Tevva has received a £4.2 million grant from the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) to develop the next-generation of zero-emissions capable trucks.

The grant will be utilised to advance the SANGREAL Project, a £12.2 million collaboration between Tevva and Advanced Electric Machines (AEM), which aims to accelerate the development of Tevva’s fuel cell range extended medium to heavy duty commercial electric vehicles for the 7.5–19t “back to base” logistics market.

The project involves the design and development of a new electric transaxle and vehicle propulsion control system with on-board telematics, which is designed to optimise the use of the H2 Fuel Cell Range extender for operating range and reliability and enable predictive and preventative servicing.

Ken Scott, chief engineer at Tevva, said: “We are humbled and proud to be receiving this grant to continue developing Tevva’s groundbreaking technology in the EV market. We are developing zero-emission solutions for higher weight class “return to base” logistics vehicles that offer true cost of ownership benefit, compared to existing diesel offerings, with extended range - which is truly revolutionary for our industry. This funding will help make this a reality in the near-future.”

Jon Beasley, business development and programmes director at the APC, added: “The automotive industry is at a pivotal point. Great ideas will not move the dial on decarbonisation unless they are on the road and taking the place of more polluting technology.

“The future movement of people and goods needs to be efficient and green. There has been real progress in the decarbonisation of cars to meet the UK Government's plans to phase-out sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030. However, the pathways for Medium and Heavy duty and long-range transport are less clear.

“Further innovation and technology development is needed to decarbonise our buses, HDVs and off-highway vehicles and this is why we are delighted to be supporting Tevva and Advanced Electric Machines to deliver ground-breaking projects such SANGREAL.”

Tevva recently unveiled a new 7.5-tonne electric truck intended for mass production in the UK, with pre-orders available now and first deliveries from Q3 2022.

Offering a range of up to 160 miles in pure battery electric vehicle (BEV) form or up to 310 miles with its patented range extender technology (REX), which has now been upgraded to use hydrogen fuel cells.