Carrier Transicold Provides Refrigeration Equipment for France’s First Electric-Hydrogen Powered Truck

Carrier Transicold announced its Syberia 11 unit was selected by the CATHyOPÉ consortium to provide France's first electric-hydrogen truck with an all-electric, engineless refrigeration unit. CATHyOPÉ is a pioneering program aimed at designing and putting into service a 44-ton refrigerated transport truck, featuring electric engines powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. 

CATHyOPÉ was established in 2016 by GreenGT Technologies, Transports Chabas and the Carrefour Group to match the capabilities of a conventional truck of the same tonnage in terms of performance, range and refuelling time, without emitting any exhaust pollutants.

“We chose the Carrier Transicold Syberia 11 unit to equip the CATHyOPÉ truck because this equipment is in line with our sustainability requirements. With Carrier Transicold, we received equal performance compared to a conventional refrigeration unit, and the Syberia 11 unit uses less energy, is quieter and its environmental footprint is reduced,” said Julien Roussel, Project Manager, CATHyOPÉ.

Carrier Transicold’s Syberia 11 is a single-temperature unit that is directly connected to the vehicle's battery pack and equipped with a hermetically sealed scroll compressor, ensuring the refrigerant is under continuous compression and reduces the risk of leaks to a minimum (about 1% per year). It provides an extremely energy-efficient, environmentally-responsible solution. The unit is quiet, PIEK-certified and emits less than 60 dB(A). The energy-efficient solution helps contribute to Carrier's goal of reducing its customers' carbon footprint by one gigaton as part of its environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals for 2030.

"For more than 20 years, Carrier Transicold has been a leader in developing electrically-powered solutions for the cold chain, providing transport companies with optimum levels of efficiency, reliability and performance. We are extremely proud to be involved in the CATHyOPÉ program, and to be working alongside our long-standing partner Transports Chabas," said Jean-Pascal Vielfaure, Director, Southern Europe, Carrier Transicold.

Supported by funding from the French Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir (PIA – Future Investment Programme) operated by ADEME, this new-generation, carbon-neutral, low-noise truck is scheduled to enter service for operational testing end 2022. The truck will supply fresh produce to Carrefour shops located in urban and suburban areas of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.