Ford puts hydrogen on trial in E-Transit vans

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A consortium led by Ford has announced a three-year trial of a fleet of E-Transit vans fitted with hydrogen fuel cell technology.

The trials will determine whether, by using hydrogen to power an e-LCV, the E-Transit can deal with heavy-use, high-mileage demands with zero carbon emissions. Eight fuel cell E-Transit models will be used, with consortium partners including BP, the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), Viritech, Cambustion, and Ocado.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can provide a longer range than battery-powered EVs, and refuelling times that match filling a tank with petrol or diesel. The only emission produced from the exhaust is water, meaning it fits with zero-emission requirements for the government and local councils across the country. However, whereas electric vehicles can be plugged in across the UK, there are only a handful of working hydrogen refuelling sites currently, and these are largely focused on London.

As such, any wide-spread uptake of fuel cell electric vehicles would depend on hydrogen pumps available at many more refuelling stations.

Tim Slatter, chair of Ford in Britain, said: “Ford believes that the primary application of fuel cells could be in its largest, heaviest CVs to ensure they are emission-free, while satisfying the high daily energy requirements that our customers demand.

“Ford has an unmatched history in the commercial vehicle sector with the indomitable Transit, and we are excited to be exploring new ways to make clean deliveries an option for even our hardest working vans on the road.”

The project will use  eight vehicles run for six-month periods over the three-year project, and will test not only suitability for use with range and payload, but also the use of ancillaries such as chillers.

To view more models, head over to our main Ford page.

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