The end of combustion engine engines

GCK specialises in decarbonising methods of transportation. The Savoie company boasts recognised expertise in electric and hydrogen retrofits of combustion engine vehicles. Last year, the operator of the Alpe d’Huez ski area, Sata Group and Resalp, the resort’s urban bus operator, ordered five snow groomers and three hydrogen retrofitted buses from them respectively. How does it work? Each snow groomer is fitted with a 320-kW electric engine with maximum torque of 850 Newton-metres. The fuel cell, capable of producing 150 kW, is powered by 70 kg of 700 bar hydrogen and a battery. This transformation does not affect the work of snow groomer drivers at all, with similar climbing and acceleration performance and eight hours of autonomy.

The retrofitted Kässbohrer Pistenbully retains its functional characteristics; it is capable of climbing steep slopes and of reaching a maximum speed of 23 km/h.

“We are making the final touches in order to carry out tests on the slopes at the end of the winter, with the aim of commissioning the first snow groomer next winter”, explains Sébastien de Chaunac, Marketing Director of GCK. For buses, the homologation process is lengthier. “They are tested in a closed area at the Charade track, close to Clermont-Ferrand”. They will be commissioned between 2024 and 2025.

GCK also retrofits utilitarian vehicles, heavy goods vehicles, work site machinery and even boats. It has received orders for hydrogen retrofitted coaches for the Ardèche transport company, Ginhoux and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, and is set to equip the five excursion boats belonging to Lake Annecy’s Compagnie des Bateaux with electric engines.

Overall, 2022 was a year of very strong growth for the group, which owns eight companies, with a leap from 65 to 150 employees. The year was marked by the opening of its industrial site in Lempdes, Puy-de-Dôme and the launch of its hydrogen distribution company, Flex’hy. “In 2023, we are sure to pass the 200-employee mark and we aim to double our turnover. We will continue to develop our electric and hydrogen combustion engines and we hope to homologate most of the vehicles we retrofit, so that we can launch mass production of some of them by the end of the year”.

In Val d’Isère, the entire free public transport network, Valbus, is turning its back on fossil fuels to focus on greener energy. The entire fleet will be gradually upgraded, with the aim of 15 electric buses by 2025 and savings of the equivalent of 18 tonnes of CO2 per year and per vehicle.

E-Spider is an electric, off-road, lightweight, silent and environmentally-friendly quadricycle. It is making waves and its unique look is already creating a buzz on social networks. Built by Drôme company, Swincar, it moves silently across uneven terrain thanks to its totally independent all-wheel drive and steering, ensuring optimised car-to-ground connection. E-Spider is accessible to all, including persons with reduced mobility.

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