Commercial delivery vans are, in many ways, a great place to drums electric thrusters. Many operate locally with relatively short distances, so they don’t require a monster battery, and return to the same place every night, ready to recharge for the next day. But that’s certainly not all delivery vans. There are instances where extra range, extra equipment, and extra cargo capacity are needed, and batteries could be an issue. AS Ford is trying to solve the problem with a small set of hydrogen fuel cell E-transits test in the UK
Ford puts it well on why the fuel cell would be useful: “This can benefit operators with demanding use cases, including long-distance transportation, heavy loads, ancillary equipment such as coolers, and those with limited opportunities to recharge during the workshift. “
The aspect of the maximum load comes into play with the weight of the battery. Batteries are heavy and if you need more for a longer range it gets worse and as the weight of the battery increases the payload decreases. If you’re delivering heavy products, this is a problem, especially if it’s long distances. And of course, if you need to refuel faster or have other equipment that draws from the battery, having a fuel cell comes in handy.
Unfortunately, Ford hasn’t really provided any specifics on its fuel cell test vans, other than that it has a fuel cell stack for electricity and a fuel cell tank. hydrogen. Presumably, the actual driving motor is the same 266 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. It is unclear whether the same 126-mile battery pack is still being used or a smaller one is being used to reduce weight.
We know the companies that work with Ford on development. BP is leading the hydrogen infrastructure and production, Cambustion worked on the fuel cell system, Viritech worked on the hydrogen storage, and Cygnet Tekkimp manufactured the carbon fiber hydrogen storage tanks.
Ford has eight of these vans it will test over the next three years. That stretch will be split into six-month probation periods. Ford hasn’t said whether it still plans to put fuel-cell E-Transits into production.
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