Transport is an essential and integral part of all economies for both the movement of people and goods.

The UK's "Road to Zero" commitment to zero tailpipe emissions for all new vehicles by 2030 will bring fundamental change to the transport sector.

Electric Vehicle (EV) technology is currently the accepted automotive solution for low / zero emissions drivetrains; EV can be delivered through two key technologies -- battery and hydrogen fuel cell. To date, this response is primarily through the development of battery electric vehicles (BEV's) due to ease of integration. Passenger vehicles have highlighted concerns over BEV range and re-charging; however, for commercial (3 tonnes and upwards) vehicles these concerns are serious drawbacks and, indeed, are exacerbated by limitation on payload due to the significant weight of battery storage.

Our project directly addresses these drawbacks for commercial vehicles by developing a zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell and ultracapacitor propulsion system for 3.5 tonne Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs) producing delivery vans that will enable a one-for-one replacement for the existing LGV market in terms of range, payload, and performance.

3.5 tonne LGVs, requiring only a standard driving license, have always played a significant role in the commercial market as a conveniently sized carrier used in a variety of roles as a delivery, transport, or support vehicle in almost all business and service sectors.

In the UK alone, there are around 2.25 million 3.5 tonne delivery LGV's. Strong growth in home delivery and hub and spoke distribution trends (driven by our on-line lives) are increasing demand for LGVs, that continue to represent the highest growth rate across all commercial vehicle sectors.

Our project builds a "concept mule" vehicle demonstrating a range of over 650 km (with rapid re-fuelling) matching existing ICE LGVs and far exceeding BEVs which have ranges in the region of 160 km (followed by lengthy re-charging).

Our concept mule will demonstrate that the weight of our powertrain system will closely match that of ICEs and so will maintain payload capability of around 1.5 tonnes. The weight of BEV battery storage restricts available payload to less than one tonne.

Our mule will also demonstrate similar life-cycle costs per km as ICEs and at least 50% cost per km savings for equivalent payload compared to BEVs; and significant reductions in CO2 during production and usage, overall improved recyclability and sustainability.

A real and economic solution along the "Road to Zero".