A continuation of trends have emerged in recent years, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
For cities planning to ban diesel vehicles, for instance, there is pressure on road transport operators to commit to environmentally friendly urban deliveries by investing in ‘clean’ vehicles.
Meanwhile, there also seems to be a misperception in the market, according to Damien Destremau – Chairman of The Reefer Group and of CHEREAU – about traditional city trailers or rigid-bodied vehicles being the right solution for ‘green friendly’ urban deliveries and minimising road traffic.
“There is a false notion that typical small vehicle solutions for urban delivery mitigates environmental impact and eases traffic fluidity,” he said. “Indeed, for example, a two-axle city trailer vehicle can carry five times the volume of a 3T5 LCV and 22 times its payload for a fuel consumption of about 2.5 times the fuel consumption. With regard to noise limitation, CHEREAU proposes PIEK labelled vehicles, which allows our vehicles to emit less than 60 dB of noise, the equivalent of a conversation.”
Normandy body builder based in Ducey and Avranches, CHEREAU, proposes an alternative choice for refrigerated transport companies in the form of a hydrogen-powered vehicle.
“With regard to the energy transition and the reduction of CO2 and NOx emissions and the desire for more respectful vehicles, CHEREAU has worked on the FROM ROAD TO REAL program,” Destremau said. “It is an ambitious program to industrialise many of the technologies from the ROAD project and has enabled CHEREAU to unveil the world premiere of four new CHEREAU product ranges.”
Inogam Evo
From the ROAD project, Inogam Evo is now a lighter-weight design and has been enhanced via an aerodynamics program. The benchmark refrigerated semi-trailer on the French market gains nearly 430kg of payload capacity, and optionally integrates the new CHEREAU aerodynamic elements and offers new equipment for ergonomic and user safety purposes. The evolution of the interior partition and the SmartOpen-C is particularly notable.
The AeroTop, which reduces fuel consumption by 0.3 l/100km, and the AeroFlap, which saves 0.7 l/100 km, are available now, and the savings are even greater when coupled.
CHEREAU NEXT = Inogam Evo + multiplexes architecture
The first multiplexed refrigerated semi-trailer fully benefits from the entire Inogam Evo program. In addition to its unique coupled functions that enhance ergonomics, performance and safety, CHEREAU Next includes a new module enabling it to be coupled to several truck brands such as Scania, Renault and Volvo. Currently, information feedback to the dashboard remains limited to these three brands. A new communicating box also allows a complete remote diagnosis of the vehicle.
CHEREAU PERFORMANCE = Inogam Evo + VIP insulation
Since 2020, CHEREAU has noticed an increased interest in very high performance bodies, which is why the company has developed the reefer bodies with Vacuum Insulated Panel (VIP) technology, a breakthrough innovation (the best insulation available on the market according to Destremau), achieving a record level of insulation performance, a K coefficient of 0.27. It brings the refrigerated semi-trailer into a new mode of use that is even more sustainable and efficient, while reducing the energy needs to be more environmentally friendly, and which is even more respectful of the cold chain. The expected gain on energy consumption is up to 25 per cent.
CHEREAU HYDROGEN POWER H2 = Inogam Evo + CHEREAU Next + CHEREAU Performance + hydrogen
CHEREAU believes in hydrogen as a clean energy vector and, as a pioneer in terms of innovation, is actively participating in the quick implementation of the entire hydrogen supply chain. Encouraged by the ROAD program tests, which have shown that the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of this technology should be completely realistic and relevant for a carbon-free transport business in the future, CHEREAU is now preparing its industrialisation.
“Three new pre-production vehicles will leave our production plants in 2021,” Destremau said. “These vehicles will be field tested and our team will continue to industrialise the product range.”
At the same time, CHEREAU is committed to the hydrogen industry in order to develop a cold chain that is more respectful of the environment in various ways.
CHEREAU has been a member of France Hydrogène since 2019 and a member of Hydrogen Europe since 2020. It is also an official supporter of Energy Observer, the first hydrogen-powered vessel around the world.
The company acts in favour of the development of the hydrogen industry by participating in various hydrogen projects such as Ethyr Co Manche or Corridor H2.
CHEREAU has also developed its own hydrogen project by developing CHEREAU H2ColdChain, a project that aims to bring together food manufacturers, supermarkets and transporters to develop a green hydrogen industry and a green cold chain.
