Vancouver, British Columbia – First Hydrogen Corp. (TSXV: FHYD) (OTC Pink: FHYDF) (FSE: FIT) (“FIRST HYDROGEN” or the “Company“) is pleased to announce its subsidiary, First Hydrogen Limited, has appointed Manuel Tolosa as Head of Powertrain Engineering to support its development of hydrogen fuel cell-powered light commercial vehicles (LCV).
For the last 16 years, Manuel has been responsible for hydrogen vehicle development projects at BMW Group (BMW), including the development of the unique BMW iX5 Hydrogen small series. With First Hydrogen, Manuel will provide leadership and direction in all areas of powertrain technology, innovation and engineering application through to production and post-production. He is responsible for implementing the technology, product and business strategy.
In his most recent role, Program Manager Fuel Cell System and Hydrogen Storage at BMW, Manuel directed the main development strategies for the next generation of vehicles. He also led BMW’s long-term cooperation with Toyota Motor Corporation from a technical perspective and helped to align battery electric vehicle (BEV) and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) platforms for their common use.
During his time at BMW, Manuel developed the core power train components for passenger cars, led the technical development of the primary parts in all demonstrator projects, redesigned the liquid hydrogen tank integrated into the Hydrogen 7 fleet and first introduced fuel cell systems and compressed gas tanks into a number of vehicles, including the BMW 5 Series GT FCEV hydrogen fuel cell prototypes.
Manuel Tolosa, Head of Powertrain Engineering, says:
“Light and medium-duty commercial vehicles represent one of the best mobility applications for integrating hydrogen power trains, making it a 100% zero-emission segment. Fuel cell systems are well suited to meet the technological boundaries and specifications required of this vehicle class, as well as their different use cases. I am excited to work with First Hydrogen to establish a leadership position in the design and commercialization of hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles. I am looking forward to bringing all my expertise and skills to deliver the products demanded by the market and our future customers.”
Steve Gill, CEO at First Hydrogen Automotive, says: “We are thrilled to welcome Manuel aboard, not only does he have an impressive knowledge of powertrain engineering, but he has extensive experience in hydrogen vehicle development and storage technology from one of the biggest, global automotive brands. His expertise will undoubtedly support us to develop an outstanding fleet of hydrogen vehicles and help commercial drivers to transition to high-performing, zero-emissions transport.”
About First Hydrogen Corp. (FirstHydrogen.com)
First Hydrogen Corp. is a Vancouver and London UK-based company focused on zero-emission vehicles, green hydrogen production and distribution and supercritical carbon dioxide extractor systems. The Company is designing and building hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered light commercial demonstrator vehicles (“LCV”) under two agreements with AVL Powertrain and Ballard Power Systems Inc. The LCV will have a range of 500+ kilometres. At the same time, the company has launched its bespoke vehicle design phase which will develop its fleet of proprietary zero emission vehicles. First Hydrogen is also developing refueling capability working with FEV Consulting GmbH, the automotive consultancy of FEV Group of Aachen Germany. The Company is also pursuing opportunities in green hydrogen production and distribution in the UK and elsewhere.
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