Eight-year supply arrangement has enabled hydrogen dual fuel conversion
Vehicles that embed hydrogen technology into dual fuel systems are helping create a greener transport network, as part of a long term collaboration that has already saved significant harmful emissions.
Hydrogen storage experts Luxfer Gas Cylinders has supplied leading hydrogen fuel specialist ULEMCo since 2014, with the two pioneering firms collaborating to make vehicles hydrogen ready and harness the clean gas to deliver GHG emission savings.
Projects have included hydrogen-powered trucks, LGVs, refuse trucks, road sweepers and even a prototype ambulance – many already in operation within the UK.
In one recent initiative, announced earlier this year, a waste collection truck has been launched that combines hydrogen with non-fossil fuel HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil), opening up the opportunity for negative carbon vehicles. It is the first dual fuel refuse truck of its kind in the UK, and will make use of Aberdeen’s hydrogen refuelling hub.
The overarching objective within the supply chain for ULEMCo is to offer options that will allow the transport industry to cost effectively decarbonise their operations, by using the existing engines in their vehicles, adapted for hydrogen fuel.
Luxfer’s unique liner-processing technology means its hydrogen cylinders are among the highest-capacity, fastest to refill and lightest Type 3 alternative fuel cylinders in the world. These G-Stor® H2 cylinders are provided, to be slotted into retrofitted designs of converted diesel engines.
Amanda Lyne, ULEMCo Managing Director, explains: “We’ve worked with Luxfer since we founded the company in 2014 and we chose Luxfer cylinders because of the quality and service they offer. By using combustion technology that is widely understood, the transport industry can start saving GHG emissions, far quicker than waiting for the commercial viability of zero-emission options that are not widely available today.
“While a key issue is to maximise the volume of hydrogen that can be fitted into a broad spectrum of vehicles, Luxfer’s range of cylinder sizes give that crucial flexibility.”
With diesel conversions offering an accessible way for operators to kickstart their hydrogen journey, the projects Luxfer and ULEMCo have worked on together are showing huge promise.
For example, ULEMCo recently shows that one of the nine-strong fleet of hydrogen dual fuel road sweepers in Aberdeen can displace 50 % of the diesel with hydrogen, including the auxiliary engine that powers the vacuum – an excellent demonstration of the potential for the technology. If this was applied to similarly-converted road sweepers across all UK Councils, it is estimated by ULEMCo that 10,000 tonnes of CO2 per year could be saved.
Jim Gregory, European Business Development Manager at Luxfer Gas Cylinders, adds: “The relationship with ULEMCo is enduring because we have a shared vision to demonstrate the possibilities of hydrogen as an alternative fuel crucial to reaching net zero goals.
“The real issue for the transport industry is to shift from diesel cost effectively, and this is where dual fuel conversions come into their own. Of course, there remains the barrier of infrastructure and access to the green gas, which ULEMCo is helping its customers circumvent too – making hydrogen a sound proposition.”
Luxfer has an 80-year legacy in gas containment and has a specialist – and expanding – alternative fuel facility at its Colwick, Nottingham base. It is responsible for supplying hydrogen storage systems to international customers across the transport sector.
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About Luxfer
One of the world’s largest manufacturers of lightweight high pressure cylinders, Luxfer Gas Cylinders is a trusted partner to deliver bespoke alternative fuel solutions.
Luxfer Gas Cylinders is a leading manufacturer of high-pressure composite and aluminum cylinders. More than 70 million Luxfer cylinders in service around the world have an exemplary record for dependability and safety in a variety of applications, including firefighter and first-responder life support, medical, fire extinguishers, alternative fuel, specialty gas, beverage, aerospace, inflation, SCUBA and performance racing.
An operating company of Luxfer Holdings PLC (NYSE:LXFR), Luxfer Gas Cylinders is based in Riverside, California, and has manufacturing facilities in the U.S., England, Canada, and China. www.luxfercylinders.com
About ULEMCo
ULEMCo Ltd is the world’s first hydrogen commercial vehicle conversion company, enabling fleet and commercial vehicle owners to access to zero emission hydrogen fuel, as part of their strategies to reduce transport related carbon emissions.
ULEMCo is based in Liverpool, UK and was founded in 2014 to commercialise its globally unique UK capability in hydrogen technology to convert commercial vehicles (from LGV to HGV and specialist utility vehicles like refuse trucks, gritter and sweepers) to run on hydrogen. This is achieved using either the company’s technology for hydrogen dual fuel, or applying know-how and experience to developing zero emission engine vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell integration.
There are nearly half a million heavy duty trucks on the road in the UK alone; all of them need to be decarbonised by 2050! Battery electric technology is just not practical for most of these vehicles, whereas hydrogen with its fast refuelling and higher energy density is by far a better option. Using hydrogen instead of conventional fuels enables commercial fleets to benefit from a reduced carbon footprint, while still having the full range capability of standard diesel vehicles.
Alongside various partners, ULEMCo already supports a fleet of vehicles across a range of hydrogen hubs in the UK, and is rapidly extending its capability to provide ‘fleetwide conversion to hydrogen’ across the globe. www.ulemco.com
