First Hydrogen partners with multi-award-winning fleet management provider and member of the UK Aggregated Hydrogen Freight Consortium, Rivus, to start operational trials with first-of-its-kind hydrogen-fuel-cell powered vehicle (FCEV).
Rivus is the first company to participate in vehicle trials with First Hydrogen’s Generation I zero-emission LCV’s, co-ordinated through the AFHC, which is led by Element Energy with input from the global industrial members of UK H2Mobility. The consortium works together with large UK fleet operators to accelerate the commercial rollout of fuel cell vans and trucks and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.
Rivus will test First Hydrogen’s light commercial vehicles (LCV) for a month in the Birmingham and Sheffield areas, which are served by hydrogen refuelling stations. Rivus will run First Hydrogen’s vehicle on pre-planned routes to measure performance under different driving conditions. Telematics and onboard instruments will capture data on vehicle performance, efficiency, and fuel consumption. The findings will contribute to First Hydrogen’s overall evaluation and mileage accumulation programme, which supports vehicle optimisation and determines Total Cost of Ownership.
The trials enable fleet managers from sectors including grocery, express delivery, utilities, healthcare, and roadside assistance, to experience the benefits of FCEVs within their own operations. Hydrogen powertrains possess a greater range, higher payload capacity and faster refuelling than equivalent battery electric vehicles. First Hydrogen’s vehicle has a range of 400-600km on a single fuel tank filled at 700 bar, which takes approximately five minutes to fill. The programme enables operators to compare different vehicle technologies in action. Fifteen (15) major fleet operators have registered an interest in taking part in First Hydrogen’s 12-18-month LCV trial programme.
Upon completion of the trial, Rivus will produce its own independent report analysing the performance of the hydrogen-powered LCV, which will be available to fleet managers and Rivus customers. The report will share valuable insight into the benefits and practicality of adopting hydrogen mobility.
