ULEMCo Plans a Fuel Cell Approach to Extend Range - Project Eligible Under New OLEV Support Scheme

ULEMCo, the company leading the use of ultra-low emission hydrogen-fuelled commercial vehicles in the UK, has announced plans to offer a zero emission fuel cell power module designed to work with one of the most popular electric vans, extending the company’s portfolio of practical commercial vehicle solutions.

The company has developed a fuel cell based unit that will extend vehicle range by supplying additional power to the standard Nissan e-NV200 van; particularly targeting the need from vehicle operators for improved utility of electric vehicles when fully loaded. With the combination of the on-board hydrogen storage and fuel cell module, the van will have a range of over 150 miles when laden, satisfying the range requirements of most average daily delivery operations for this size of van.

ULEMCo’s power module has been specifically engineered to provide additional energy to the vehicle so that the operational practicality of the full electric vehicle can be widened to cope with seasonal range variation, working lifetime, and the impact on range when fully loaded - all things that currently limit the range of duties an operator can target for existing zero-emission commercial vehicles.

Using a 12kW fuel cell and 1.6 kg/day on-board hydrogen storage capability, the van will have almost twice the range of the standard e-NV200, measured to NEDC standards, without sacrificing load space capacity. ULEMCo’s fuel cell RX power module will be roof mounted, and provide motive power via the battery to support the drive load requirements for the base van.

This development is also important as the fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is specifically targeted to be eligible under the recently announced Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) support scheme.

“We are excited to have completed our integration study for a zero-emission FC extended van”, said Amanda Lyne, CEO of ULEMCo. “This UK-engineered solution will meet the need for a practical small van urban delivery operation.”

The OLEV Hydrogen for Transport Programme was launched last week to provide up to £23m of new grant funding until 2020 to support the growth of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, alongside the deployment of new vehicles via an open competition for both Hydrogen Refuelling Stations and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

ULEMCo Ltd is based in Liverpool, UK and was founded in 2014 as a spin out of Revolve Technologies, to commercialise intellectual property and capability in hydrogen combustion engine technology. The company retrofits vehicles, starting with diesel Ford Transit vans to enable them to run on commercially available hydrogen. The technology allows vehicle fleet managers to reduce their carbon dioxide 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, ULEMCo already supports a fleet of 20 vehicles across a range of hydrogen hubs in the UK. The company is targeting commercial fleet retrofits to grow the market significantly over the next 18 months, and then expand into other vehicle types over the longer term. Its growth plans include creating a hydrogen re-fuelling network, to capitalise on the existing local infrastructure for this ‘green’ fuel.

Terry Nicklin
KeynotePR Ltd
Tel: +44 (0)7923 540695
E-mail: terry@keynotepr.com

This release was published on openPR.