On April 17, 2018 ULEMCo, annouced what is believed to be the first ‘zero’ emission combustion engine anywhere in the world. The Volvo FH16, a 100% hydrogen combustion truck, with Mega Low Emissions (MLE),  unlike fuel cell versions, will not see the usual emissions from hydrocarbons that impact on air quality – such as unburnt fuel, particulates, carbon monoxide etc., and the NOx levels will be immeasurably low. ULEMCo believes that using conventional engines and existing truck designs, rather than the full transformation needed for electrification, the time frame to the target of zero carbon emissions can be shortened significantly, at the same time dramatically reducing the cost of the change for customers..

ULEMCo has converted vehicles from diesel to hydrogen dual-fuel, and these are in current service around the UK. The demonstration vehicle will be the first all-hydrogen example, will have at least 300HP, and with 17kg of hydrogen on board, a range of just less than 300 km unloaded is expected.

“We are hugely excited about the potential for hydrogen fuel as a route to faster achievement of zero carbon emission in commercial vehicles”, says Amanda Lyne, CEO of ULEMCo. “With this MLE demonstrator, co-funded by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, we are showing that 100% hydrogen fuel in combustion engines is a practical and cost effective option. It sits well alongside the hydrogen dual-fuel conversions that we have already implemented commercially.”