Van der Vlist puts MAN hydrogen trucks on 65-tonne heavy haulage
Dutch special transport operator deploys MAN hTGX hydrogen combustion tractors for construction haulage at up to 65 tonnes gross, joining a growing cluster of Dutch operators running MAN's 200-unit hydrogen truck series.
Van der Vlist, the Dutch operator that specialises in heavy transport, is deploying MAN hTGX hydrogen combustion trucks to haul construction machinery up to 65 tonnes, the company says. The trucks join a fleet of around 300 diesel tractor units that work across Europe from bases in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Poland, Spain, and the UK.
The hTGX 28.520 6x2 units run MAN's H45 hydrogen internal combustion engine - a hydrogen-fuelled version of the established D38 diesel that MAN builds at its Nuremberg engine plant. The company says the engine produces 520 hp and 2,500 Nm of torque, and the trucks carry 56 kg of compressed hydrogen at 700 bar, giving them a claimed range of around 600 km with a refuelling time of less than 15 minutes.
"Large action radius and rapid refueling"
"Large action radius and rapid refueling are primary reasons for selecting hydrogen," said Anton Stam, Van der Vlist's chief operating officer. The company was founded in 1930 and moves heavy-lift cargo on routes that vary from one contract to the next - the kind of work where a 45-minute charging stop is not straightforward to schedule. It also runs 3 battery-electric trucks elsewhere in its fleet.
Configured with a 110 cm coupling height - MAN's extra-low option - the hTGX is set up for semi-deep bed trailers that carry tall or oversized machinery within legal height limits. At 65 tonnes gross, tractor weight directly affects how much can go on the trailer, and a comparable battery-electric tractor weighs roughly 2,300 kg more than the hTGX, according to data from a separate MAN deployment hauling chemicals in the Netherlands.
Three Dutch operators, one subsidy programme
Van der Vlist is the third Dutch-based operation to put the hTGX to work. Air Liquide deployed 2 trucks through logistics partner Schenk Tanktransport for hydrogen distribution around Rotterdam late last year, and Belgian chemical tanker operator Vervaeke launched what Motor Transport reported as Europe's first hydrogen truck certified under dangerous goods regulations on a 3-year pilot with chemicals producer Nobian in February.
All 3 deployments drew on the Dutch government's SWIM programme - the Subsidieregeling Waterstof in Mobiliteit - which funds vehicles and refuelling infrastructure together, requiring applicants to partner with a station operator.
Van der Vlist's refuelling partner is Fountain Fuel, which runs a network of hydrogen stations across the Netherlands with both 350-bar and 700-bar dispensing and has secured an €8.2 million Dutch government grant to expand. Maintenance is covered under a full service contract with MAN dealer Leeuwen Trucks & Vans.
MAN's 200-truck hydrogen series
The hTGX is part of a small-series production run of approximately 200 trucks - one of the first hydrogen combustion vehicles to come off a production line rather than arrive as a bespoke demonstrator.
MAN has targeted the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, and Iceland as launch markets, and the truck won the Truck Innovation Award at IAA Commercial Vehicles in 2025.
Its classification as a zero-emission vehicle qualifies operators for reduced road tolls in several European countries, while the EU's Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation requires member states to build out hydrogen refuelling along core transport corridors by 2030.
