This finding is said to make hydrogen power a viable option for fleet operators that cover a high mileage and may not have the opportunity to re-charge a battery. The hydrogen fuel cell was used more on certain types of journeys and less in others.
For the trial, fleet management provider Rivus used the vehicle for more than four weeks. In that time, engineers at Rivus covered over 700 miles of testing, totalling over 47 hours of driving.
Tests were completed on diverse routes, providing data on how the vehicle operates under different conditions. This involved urban city centre driving, navigating extra urban routes such as journeys that include driving in town centres and on higher speed roads, and combined routes, which included a mix of driving on low-speed city centre roads, higher speed roads and motorways.
Rivus also tested the van both empty and loaded to 90% of its maximum weight capacity to reflect the way in which it would be used outside of the trial.
Price comparisons have also been made using hydrogen to better understand the total cost of ownership, versus diesel and battery electric vehicles. The comparisons reflect the current cost of hydrogen; however, the Hydrogen UK Transport Working Group predicts fuel costs are expected to decrease to £7.47 per kg by 2025 and as low as £4.09/kg by the end of the decade, which in the case of First Hydrogen’s vehicle equates to a cost of 13.7p per mile.
Gemma Horne, warranty controller at Rivus, said: “the main benefit of the First Hydrogen vehicle is the refuelling times are quicker than battery electric vehicles charge times. And of course, unlike internal combustion engines, hydrogen vehicles produce zero emissions.”
First Hydrogen’s automotive CEO, Steve Gill says: “The trial also showed that the vehicle ran with excellent efficiency, comfortably achieving more than a 500km range on a single tank of fuel, exceeding the early performance expectations we set for real world driving. We have always been confident that our vehicle will offer benefits to fleets, and this first trial is evidence of just that.”