On 30 September 2024, Britain’s last remaining coal-fired power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar was closed down. Opened in 1968, the power station had a capacity of 2,000 MW and annual carbon emissions in the millions of tonnes when it was decommissioned. Today, local authorities and consortia have new ambitions for the old plants: to repurpose the existing infrastructure for the production of green hydrogen. That was the message carried away by news reporters who attended an open day at the Loughborough University campus on 8 November. Visitors got to see some mature products of the transition taking place in the east midlands. These were the fuel-cell-powered vehicles displayed by Intelligent Energy Ltd in front of its headquarters on the edge of the campus.

Cenex is the UK’s premier event for the future of mobility, combining insights from the Low Carbon Vehicle (LCV) and Connected Automated Mobility (CAM) sectors.

The ’CoacH2’ project, worth GBP1.2m and including partners such as Translink and Queen’s University Belfast, aims to produce an electric vehicle which can meet the demands of coach operation, including heavy payloads and long-distance routes.

The proof-of-concept vehicle was assembled, deployed and tested at the MIRA Technology Park in Nuneaton, UK. The prototype is expected to be tested by operators and OEMs during the rest of 2024.

This product is a significant upgrade to its heavy-duty electric motor technology with the new HTM-3500 motor, doubling the continuous power output of its predecessor.

The BMS is designed to maximise the efficiency and performance of the batteries while being cost-effective, helping manufacturers reduce the overall costs of vehicle development​.

T&BB spoke to Vanessa Kelly, Head of Corporate Relations of HVS at Cenex 2024 to learn that HVS is entering another funding (Series B) round in October this year as the engineers continue to forge ahead with its attribute prototype (AP) build.

David Earnshaw told T&BB that the new plant will specialise in high voltage equipment for electric vehicles.

Phil Moon, Marketing Manager at DAF Trucks UK who told us about a significant new appointment, the deal with the international electric charging booking platform (HDV booking) and the 50th anniversary of DAFaid.

Production of the XB will replace the LF at Leyland Trucks in Leyland, UK.

The exhibition, which took place from the 6th to the 7th of September, attracted over 150 exhibitors involved in low-carbon mobility. The exhibition had a small collection of companies dedicated to the commercial vehicle market sector.

The IE-Drive 100 hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) utilises the company’s “patented evaporatively cooled (EC) technology”, whilst the hydrogen fuel cell stack delivers 155kW of power. In terms of the architecture, the design is centred around ‘blending’ the desired performance with the space constraints of LCVs. IE stated the HFC is currently being tested with various UK partners.