Hydrogen-powered commercial vehicle company Hydrogen Vehicle Systems (HVS) has been awarded £15m (US$17.8m) by the UK government’s Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) to support the development of zero-emission transportation in the country.
HVS was awarded the funding after entering the APC’s competition to develop automotive technologies and capability leading to net zero. Based in Scotland, HVS seeks to create innovations within the hydrogen mobility sector by producing what is claimed to be the UK’s first indigenous, clean-sheet, hydrogen fuel-cell heavy goods vehicle (HGV). The funding from APC is expected to support 50% of the project’s overall cost, which is estimated to be £30m (US$35.9m).
The project began on September 1, 2022, and will run until June 30, 2025. It is being undertaken by a consortium led by HVS and also includes Grayson Thermal Systems, Fusion Processing (vehicle vision systems) and PNDC (a commercial arm of Strathclyde University specializing in power electronics). The group will work on the development of the vehicle fuel cell and battery hybrid powertrain, including all engineering, testing and development aspects.
“Supporting vital research and development in the UK, now more than ever, provides an opportunity to invest in transport decarbonization as well as boost growth in the automotive sector,” said Ian Constance, chief executive of APC.
“Our mission to decarbonize heavy-duty transport in the UK has reached a major milestone with the help of the APC grant,” explained Jawad Khursheed, CEO of HVS. “The UK government performed rigorous due diligence in selecting HVS to receive this grant, acknowledging that our advanced technology is a key innovation toward achieving zero-emission targets.
“We have successfully produced our first driving fuel cell technology demonstrator vehicle and are on track to deliver the UK’s first-to-market hydrogen fuel-cell-powered HGV. We have experienced rapid growth at HVS in as little as a year. Now, with this government support, we will boost innovation, create thousands of UK-based jobs in the supply chain and build upon our goal toward cleaner HGVs.”
In November 2022, HVS revealed its hydrogen powertrain in a 5.5-ton technology demonstrator, previewing the company’s planned 40-ton zero-emission HGV.
