The Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) consortium HyHAUL has staged an open day for operators to learn more about hydrogen HGVs. Hosted at UTAC Millbrook, the event featured a range of static and live vehicle demonstrations.
As one of the four consortia under the £200m government funded ZEHID programme, HyHAUL has been allocated £31.8m by the DfT and Innovate UK. Unlike the other consortia that are predominantly focusing on battery electric vehicles and recharging infrastructure, HyHAUL is a hydrogen-centred project.
The joint venture between Protium Green Solutions and Marubeni Europower will see 30 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) deployed along the M4 corridor by March 2026. The trucks are due to be supported by three refuelling stations which will be supplied with hydrogen from Protium and Marubeni production facilities in South Wales. By 2030, the group hopes to expand its infrastructure across the UK and support the deployment of 300 hydrogen HGVs.
Chris Jackson, chairman of HyHAUL and CEO and founder of Protium said: “We’ve invested £10m in green hydrogen production in South Wales. We have two electrolysers, one’s operational, one’s going into construction. Working with our partner, Marubeni, we hope to use the green hydrogen from our own production and from other sites to be able to give customers an end-to-end refueling solution where we can say we’ve used sun, wind and water to replace diesel.”
Alongside other consortium partners like Novuna Vehicle Solutions and Scania Finance, the group plans to collaborate to offer a complete solution for operators to simplify leasing, maintenance and refuelling. Jackson added, “We call it a one-stop shop or decarbonisation as a service.”
The showcase event was an opportunity for operators to see hydrogen FCEVs and refuelling systems up close. HyHAUL is looking for fleets to join the programme and place orders for hydrogen HGVs by March, ready for deployment early next year.
Kyle Arnold, MD of HyHAUL, said: “There’s an opportunity to have a trial period of hydrogen vehicles in your fleet, so you can understand how it practically works and the changes you might need to make. Ultimately, it’s an opportunity to see the full cost model and how it compares to ICE trucks operationally.”
As well as giving fleets the opportunity to participate in early trials before government legislation forces them to make the switch, Arnold said: “With this government funding it’s very unlikely we’re going to have this opportunity again where there is 80% capex funding on the vehicles. It’s a unique opportunity for fleets to learn lessons at price comparity to diesel trucks in terms of the lease costs.”
The trucks
HyHAUL is working with a number of different manufacturers to explore hydrogen FCEV truck options. The event featured static displays of Viritech’s prototype FCEV based on a Volvo FH chassis and CaetanoBus’s FCEV bus. Live demonstrations included Toyota’s FCEV Hilux pickup truck and Enginius’ Bluepower FCEV, based on the Mercedes-Benz Econic chassis. The Bluepower truck is typically based at South and City College Birmingham, supporting courses in the college’s new hydrogen training facility.
Attendees were also updated on Scania’s 6x2 FCEV tractor progress with Dirk Stüben, senior advisor e-mobility solutions at Scania, confirming that at this stage the company is only developing a left-hand drive truck due to powertrain packaging constraints.
Quantron displayed its 4x2 FCEV tractor unit with a livestream showing a finished truck driving on the road in Germany. Based on an MAN chassis, the vehicle will come to the UK in a right-hand drive configuration.
The infrastructure
From hydrogen production facilities in South Wales, consortium member Reynolds Logistics will move hydrogen to HyHAUL’s three refuelling stations using multi-element gas containers (MEGC), also known as tube trailers. Each tube trailer will carry up to 1,000kg of hydrogen at 380 bar. Once on site, Fuel Cell Systems’ HyFleet refueller pressurises hydrogen up to 700 bar.
Tom Chicken, CTO at Fuel Cell Systems, said: “Moving forward into the HyFleet range, it’s a slightly more expensive product than our HyQube but it focuses on operating efficiency and bringing the operating cost down. Every pound per kilogram you can bring it down, that can be passed on to the operators.”
Hydrogen HGVs typically have an onboard storage capacity of around 50kg at 700bar and it takes around 17 minutes to fill the tank. It is expected that a combination of tube trailers, on-site storage and electrolysers will offer scalable capacity and maximum uptime.
Depending on demand, Reynolds expects to deliver one tube trailer every day before building up to multiple deliveries a day. While Reynolds’ main role in the project is moving hydrogen, the company is hoping to add FCEV tractor units to its fleet once regulations allow hydrogen trucks to work across all its ADR deliveries.
