The development of a 7.5 ton hydrogen-electric truck from Tevva has continued with a range test between the company’s headquarters in London, UK and the Scottish border at Berwick-on-Tweed.
Four Tevva engineers, Charlie Cordell, Byron Dolman, Ryan Clark and Toby Hurst, were tasked with driving the test truck more than 1,000km. On the first leg of the journey, the team stopped off at Element 2 in Teesside to carry out hydrogen refueling, in addition to a previous stop in the Midlands. At present, Element 2 is constructing a national infrastructure of hydrogen refueling sites.
“Providing the hydrogen for this significant journey is a proud moment,” commented Dr Andrew Hagan, chief development officer, Element 2. “The superior range on this fuel cell vehicle is a comfort and reassurance for organizations ordering new vehicles and updating their fleets. We are building refueling stations where they are needed most and removing diesel from our roads. This infrastructure will enable Tevva truck drivers to go the distance.”
On the return journey the dual-energy prototype truck covered 563km without needing to stop for recharging, made possible by the onboard hydrogen fuel cell which tops up the range-extended vehicle’s lithium battery when required.
“It was an amazing trip, and we were so pleased the truck covered so many miles on the return leg without the need to stop for a charge,” said lead engineer, Tevva Rex, Charlie Cordell. “The trip was a terrific demonstration of the range you can achieve in a truck that uses a blended system of electric and hydrogen. The freezing conditions were extremely challenging, but helpful too, in allowing us to gather important data about vehicle performance, meaning we could make tweaks here and there and tailor its development.”
During the range test, temperatures rarely stayed above freezing, and at one point dropped to minus 10°C.
“On paper, of course, the range it achieved was expected,” explained Ryan Clark, an engineer who joined Tevva two years ago after completing his engineering degree at Glasgow University. “But it’s still a great feeling, to put the prototype together and see it blasting that kind of mileage.”
