West Yorkshire-based thermal management experts, Technical Services (UK) Ltd, has been officially announced as an approved partner of the HYER POWER, a project led by ULEMCo Ltd to develop a hydrogen fuel-cell range extender for specialist electric service vehicles like fire engines and ambulances.
- HYER POWER Project receives £7.8 million investment as part of joint Government and industry backing into the development of zero-emission vehicles.
- ULEMCo, brings in Technical Services to develop a cooling system for a hydrogen fuel-cell range extender for use in emergency vehicles.
Over the next three years Technical Services will work alongside hydrogen vehicle specialists ULEMCo Ltd and partners to develop an effective cooling system for a hydrogen fuel-cell range extender for emergency vehicle response applications. Other partners include Altair for system modelling and Emergency One for specialist vehicle level solutions and Oxfordshire County Council Fire Service.
The zero-emission range extender will be based on existing, proven technology from the Toyota Mirai, and demonstrate how zero emission vehicles can be used in a wide range of specialised and challenging settings. Extensive data collection will be carried out by Technical Services before the cooling system is designed to understand the demanding duty cycles of each vehicle type which will include an ambulance, fire engine and road sweeper.
Andrew McMahon, Sales and Engineering Director, Technical Services, said:
“This is an incredible opportunity for Technical Services to not only share its expertise in cooling architecture but also to play an integral role in the advancement of zero-emission specialist vehicles.”
Funding for the HYER POWER Project has been awarded through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) Collaborative Research and Development programme, in support of ambitions to build an end-to-end supply chain for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the UK. £3.9 million of this investment comes from the Government, backed by a further £3.9 million from the automobile industry – taking today’s total to just over £7.8million.
Minister for Industry and Investment Security Nusrat Ghani said:
“Zero emission vehicles are increasingly commonplace, from cars on people’s driveways to taxis taking us around town. But this cutting-edge work is going to mean clean, green vehicles designed and built in the UK can increasingly take on the toughest jobs too, from haulage to public transport.
“Our automotive industry keeps setting the pace globally when it comes to seizing the potential of new technologies. Today’s multi-million-pound boost will help them stay ahead of the international competition, while continuing to support high-quality jobs and economic growth.”
Amanda Lyne, Managing Director ULEMCo Ltd said: “This project will transform the speed at which ULEMCo and our partners can develop really practical and cost effective zero-emission specialist vehicle solutions; our feasibility work with users like the Fire and Ambulance services have clearly shown that they need hydrogen solutions in their fleets to allow them to fully transition in time to meet Net-Zero targets.”
