With an initial focus on commercial vehicles, Viritech is expanding its partnership with Haydale to develop solutions for hydrogen pressure vessels for the automotive industry.

This collaboration is important because, by 2030, fuel cell electric vans will have a cheaper total cost of ownership (TCO) than battery-electric vans for situations where the vehicle travels more than 300 miles per day—vans working more than one shift per day being a notable example.

Viritech and Haydale are working to create the world’s most effective vehicle storage system for gaseous hydrogen by concentrating on Type V, linerless pressure vessels. With immediate applicability in the developing market for fuel cell vans, this technology will have broad applications in the automotive, aerospace, and marine industries.

In order to significantly reduce weight and do away with the requirement for an inner liner, which is now necessary in composite pressure vessels to serve as an impermeable barrier, the project will involve the development of new functionalized materials and resins for Type V pressure vessels. Instead, the development of impermeable pressure containers will be made possible by the advanced graphene-enhanced carbon fiber material created by Viritech and Haydale.

Viritech will also continue to develop its Graph-Pro structural pressure vessels, which have attaching points that bolt to a vehicle’s chassis directly, eliminating the need for additional frames or attachments. This significantly reduces weight and facilitates the construction of pressure vessels.

This collaboration represents the next phase in the Viritech-Haydale partnership and will play a significant role in bringing UK developed and industry-leading storage solutions to the automotive market. The two companies previously co-developed hydrogen storage solutions for Viritech’s iconic Apricale Hypercar.