- ULEMCo, the hydrogen fuel pioneer, has started development with the FC fuel cell module from the Toyota Motor Corporation, as it develops a range of optimised hydrogen fuel cell solutions for electric vehicle applications.
As the first step, ULEMCo is obtaining a fuel cell for evaluation under the feasibility project HySPERT (Hydrogen Special Purpose Electric vehicle platform for Refuse collection and fire Trucks).
The Toyota fuel cell has been selected by ULEMCo using their extensive experience of fuel cell technologies, as it promises easier and faster integration, and is a good fit for the application. ULEMCo is developing a platform approach under its HyVERIE brand, which takes a flexible approach to configuring fuel cell electric vehicle solutions that can be configured on chassis gliders or bespoke specialist body designs. This enables an optimised ‘fit for purpose’ design in a range of applications – something that the company believes the major automotive OEMs will not tackle for some time to come.
By developing an understanding of the real-world use and duty cycles of a variety of specialist heavy duty vehicle applications, ULEMCo is building its capability to offer a variety of hydrogen-based solutions that meet customer / operator needs directly, rather than offering a single design approach. ULEMCo became involved after a rigorous selection process, and they now have access to the extensive expertise in Toyota Motors Japan and technical support.
“We are excited to be at the start of this important collaboration”, said Amanda Lyne, Managing Director of ULEMCo. “I firmly believe that a ‘horses for courses’ approach is needed for us to decarbonise transport completely for net zero. In heavy vehicles, we have relied for many years on engine technology and one fuel (diesel) that was cheap but inefficient. With battery and hydrogen solutions we need to be efficient and effective with our resources. Smaller specialist companies like ULEMCo have a real opportunity to innovate and fill the ‘gaps’ that the big OEMs are just not able to fulfil.”
About ULEMCo
Liverpool-based ULEMCo was founded in 2014 as a spin out of Revolve Technologies, to commercialise intellectual property and capability in hydrogen combustion engine technology. The company converts vehicles, having started with diesel Ford Transit vans, to enable them to run on commercially available hydrogen. The technology allows vehicle fleet managers to reduce their carbon emissions to ultra-low levels.
Commercial fleets across the UK benefit from a reduced carbon foot print while still having the full range capability of standard diesel vehicles. Alongside various partners, we already support a fleet of vehicles across a range of hydrogen hubs in the UK. Our aim is continue targeting commercial fleet conversions to grow the market significantly over the next 18 months, and then expand into other vehicle types over the longer term. Our growth plans include creating a hydrogen re-fuelling network, to capitalise on the existing local infrastructure for this ‘green’ fuel.
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