Scottish-based Hydrogen Vehicle Systems (HVS) on Wednesday (April 18) unveiled its 40-tonne zero-emission hydrogen-powered HGV demonstrator vehicle at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, UK.

Built on an all-new, designed in-house chassis, the fuel cell-powered tractor unit is set to offer 370 miles (600km) of range on just one tank of hydrogen, with refuelling taking just 20 minutes.

HVS said it the striking vehicle comes as a ‘reinvention’ of commercial vehicle design, aimed at optimising range, payload, weight distribution, direct vision, aerodynamics and ergonomically practical cab design.

© HVS

Leveraging a fuel cell system and energy storage system to deploy electricity to an electric motor, the truck also uses a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) to recapture energy under braking.

Other variants of the hydrogen-fuelled 4×2 tractor unit, including left-hand drive, are said to be in the pipeline.

The company spoke about its ground-up approach to designing its vehicles in November last year (2022), where H2 View was told HVS’ aim was to get as close to parity with diesel as possible.

Read more: HVS’ ground-up approach to heavy-duty hydrogen mobility

“This technology demonstrator showcases our ground-breaking hydrogen-electric commercial vehicle design and advanced powertrain technology,” said Jawad Kursheed, CEO of HVS. “Hydrogen is the perfect fuel for the haulage industry, offering long ranges and quick refuelling thanks to stations being easily integrated into existing key transport networks.”

Last December (2022), HVS received £15m ($18.6m) in backing from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) to help advance its fuel cell and battery powertrains.

Read more: APC UK funds Toyota and HVS combined £26.3m to develop hydrogen-powered vehicles

Perhaps more significantly, the company in October 2022, received a £25m ($31m) investment from service station retailer EG Group, following up on an initial £5m ($6.2m) investment in 2021.

Read more: Hydrogen Vehicle Systems receives £25m backing from EG Group

In the aforementioned interview, Daniel Musenga-Grant, HVS’ Head of Sustainability and CSR explained, “EG Group is looking to create a hydrogen ecosystem. They have 1,500 traditional refuelling stations in the UK, and over 6,000 worldwide. They are also investing into hydrogen production, and they are one of the biggest franchisers in the UK.”

As the Glasgow-headquartered company looks ahead, it says it envisages opening an R&D, engineering and pilot production facility alongside a permanent UK production facility, with around 600 employees predicted across all key disciplines.