Ballard Power Systems has test-driven First Hydrogen’s first-generation zero-emission light commercial vehicle at AVL Powertrain’s engineering facility in Basildon, UK.
The company has partnered with Ballard to develop revolutionary light commercial vehicles that are powered by hydrogen. The two first-generation vehicles use a combination of Ballard’s latest LCS fuel cell stack and First Hydrogen’s proprietary technology.
David Mucciacciaro, CCO at Ballard Power Systems, said: “We were pleased to experience First Hydrogen’s LCV first-hand and delighted to see how our leading fuel cell technology performs on the road in a light-duty application. Our plans to expand Ballard’s fuel cell production will enable the scale-up of the fuel cell market as we see continued investment and customer interest.”
Robert Campbell, CEO of First Hydrogen Energy, added: “Our close working relationship with Ballard has played a key role in developing First Hydrogen’s first generation of zero-emission LCVs. This was Ballard’s first visit to see the vans and we were keen for their team to see the vehicles in action before they enter our key fleet trial programme in the coming weeks.”
Deployment of First Hydrogen’s zero-emission light commercial vehicles
First Hydrogen’s vehicles will be adopted by major fleet operators that have enrolled to drive the hydrogen zero-emission light commercial vehicles. 15 major fleet operators have registered to participate in this as part of the UK Aggregated Hydrogen Freight Consortium.
The trial will encompass commercial operators from a range of sectors, including, grocery, express delivery, utilities, and roadside assistance. As part of the trial, these commercial operators will be granted the opportunity to test hydrogen-powered fuel-cell electric vehicles alongside their existing fleets and compare different technologies.
The vehicles are currently undergoing vehicle evaluation and mileage accumulation
The light commercial vehicles act as proof of concept and will allow fleet operators, refuelling services, and prospective customers to test fuel cell vehicles in real-world conditions. They are undergoing vehicle evaluation and mileage accumulation, which is set to support optimised vehicle efficiency. Through this data, the company will be able to calculate fuel consumption and vehicle range under different driving conditions to inform future vehicle development.
The findings will allow First Hydrogen to provide the total cost of ownership data to prospective customers. Due to its performance and lifetime durability, Ballard’s technology will help to optimise TCO and make the transition to zero-emission vehicles financially competitive.
First Hydrogen is also supporting the transition to net zero through the development of an end-to-end ‘Hydrogen-asa-Service’ solution. This will supply fleets with green hydrogen fuel, fleet aftercare, and zero-emission vehicles.
The global light commercial vehicle market
The global light commercial vehicle market is estimated to reach $751.86bn by 2030, and will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 5.1% during 2022-2030.
First Hydrogen will help the market achieve its emissions targets and capitalise on improving zero-emission infrastructure with its clean fleet solutions.
