UK hydrogen fuel cell heavy commercial vehicle OEM HVS has celebrated the latest milestone in its vehicle testing and development programme, with its second test vehicle performing its first trailer pull.

Powered by green hydrogen, HVS said the X2.0 test vehicle didn’t disappoint in its performance for the test run on the high-speed track at UTAC, Millbrook.

X2.0 is one of a series of engineering prototypes. Each testing phase focuses on different aspects of the vehicle design and will be used alongside computer-aided engineering models.

This truck will provide crucial real-world test track data, which when combined with dyno test data gathered to date, will be used to refine the vehicle set-up and provide systems calibration and optimisation. Specifically, data points from the vehicle’s powertrain functional software and performance under physical tests, will now begin to be mapped to the virtual world.

The UK-built prototypes all feature the HVS Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powertrain. With fast refueling, heavier payloads and long range, the truck offers comparable performance to traditionally fuelled commercial vehicles whilst emitting only water from the tailpipe. The water emissions were visible on the test day, demonstrating that the fuel cells are working as expected.

“It’s less than one year on from launching our HGV technology demonstrator, and we are already on the test track showing our incredible progress with our first trailer pull with a HVS fuel cell truck,” said John McKenna, HVS Chief Technical Officer.

“It is the culmination of the team’s hard work and commitment, and the support of our key development suppliers, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we have achieved in this milestone moment of our test programme,” he said.

“I can’t wait to see what more this vehicle can do.”