More than £2.1 million of funding has been awarded to Novuna Vehicle Solutions as part of the Tees Valley Hydrogen Vehicle Ecosystem consortium. The project will involve trials and maintenance of fuel cell HGVs in the Tees Valley area and the installation of a hydrogen refuelling station by Exolum at their Riverside Terminal.
Novuna is the HGV leasing partner in the consortium and will work with German manufacturer Quantrom AG to build and manage at least 20 fuel cell electric vehicles from 4.2- to 27-tonnes. Trials will gather vehicle data and performance information for interpretation by the School of Computer Engineering and Digital Technologies at Teesside University.
Jon Lawes, managing director of Novuna Vehicle Solutions, said: “This project is crucial to removing barriers and addressing the needs of operators at every stage of the ecosystem, in turn realising the commercial viability of hydrogen, at scale, and transforming the heavy transport sector which has been left behind in the road to net zero fleets.
“With our experience and unique capability to build, fund and manage the in-life maintenance across all vehicle types, including HGVs, we’re looking forward to collaborating with other selected participants to create a cleaner transport sector and ultimately unlock the vast potential of fuel cell hydrogen vehicles.
“Being firmly at the forefront in addressing the challenges of decarbonising heavy-duty vehicles complements our broader zero emissions strategy which is already comprehensively supporting fleets' transition to Electric Vehicles.”
Andreas Haller, CEO and founder of Quantron AG, added: “We are proud to be a part of this initiative. Bringing our innovative QUANTRON INSIDE technology to the UK marks a significant step forward in our global strategy and we are delighted to do this in collaboration with our partner Novuna.
“We are building hydrogen vehicles that reflect our commitment to sustainability to set a new environmentally friendly standard for long-haul transportation.”
