a visit to the municipality of Groningen and Holthausen Clean Technology. Lambertus Nijland, fleet manager of the municipality, showed us an impressive number of hydrogen fueled cars in the workshop, ranging from streetscooters to heavy duty vans. He explained that the ambition of the municipality of Groningen to create a zero-emmission inner city by 2025, gave a strong impuls and led to investments in low-Co2 solutions. Naturally, the introduction of hydrogen technology to replace mature fossile fuels, comes with teething problems. But as a public body, Groningen wants to work with the suppliers and the end-users to mature the products and realize its vision.
At Holthausen Clean Technologies, founding father Carl Holthause showcased his beautiful HESLA as well as the vehicles they were retrofitting or engineering. This included smaller vans, heavy duty vehicles and also Ground Power Units for airports. Carl explained that access to capital and strong private-public cooperation is crucial for any SME's in a still developing market.