A ceremony marking the start of operations of the 30 heavy hydrogen trucks is held in Ejin Horoo Banner on Nov 22. [Photo/WeChat account of Ejin Horoo Banner]

A fleet of 30 new heavy trucks powered by hydrogen hit the road in Ejin Horoo Banner – administered by the city of Ordos in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region – on Nov 22.

It is understood that they will mainly do short-distance runs, shipping raw coal between local chemicals companies and major coal mines.

The hydrogen heavy trucks were manufactured by Feichi Automobile Co and Hongyan Truck Co and will be operated by Shengyuan Xinneng Steel Union Smart Logistics Co Ltd.

In addition, the trucks will be connected to smart logistics apps – which will help them integrate information resources and strengthen online scheduling. They will also help simplify the settlements process, make online appointments and skip queues at mines.

A heavy hydrogen truck carries coal to chemicals companies in Ordos. [Photo/WeChat account of Ejin Horoo Banner]

This will reportedly reduce transportation costs and improve service quality, making the transportation of bulk commodities simpler and more convenient.

Plans are for Ejin Horoo Banner to continue to introduce clean energy and explore the path of eco-friendly development.

Projections are that it will promote the use of 5,000 new energy vehicles within a three-year period.

To date, the banner has installed two hydrogen refueling stations, 25 charging stations and is scheduled to build another 36 hydrogen refueling stations.

Vehicles that are currently using hydrogen in the region include 10 buses and commercial vehicles, 10 trucks and 10 garbage vehicles.

A fleet of trucks powered by hydrogen gets ready to move out in Ejin Horoo Banner. [Photo/WeChat account of Ejin Horoo Banner]