Displayed at the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle event at Millbrook last week, the vehicle’s 5kW PCB fuel cell gives an additional range of 80 miles on an NEDC cycle with 1.7kg of hydrogen on board. This can be extended further by increasing the hydrogen storage capacity.
On the demonstration model, the fuel cell – along with the control system and electronics – is integrated on the vehicle roof under a covered enclosure. The hydrogen storage tank is currently in the loading bay, although a future development could see the tank relocated to the roof.
Compared with conventional systems, says Revolve, this PCB fuel cell stack will “drastically reduce” system costs, deliver reduced weight for a given power output and will provide a more flexible form factor.
The module is designed as an aftermarket kit for any commercial all-electric vehicles.
“This project met all our expectations,” said Paul Turner, engineering director at Revolve Technologies.
“We were delighted to be able to show this exciting outcome at the LCV Show, and we received a very enthusiastic reception.”
The year-long project was funded by Innovate UK. Revolve’s partners for the project were: Bramble Energy, for fuel cell development and manufacture; UCL, for fuel cell testing and manufacturing support; STI on electronics development; and consultancy HSSMI for manufacturing upscaling.