First Hydrogen Corp. is pleased to announce award-winning fleet management provider Rivus, which manages approximately 120,000 vehicles, has provided their positive report on the Company’s hydrogen-fuel cell powered vehicle (FCEV). The report’s overall conclusion highlighted First Hydrogen’s FCEV robustness over EVs in terms of vehicle efficiency over different load factors. The report goes on say the FCEV has an unbeatable range, and refuelling was quick, taking less than 5 minutes.
The report noted First Hydrogen’s FCEV superiority compared to electric vehicles (EV) in range where modern electric light commercial vehicles (eLCVs) can achieve ranges of upwards to 240 km which was easily doubled by First Hydrogen’s FCEV. The Company’s FCEV was not heavily affected by the speed or the payload, and performed well under different load cycles compared to eLCVs which can experience reductions in range by approximately 10%.
First Hydrogen’s FCEV was trialled with Rivus for just over 4 weeks. In that time, engineers at Rivus covered over 700 miles (1,125 km) of testing. Tests were completed on diverse routes, providing data on how the vehicle operates under different conditions. This involved urban city centre driving, navigating extra urban routes i.e., journeys that include driving in town centres and on higher speed roads, and combined routes, which included a mix of driving on low-speed city centre roads, higher speed roads and motorways. Rivus tested the van both empty and loaded to 90% of its maximum weight capacity, again reflecting the way vans will be used in the real world.
Gemma Horne, Warranty Controller at Rivus, took part in the trials and best described the overall experience as “brilliant”. She went on to say: “the main benefit of the First Hydrogen vehicle is the refuelling times are quicker than battery electric vehicles charge times. And of course, unlike internal combustion engines, hydrogen vehicles produce zero emissions.”
First Hydrogen’s Automotive CEO, Steve Gill said: “We are delighted that Rivus has managed to prove that this technology can be a viable option for many fleets. The trial also showed that the vehicle ran with excellent efficiency, comfortably achieving more than a 500km range on a single tank of fuel, exceeding the early performance expectations we set for real world driving. We have always been confident that our vehicle will offer benefits to fleets, and this first trial is evidence of just that.”
