Toyota Material Handling Europe and Plug Power, Supply Partners of STEF, to Bring Cutting-edge Hydrogen Forklift and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Solutions to Two of Its Cold Storage Distribution Centers, in France and Spain

SLINGERLANDS, N.Y., April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STEF Group, European leader in transport and logistics services for temperature-controlled food products, has recently launched two hydrogen projects with Toyota Material Handling Europe, a supplier of hydrogen fuel cell material handling equipment, and Plug Power, a provider of end-to-end green hydrogen solutions. The two projects are located in Athis-Mons, France and Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain. This initiative marks a significant step towards developing a comprehensive hydrogen ecosystem that integrates H2 production and H2-powered material handling equipment.

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Focus on the two hydrogen projects

STEF is incorporating green hydrogen to power its forklift at two of its sites: a transport platform in Athis-Mons close to Paris, France, and a logistics warehouse in Torrejón de Ardoz, near Madrid, Spain.

The project in France uses green H2 produced with renewable energy and delivered on site.

In Spain, the H2 is produced on site using an electrolyser – a device that uses electricity to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. The electricity to power the electrolyser is generated by the 2.9 MWp photovoltaic rooftop plant, enabling consumption of green and locally produced hydrogen.

The benefits of hydrogen for forklift

By using hydrogen fuel cell technology, STEF can potentially improve its forklift operator productivity.

Hydrogen fuel cells offer particularly good performance under STEF's operating conditions (from -18° to +4°): increased operational productivity over a longer period, unlike conventional batteries.

Hydrogen-powered forklifts can be quickly refilled, in less than 3 minutes, reducing the risk of accidents associated with lead-acid battery change. They also offer more comfort to STEF’s collaborators in trans dock activities.

On average, a hydrogen fuel cell lasts 10 years, twice as long as traditional batteries. Contributing to reducing the environmental impact across the product lifecycle.

Hydrogen as an energy carrier and fuel cells as a power solution offer many advantages when it comes to material handling operations and they can support the roadmap to decarbonise material handling operations.

These two projects are part of STEF's Moving Green climate initiative, one of whose objectives is to use 100% low-carbon energy in their buildings by the end of 2025.

Toyota provides compatible fuel cell-ready forklifts

Toyota Material Handling Europe is a historic supplier of STEF. In Europe, Toyota currently services 6,000 STEF forklifts.

As part of this joint initiative, Toyota Material Handling Europe will provide STEF with compatible fuel cell-ready forklift models. These forklifts will be tailored to the specific need of STEF's sites.

They are designed and manufactured with a focus on operator safety and comfort.

The two projects start off with setting up 48 forklifts in Athis-Mons and 67 forklifts in Torrejón de Ardoz cold store sites.

Plug Power

Plug Power (Plug) is a leading provider of comprehensive hydrogen solutions, including fuel cells, electrolyzers, hydrogen production, storage, and refueling infrastructure, designed to enable the global transition to green energy across industries.

Plug is deploying its hydrogen-powered solutions for STEF at two of its cold storage sites: Athis-Mons and Torrejón de Ardoz. With these projects, STEF joins Plug’s network of clients.

Plug will provide STEF with its full GenKey ecosystem—hydrogen fuel cells, GenFuel infrastructure, green hydrogen supply, and ongoing service.

At the Torrejón de Ardoz site, Plug has provided an electrolyzer to produce green hydrogen on-site using renewable energy, showcasing the integration of advanced technology into STEF’s logistics strategy. This partnership demonstrates the benefits of Plug’s solutions in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing operational efficiency, and enabling sustainable logistics for the food supply chain.

This collaboration also expands Plug’s footprint in Europe.

About STEF Group

STEF is a pure player in the food supply chain. Its mission is to supply populations with food products. This major responsibility is backed by a rich history spanning more than 100 years. Today, STEF brings together a wealth of expertise, making it the European leader in temperature-controlled transport, logistics and packaging services dedicated to food products. With its customers in industry, retail and out-of-home catering, STEF works to build an ever more agile and connected supply chain in response to changing consumption patterns and the transformation of distribution channels, from convenience stores to superstores and e-commerce. Its 2022-2026 strategic plan “Committed to a sustainable future” places “care” at the heart of its relations with all its internal and external stakeholders, as well as at the center of its climate approach. STEF has 25,000 employees and more than 300 sites in 8 European countries. In 2024, STEF generated sales of 4.8 billion euros.

About Blue EnerFreeze

Blue EnerFreeze is the energy subsidiary of STEF Group, the European leader in temperature-controlled transport, logistics and packaging services dedicated to food products. Created in 2018, Blue EnerFreeze supports the Group's European sites in the supply of secure, optimized and sustainable refrigeration energy.

About Toyota Material Handling Europe

Toyota Material Handling Europe is the European headquarters of Toyota Material Handling Group, which is part of Toyota Industries Corporation – the global leader in material handling equipment. It provides businesses of all sizes, in more than 30 European countries, with a full range of counterbalanced forklift trucks, BT warehouse equipment/services, added-value solutions and innovations. Over 95% of trucks are manufactured in our European factories, in Sweden, France and Italy – all to Toyota Production System´s (TPS) quality standards. Find out more to achieve exceptional efficiency in your operations. www.toyota-forklifts.eu

About Plug

Plug Power is building the global hydrogen economy with a fully integrated ecosystem spanning production, storage, delivery, and power generation. A first mover in the industry, Plug Power provides electrolyzers, liquid hydrogen, fuel cell systems, storage tanks, and fueling infrastructure to industries such as material handling, industrial applications and energy producers—advancing energy independence and decarbonization at scale.

With electrolyzers deployed across five continents, Plug Power leads in hydrogen production, delivering large-scale projects that redefine industrial power. The company has deployed over 72,000 fuel cell systems and 275 fueling stations and is the largest user of liquid hydrogen. Plug Power is rapidly expanding its generation network to ensure a reliable, domestically produced hydrogen supply. With plants already operational in Georgia and Tennessee, and Louisiana set to come online in 2025, Plug Power’s total production capacity is on track to reach 39 tons per day.

With employees and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities across the globe, Plug Power powers global leaders like Walmart, Amazon, Home Depot, BMW, and BP.