e-mobility 1 5
system for fast refilling, was also
developed. This rapid refilling al-lows
the vehicle to offer compara-ble
fueling performance to a con-ventional
commercial van, with the
H2 tanks refilling in approximate-ly
five minutes – similar to a typ-ical
combustion-powered vehicle.
A vehicle driveability assessment
was conducted using AVL-Drive™,
and the team developed and in-stalled
a Human Machine Inter-face
(HMI) screen into the vehicle,
so that the driver could monitor the
status of all the systems.
The AVL Basildon facility was
the ideal location to carry out the
project as it is equipped with a H2
Cube, where safe and efficient hy-drogen
propulsion development
N O . 1 2 0 2 2
can take place.
Photos:
courtesy of AVL & Ford
TRANSFORMING GOALS INTO PRODUCTS
The outcome is a vehicle that clearly demonstrates the en-gineering
feasibility of zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell
propulsion in light-duty commercial applications, both in
terms of performance and practicality. The project comes
at an appropriate time, given the UK government’s push
to increase the H2 fuel station infrastructure in the UK,
in partnership with the industry body, UK H2Mobility.
“This collaborative project has allowed us to demonstrate
that Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) can become an
integral part of the solution to enable a net-zero future,”
says Dr Matthias Wellers, Managing Director, AVL Pow-ertrain
UK Limited. “I am very proud to have been part of
a team that has delivered an exceptional FCEV demonstra-tor
in a light commercial vehicle and a digital twin mod-el
of the vehicle and fuel cell system in under 12 months.
The collaboration between Ford Britain and AVL sup-ported
the delivery and achievement of the project goals.
It was a great project delivered by an extraordinary team.”