The Royal Mail is set to trial a new idea in alternative fuels – Ford Transit vans powered by hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engines.

The two vans, built by specialist hi-tech engineering firm Revolve in Shenfield, Essex, will be taking part in a six-month trial at Stornaway in Scotland, after being purchased by Cenex, the Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel-Cell Technologies.

Revolve started work on the vans, which emit nothing more than water vapour at normal running speeds, after a request by London mayor Ken Livingstone, as part of a programme to clean up the air quality in the city.

But after two years of development – and at a cost of around £100,000 to Revolve – the project was ditched by the current mayor Boris Johnson before it came to fruition.

The van, based on the 2.3-litre petrol variant, has a supercharger added to the engine, while either two or three hydrogen tanks are fitted under the loadfloor so that cargo space is not affected. However, the tanks weigh 250kg, so that weight has to be subtracted from the payload.

As well as the Royal Mail trials, the vehicle is now being offered for sale or lease by Revolve, although bosses said development was still under way.

Paul Turner, technical director at Revolve, admitted that selling hydrogen-powered vans wasn’t going to be easy.

He said: “Fleets won’t buy them because there is no re-fuelling infrastructure and the garages won’t create an infrastructure because there are no hydrogen vans for sale. We have decided to stand up and do something and hopefully in the future things will improve.”

Revolve is aiming the vans at city-based fleets who want to improve their green credentials, rather than those who want to save money. The vans have a range of about 85 miles but also retain the original petrol tank, so won’t be left stranded.

The firm is offering a depot-based refuelling facility from one of three firms – Air Products, British Oxygen and ITM. Revolve is covering the usual warranty on the engine and hydrogen parts while Ford is guaranteeing the rest.

At present, ordering a single van from Revolve would cost fleets £45,000 over the normal Transit price, but fleets will be offered a discount for bulk buying.

Turner said: “We have taken the lead in developing these vans and now we want fleets to come and talk to us. We are willing to listen and can offer a whole range of bespoke solutions.”

  • For details log on to: www.revolve.co.uk
  • Full feature and test drive of the new vans in the March issue of Fleet Van