Plans for a hydrogen powered fuel cell roof box range-extender have been revealed by ultra-low emission specialist ULEMCo.
The fuel cell based unit serves as a range extending unit for the popular Nissan e-NV200, which the company says particularly targets the needs of vehicle operators for improved utility of electric vehicles when fully loaded.
The combination of on-board hydrogen storage and fuel cell module, the Nissan e-NV200 will have a range of over 150 miles when laden, the company says. The standard Nissan e-NV200 electric vehicle has an NEDC range of 106 miles from its battery power alone.
ULEMCo’s fuel cell RX power module consists of a 12kW fuel cell and 1.6kg/day on-board hydrogen storage capacity, which ULEMCo says the van has almost twice the NEDC-rated range of the standard e-NV200, without sacrificing load space or carry capacity.
The system is also eligible under the recently announced Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) support scheme.
In addition, the OLEV Hydrogen for Transport Programme is providing up to £23m of grant funding until 2020, to support growth of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, alongside the deployment of new vehicles via an open competition for both Hydrogen Refuelling Stations and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
Amanda Lyne, CEO of ULEMCo, said: “This UK-engineered solution will meet the need for a practical small van urban delivery operation.”
