Hydrogen Vehicle Systems (HVS) has produced the first of a fleet of prototype hydrogen trucks that will begin testing in the autumn.

The company says this marks the beginning of the "crucial development phase" to bring the UK’s first full-sized hydrogen HGV to market.

The X1.5 vehicle is powered by the same hydrogen fuel cell as will be used in the production HGVs. HVS will test functionality and systems development, including dyno-rig testing. It will serve as a precursor to track testing prototypes that will quickly follow.

John McKenna, chief technical officer at HVS, said; “The team and I are thrilled that the X1.5 engineering prototype has arrived at our test facility, and we can now begin the vital development phase of testing the hydrogen fuel-cell technology on the dyno-rig. Maximising the performance of the fuel cell is a key step ahead of beginning on-track testing and bringing this exciting new HGV to market”. 

Fleet operators are invited to register expressions of interest in trialling the hydrogen-electric heavy goods vehicle (HGV) prior to purchasing.

Supported trials are set to start in Q4 2025 once the pre-production prototyping phase is completed and the HGVs are ready to enter volume production in the UK.

The 40t HVS hydrogen truck is expected to have a driving range of 370 miles.

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