Rivus is beginning operational trials with a hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle (FCEV) provided by First Hydrogen.

The fleet management company, which is a member of the UK Aggregated Hydrogen Freight Consortium (AFHC), currently manages around 120,000 vehicles, including approximately 85,000 light commercial vehicles (LCVs).

The trial has started with a driver training day hosted by First Hydrogen and AVL, which is supporting vehicle development, at Horiba Mira’s proving ground, near Coventry.

Rivus, which is the first company to participate in vehicle trials with First Hydrogen’s Generation I zero-emission LCVs, will then test one of the hydrogen vans for a month in the Birmingham and Sheffield areas, which are served by hydrogen refuelling stations.

Thomas Maerz, chief development officer at Rivus, said: “We are delighted to be the first trial participants and for our drivers to test this first-of-its-kind, zero-emission commercial vehicle.

“Having this time to evaluate the vehicle’s capabilities will significantly add to our insight into alternative fuels, especially in the LCV class.

“In light of 2030 targets, this knowledge enables us to help operators with critical fleets that need to transition to zero emission. 

“Providing this support gives our customers confidence in their transition and fuels our ambition to create a cleaner and more sustainable future.”

Rivus will run First Hydrogen’s vehicle on pre-planned routes to measure performance under different driving conditions.

Telematics and onboard instruments will capture data on vehicle performance, efficiency, and fuel consumption.

The findings will contribute to First Hydrogen’s overall evaluation and mileage accumulation programme, which supports vehicle optimisation and determines total cost of ownership (TCO).

At the end of the trial, Rivus will produce its own independent report analysing the performance of the hydrogen-powered LCV, which will be available to fleet managers and Rivus customers.

The report, says Rivus, will share valuable insight into the benefits and practicality of adopting hydrogen mobility.

“It is incredibly valuable to partner with Rivus for the first of our vehicle fleet trials,” said Steve Gill, CEO of automotive at First Hydrogen. “As highly regarded fleet specialists, we’re keen to receive Rivus’ feedback.

“The team will put the vehicle through its paces and test it under various duty cycles. Their findings will showcase our vehicle’s capabilities to a new audience of fleet customers and create market demand.

“Rivus’ input will help us to optimise performance and will also inform our plans for future vehicle development and deployment.

“The team’s expertise will also help us to support fleet operators to switch to zero-emission vehicles.”     

Co-ordinated through the AHFC, which is led by Element Energy with input from global industrial members of UK H2Mobility, the consortium works together with large UK fleet operators to accelerate the commercial rollout of fuel cell vans and trucks and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. 

In all, 15 major fleet operators have already registered an interest in taking part in First Hydrogen’s 12-18-month LCV trial programme. 

The trials enable fleet managers from sectors including grocery, express delivery, utilities, healthcare, and roadside assistance, to experience the benefits of FCEVs within their own operations.

Based on the vehicle weight, battery size and powertrain energy consumption, First Hydrogen’s vehicle has an expected range of 400-600km (250-370 miles) on a single refuelling, which takes approximately five minutes.