Zero-emissions, long-range hydrogen-powered commercial vehicle company, Hydrogen Vehicle Systems (HVS), confirmed its zero-emissions hydrogen-electric heavy goods vehicle (HGV) will have a range of up to 370 miles (595 km) coupled with a refueling time of 15 to 20 minutes. HGV will be revealed at the commercial vehicle show on April 18th in Birmingham, UK, where HVS will showcase its hydrogen powertrain in the form of an HGV articulated tractor unit, technology demonstrator, fulfilling the company’s objective of being the first UK-designed and developed hydrogen-electric HGV on the market. “Thanks to the fresh thinking and ground-up approach, HVS has created an HGV that offers the complete package of game-changing technology and driver ergonomics,” said HVS CEO Jawad Khursheed. The state-of-the-art fuel cell stack coupled with the best in the industry hydrogen tanks ensures rapid refueling times and maximizes time on the road — delivering unrivalled total cost of ownership to our customers.”
Fuel Cell Stack
HVS’ vehicle powertrain employs a fuel cell system and energy storage system to deploy electricity to an electric motor to transmit power to the wheels. It uses a kinetic energy recovery system to recapture energy under braking and while the truck is slowing down.
The integrated powertrain is controlled with HVS’ advanced control system called SEMAS. SEMAS delivers fuel efficiency and powertrain durability that contributes to achieving a total cost of ownership that HVS said is comparable to that of current diesel-powered offerings in the market. HVS also said that the fuel cell permits longer range, higher load-carrying capacity, and faster refueling than would be possible using battery-electric technology alone.
The only emissions from the vehicle in operation is water vapor, meaning there are no harmful greenhouse gas emissions of any kind.
Range And Refueling
Hydrogen-powered vehicles don’t need charging like a battery-electric vehicle. They are fueled with hydrogen gas, stored at pressure in hydrogen cylinders. Refueling takes a much shorter time than charging an equivalent battery vehicle and is comparable to filling a truck with diesel, at around 15 to 20 minutes to refill the hydrogen tanks. Much of the initial hydrogen fueling demand will be undertaken using mobile dispensers located close to demand at existing commercial vehicle gas stations. These mobile dispensers look very similar to conventional gas and diesel ones, but with an approved hydrogen self-locking safety nozzle.
Decades Of Growth
Based on HVS’ sales projections, by 2030 the new UK fleet of hydrogen HGV’s, displacing diesel vehicles, could prevent more carbon dioxide and noxious air emissions than the reported annual emissions of Heathrow airport.
The UK is home to many leading international hydrogen production, supply, storage, and hydrogen technology industries, which sets the stage for hydrogen-powered heavy vehicle adoption.