UK invests over £1.3m in hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel trials
ULEMCo has been awarded £1.3m ($1.6m) by the UK government to trial vehicles with hydrogen duel-fuel technology. A number of local councils and services will be collaborating with ULEMCo, including Aberdeen City Council, which plans to convert refuse trucks, road sweepers and delivery vans to dual-fuel hydrogen. The project will demonstrate the emission reduction potential of hydrogen replacing diesel, together with the practical benefits of dual fuel operation.
UK-based ULEMCo , a developer of a hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel conversion system ( earlier post ), has been awarded Government funding to trial a range of vehicles with hydrogen dual-fuel technology. The funding is worth more than £1.3 million (US$1.6 million), and will see large vans and trucks running on hydrogen dual-fuel. The overall aim of the larger £20-million (US$25-million) program recently announced by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) is to cut emissions and improve air quality through use of cleaner fuel and electric vehicles.

Collaborating with Lead Partner ULEMCo on the project are: Westminster City Council; Veolia; London Fire Brigade; Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust; Commercial and Ocado. Aberdeen City Council has a plan to convert a range of their vehicles to dual-fuel hydrogen: refuse trucks, HGV road sweepers and delivery vans. The project will demonstrate both the emission reduction potential of hydrogen replacing diesel, as well as the practical advantages of dual fuel operation.

The freight industry accounts for about 30% of the UK’s CO 2 transport emissions, and the money will help fleets get their new vehicles on the roads from mid 2017 onwards.

The latest funding from the Low Emission Freight and Logistics Trial Fund is being delivered by OLEV and Innovate UK, with the aim of demonstrating new technologies, and to encourage the widespread introduction of low and zero emission vehicles to UK fleets.

ULEMCo was founded in 2014 as a spin out of Revolve Technologies, with founding directors Amanda Lyne and Paul Turner, to commercialize their intellectual property and capability in hydrogen combustion engine technology.