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HVS unveils hydrogen-powered HGV tractor unit

Professional Engineering

The design for the HVS hydrogen-powered modular HGV platform
The design for the HVS hydrogen-powered modular HGV platform

Hydrogen Vehicle Systems (HVS) has unveiled the hydrogen-powered tractor unit for its upcoming zero-emission vehicles.

The modular platform, designed to offer heavy goods vehicle (HGV) operators maximum flexibility from a single ‘base’ vehicle, provides a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain with medium and high-power e-axles, up to three hydrogen tanks, and two power outputs depending on customer payload and requirements.

The vehicle’s design includes a suspended cab at the front and a fixed tower at the rear, housing the thermal and powertrain systems. 

This platform format “breaks with the industry-standard tradition of variable cab types and sizes” such as big, medium or small, or high/low-roof, HVS said. This means that the smallest variants have the same “spacious” cab as the largest models, the announcement said.

“We would never have been able to achieve this level of flexibility and optimisation with a diesel-powertrain derived vehicle design,” said Pete Clarke, head of design at Glasgow-headquartered HVS.

“We initially calculated the maximum wheelbase possible to achieve the required turning circle and manoeuvrability for the target market. The design process then began with the optimal powertrain format, around which the vehicle design was then created – ensuring that form followed function.”

The 4x2 tractor unit has a range of up to 600km (370 miles). Its adaptable architecture means core electrochemical modules, including the battery and fuel cell, could be swapped out for more advanced equivalents in future.


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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

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