Final Report Summary - SWARM (Demonstration of Small 4-Wheel fuel cell passenger vehicle Applications in Regional and Municipal transport)
Executive Summary:
The SWARM project set out to establish demonstration fleets of small passenger vehicles supporting and expanding upon existing hydrogen refuelling infrastructure across three clusters: British Midlands, Brussels and Wallonia, and the Weser-Ems region in NW Germany. The location of the infrastructure was planned to close gaps in a continuous ‘hydrogen network’ stretching from Scotland to London, Belgium and Cologne, via Bremen to Hamburg, Scandinavia or Berlin. Three SME OEMs, Riversimple (UK), Microcab (UK) and H2O e-mobile (Germany) were to deploy up to 90 vehicles, demonstrating them for three years of the project, accruing significant data on vehicle performance.
In 2015, following delays in the delivery of vehicles, in part due to difficulties in finding suitable fuel cell stacks from suppliers, the project was revised to focus on vehicle development, with a shorter demonstration phase and fewer demonstrated vehicles. By the end of the project, the proposed fleet size was for up 34 vehicles deployed in the demonstration clusters in the British Midlands and Wales (UK), Brussels/Wallonia (Belgium) and North Rhine Westphalia (Germany): 20 from Riversimple, 2 JHS prototype elano vehicles (H2O terminated) and 12 Microcabs (including 5 re-designed vehicles and 2 new left-hand drive vehicles). The German Air Liquide 200kg/day station was built in Frechen (Cologne), while a number of smaller HRSs were upgraded and recommissioned in the UK: a new 20kg/day station in Abergavenny, Wales, which the Riversimple trial vehicles will use and two recommissioned HRS in Coventry and Birmingham.
The entire fleets were not deployed in the fifth and final reporting period, ending in October 2018. However, important progress was made towards securing the commencement, continuation and reporting of fleet activities beyond the end of the project. Of particular note, Riversimple will start their 20-vehicle demonstration after the project, Microcab have developed plans for their post-demonstration phase, the Air Liquide Frechen station is a vital contribution to the development of an exciting hydrogen hub in Cologne and will refuel RVK’s fuel cell bus fleet for a time, and the ZEFER project will ensure fleet vehicles are refuelled at the Air Liquide Zaventem station. Furthermore, meaningful contributions have been made by the SWARM research activities, including a number of conference papers published by JADE University on powertrains in hybrid battery and fuel cell electric vehicles and the use of DC/DC converters in fuel cell electric vehicles. The work by universities as part of the project will further build up enthusiasm and experience with hydrogen fuel cells in academia.
The achievements of SWARM were communicated at the SWARM Final Event, held in October 2018 at Coventry University. Presentations on SWARM by the project partners were followed by its situation within the wider hydrogen and hydrogen mobility sectors.
While the ambitious objectives of the project were not fully achieved during the active project period, the contribution of this spearhead project to the development of the European hydrogen mobility sector and the enthusiasm surrounding it is significant. Crucially, lessons learnt in SWARM were applied to the HyFIVE, H2ME 1+2 and ZEFER projects, further cementing its successful legacy.
Project Context and Objectives:
The SWARM project set its focus on seven essential issues that make it special and unique:
- the demonstration of a significant number of vehicles to form a critical mass of employment and user-exposure to the new technology of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
- the reduction of costs of vehicles and hydrogen supply to a level to allow a commercialisation phase immediately following the demonstration programme
- the creation of refuelling station clusters in three European regions:
• UK: Midlands & Abergavenny, Wales,
• Belgium: Brussels/Wallonia,
• North Rhine Westphalia (NRW).
this refuelling network offers an extension of the ‘European hydrogen highway network’ from Scotland via Brussels to Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and South Germany
- the creation of focal points for future hydrogen fuel cell vehicle rollout, through the dedicated industry reach-out programme
- the addition of 3 high-capacity hydrogen refuelling stations to existing and new refilling sites
- the supply of vehicles on a ‘lease’ basis, avoiding the problem of investment risk with the end users
- the integration of a large number of universities to support the development work of the OEMs
The project sought to establish a fleet of 34 (as well as an additional 4 upgraded vehicles from Microcab for the 2018 demonstration phase) small passenger vehicles within a mixture of existing infrastructure and newly built hydrogen supply stations. After the termination in 2016 of H2O as a partner in the project, it was no longer possibly to deploy all 50 vehicles foreseen in the original plan. In place of the originally planned 20 elano vehicles and by integrating learnings gained throughout the project, Microcab deployed 5 redesigned vehicles and 2 new left-hand drive vehicles and JHS built 2 prototype elano vehicles to coincide with the Riversimple deployment in 2018.
Three European regions participated in this effort: the British Midlands and Wales, the Brussels area and Wallonia, and North West Germany. Considering the developments going on in Scotland, the existing hydrogen refuelling stations in London, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt/M., Copenhagen and in Norway and Sweden, these sites close the gaps in a continuous ‘hydrogen highway’ that could lead from Scotland via the Midlands to London, connecting to Brussels and from there proceeding to Cologne and on to Hamburg/Scandinavia/Berlin. The map in Fig. 1 shows such a prospective route.
Figure 1 - Using the existing hydrogen infrastructure in London and Cologne, a hydrogen vehicle with approx. 300 km range could drive from the Midlands to Hamburg.
Figure 2 - Lightweight vehicles employed in the project. Left to right: Microcab, elano and Riversimple Rasa passenger car.
The cars employed (Fig. 2) are three different types of low-cost, high fuel-efficiency, light-weight passenger and small transport vehicles specifically designed for city and regional transport. The organisations Riversimple (Llandrindod Wells, Wales, UK), Microcab (Coventry, UK) and JHS (Wilhelmshaven, Germany) were to contribute 20, 12 (and 4 redesigned RHD vehicles for 2018) and 2 vehicles, respectively, to the project. These were to be built during the project alongside the implementation of the hydrogen supply infrastructure. Europe-wide certification was sought for the first two vehicles and hydrogen installations in order to allow their use throughout Europe, thus increasing the commercial possibilities of continuing the project without further funding. The equipment was continuously monitored and improved throughout the demonstration phase.
"Regions - Sites - Vehicles - Users - HRSs"
UK - Coventry - 10 + 4 Microcab (8 right hand drive, 2 left hand drive, 4 redesigned) - Coventry University, Birmingham University , City Council, Marks & Spencers, Warwickshire County Council plus use in Belgium and Frechen - Coventry & Birmingham University stations to be reinstated, up to 20 kg/day, 35 MPa
UK - Abergavenny, Monmouthshire/ South Wales - 20 Riversimple Rasas - Private users & council fleet - 20 kg/d, 35 Mpa
Belgium - Brussels - 1 Microcab (loan from Coventry) - ULB, Brussels city & region, small technology companies, private users - 200 kg/d, 70 Mpa
Belgium - Spa Francorchamps - 1 Microcab (loan from Coventry) - Research vehicle - Temporary refuelling solution for testing at race track
Germany - Frechen, NRW - 1 Microcab (loan from Coventry for opening event), vehicles outside of the project - Private users - 200 kg/d, 35 MPa and 70 Mpa
Germany - Wilhelmshaven - 2 elanoFC vehicles - University & private users - Temporary refuelling solution for research testing
In two of the locations (Frechen and Brussels/Zaventem), fully 200kg/day 350 and 700 bar compatible stations were installed by Air Liquide. In both locations, it is expected that vehicles outside of the SWARM project from large passenger car OEMs will be deployed after the period of the SWARM project, thereby justifying the investment in these large stations and ensuring continued operation.
In the UK the decision has been taken to prioritise the refuelling of the developmental vehicles which will be deployed in the SWARM project, as opposed to installing capacity for as yet not fully existent demand. As a result, the UK partners have installed refuelling station equipment which meets the refuelling requirements of the vehicles which will be deployed on this project rather than installing excess capacity to cope with future expansion of the vehicle park. This decision is based on analysis of the likely behaviour of large passenger car OEMs in the UK (completed under the UK H2Mobility initiative) which suggests that there will be very limited demand for OEM vehicle refuelling in the preferred demonstration locations for the duration of the project. Hence any investment in larger station capacity would be wasted, leading to stranded assets and deterring future investments in the HRS sector.
As a result, the UK HRS deployment involves a new 20kg/day station in Abergavenny, Wales and the recommissioning of two smaller fuelling stations in Coventry and Birmingham, to allow respectively the testing of the Riversimple and Microcab vehicles.
In addition, a temporary refuelling solution was established in Spa Francorchamps.
7 universities and university institutes are integrated into the project as both end-users and research partners. The university involvement in several research projects on the vehicles and hydrogen provision directly supports the OEM’s in improving their equipment and contributes towards providing improved vehicles to the project.
In addition, this will expose university staff, R&D personnel and students to modern technology with a very much hands-on approach. This is an important feature in developing the future European Hi-Tech human resource necessary for a full market roll-out of fuel cell and hydrogen technology.
The vehicles have and will be made available to the end users under a leasing agreement. This allows users to enjoy a hassle-free use of the vehicles, as they would a normal petrol vehicle and reduces the financing pressure and risk on the end users. In the case of Riversimple, a full package offering is envisaged leasing the vehicle in a concept of a mobility as a service (Maas) rather than selling the vehicle to the end-users. The service includes all 4 points below for a single monthly payment:
- The car
- Insurance
- Service and Maintenance
- All fuel
Project Results:
Project information and achievements
Project context
Date started: 01/10/2012
Date finished: 31/10/2018
Number of partners: Start = 17 End = 12
Total project spend: € 15,294,319.66
FCH JU contribution: € 6,712,985.60
Results
No. of cars built: Revised plan (after project end) = 34
Current completed = 14-34 as direct continuation of the project
No. of HRS built or refurbished: 6
Installed refuelling capacity: 700kg/day, 400kg/day public
Vehicle supply
Microcab
The Microcab vehicles have undergone significant development over the course of the project.
Generation - Fuel cell and DC/DC system - Lithium Battery Pack - Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) - Number of vehicles of Gen
Gen 1 - Horizon 3kW Air cooled stack - Single pack 72v Headway cell – LifeBatt design - Potenza V1 – (third party company) - 4
Gen 2 - Ballard 70 cell 3kW, Air cooled stack - Single pack 72v Headway cell – LifeBatt design - Potenza V2 – (third party company) - 2
Gen 3 - Ballard 80 cell 3.5kW Air cooled stack (integration development by CU including processor control design) - 3 x 24v pack (in series gives 72v), Headway cell (pack design by CU including battery management system) - Motohawk processor overall vehicle control (in house development by CU including circuit board design) - 8
Throughout SWARM, Microcab’s policy has been to take its early stage prototype vehicle designs and, by a process of on road testing with real users, gain user-centric knowledge across all aspects of vehicle engineering and design. From this information further generations of vehicle have been developed, rolled out and tested. Virtually all elements of the powertrain have been improved or re-designed in the process as well as re-working vehicle interior and displays, exterior styling and comfort features.
To celebrate SWARM, expressing a successful conclusion to the project and to begin to develop the market for Microcab vehicles, a new model of the Gen 3 has been launched with the latest styling and interior. This is called the Vianova and features all the key developments of the last few years, both in SWARM and in parallel projects. The vehicle was first seen at the SWARM Coventry hydrogen event (on 17 Oct 2018) and is built as a Left-Hand Drive vehicle and thus able to address the market in Germany where extensive hydrogen infrastructure exists but few cars are operating.
Figure 3 - Microcab Vianova on display at the SWARM Coventry Hydrogen Event (October 2018)
Model Microcab Gen.3
Chassis: Lotus bonded aluminium
Vehicle type: M1 class vehicle
Gross vehicle weight: Approx. 750kg
Length: 3.5m
Width: 1.6m
Height: 1.7m
Crash protection: Front offset impact; side impact; roof crush
No. of seats 4 (car format), 2 (van format)
Baggage capacity: 0.3 m³ (car format), 0.96 m³ (van format)
Energy demand: 120-150Wh/km
CO2 emissions: Down to 0g/km (depending on source of hydrogen)
Hydrogen tank: 350bar or 700bar option
Fuel cell: 3kW or 10kW option
Range: 180miles
Max speed: 55mph
Drive: AC brushless motor & gearbox 50kWp, 72V
Battery: 4.3kWh
Riversimple
During the SWARM project, Riversimple have developed 2 generations of vehicle, the Alpha and the Beta car. The Alpha car was launched in 2016 after 3 years of development. The Alpha car has been used extensively for technological testing and development, for a large range of dissemination purposes and to support the training and development of Riversimple's initial customer base, the Beta trialists.
As a direct result of the SWARM project and the extensive testing of the Alpha car, Riversimple have successfully begun the build of their first production vehicles, the Beta Rasa. The Beta demonstrates significant technological and mechanical improvements which will enable it to be released to the general public. The first of these vehicles has been used in extensive dissemination activities and will be deployed as part of the Clean Mobility Trial operating from Abergavenny, Wales. Monmouthshire County Council have secured the first car in the trial and will include it in their vehicle fleet for 12 months.
Figure 4 - Riversimple Mk1 (left)and Riversimple Rasa Alpha car (right)
Figure 5 - Riversimple Rasa Beta car
Model Riversimple Rasa
Chassis: Carbon composite
Vehicle type: Lightweight vehicle
Gross vehicle weight: 630kg
Length: 3.67m
Width: 1.63m
Height: 1.33m
Crash protection: Front and side impact
No. of seats 2
Baggage capacity: 130l
Energy demand: 250mpg or 1.15l/100km equivalent
CO2 emissions: Down to 0g/km (depending on source of hydrogen)
Hydrogen tank: 350bar
Fuel cell: 8.5kW
Range: 300miles
Max speed: 60mph
Torque: 680Nm
Elano FC
Two fuel cell vehicles (elanoFC) were built in the project. The vehicles were delivered to JHS as fully equipped battery electric version elano 1st Go from the stock of former project partner H2O e-mobile GmbH.
The previously installed lithium iron phosphate batteries (LiFePO) with a rated energy of 10 kWh and voltage 50 V continue to be fully integrated in the powertrain. The fuel cell system Hydrogenics HyPM HD 8-200 PN with a rated output power of 8.5 kW and an open circuit voltage of 80 V was coupled with the battery. The main features that distinguish the elano concept from other fuel cell vehicles are the passive connection of fuel cell system and battery, the switching of the fuel cell according to power demand, the plug-in character of the vehicle concept, and the light-weight/low energy consumption vehicle frame.
Figure 6 – Hydrogenics fuel cell system integrated into elano former motor compartment.
Figure 7 - elano vehicle next to Gen. 3 Microcabs at the SWARM Coventry Hydrogen Event, October 2018.
Model elano 1st FC by H2O e-mobile GmbH / Jade Hochschule
Chassis: Microcar (Ligier group)
Vehicle type: Lightweight vehicle, L7E class
Gross vehicle weight: Approx. 780kg
Length: 3.3m
Width: 1.67m
Height: 1.55m
Crash protection: Front offset impact; air bag
No. of seats 2
Baggage capacity: 0.8 m3
Energy demand: 90-100 Wh/km
CO2 emissions: Down to 0g/km (depending on source of hydrogen)
Hydrogen tank: 70 MPa
Fuel cell: 8.5 kW
Range: 350km
Max speed: 100 km/h
Drive: Single asynchronous motor, 8 kW (max. short-term load 12 kW)
Battery: 10 kWh LiFePO
Hydrogen infrastructure
A total of 6 HRS units have been installed as follows:
Site - Refueling capacity (kg/day) - Pressure (bar)
Zaventem (Brussels) - 200 - 350 and 700
Frechen (Cologne region) - 200 - 350 and 700
Birmingham University (Midlands region) - 20 - 350 only
Coventry University (Midlands region) - 20 - 350 only
Abergavenny (Monmouthshire, Wales) - 20 - 350 only
Spa-Francorchamp (Liege Region) - 20 - 350 only
Zaventem station, Brussels, Belgium
The Air Liquide HRS for Brussels built in Zaventem has been in operation since April 2016.
Figure 8 - Air Liquide Zaventem HRS
The station provides hydrogen at both 350 and 700 bar.
Main characteristics
Operational since: April 2016
Location: Leuvensesteenweg 546, 1930 Zaventem, Belgium
Operating refuelling pressures: 350 bar and 700 bar
Refueling time per car at 700 bar: 3min (based on 5-6kg/refill)
Back to back performance: 5 cars (with 9min between consecutive refills)
Size: 20 x 10m
Hydrogen supply: Trucked in hydrogen
Private/public: Public, authorised customers with accredication card
Figure 9 - HRS specifications
Frechen station, Cologne region, Germany
The site proposed in Period 1 by Air Liquide was Bremen (Bremen Airport, on the Hermann-Köhl-Straße close to two car parks of Bremen City Airport; parking 1 and 2), but negotiations with the airport of Bremen could not be completed. Air Liquide instead relocated the site from Bremen to Frechen in the Cologne region. The Air Liquide HRS in Frechen has been in operation since the end of August 2018.
Figure 10 - Finalised Frechen HRS
Main characteristics
Operational since: August 2018
Location: Kölner Straße 209-211, D-50226, Frechen, Germany
Operating refuelling pressures: 350 bar and 700 bar
Size: 16 x 10m
Hydrogen supply: Trucked in hydrogen
Private/public: Public, authorised customers with accredication card
The station has been erected in Frechen next to:
- Highway A1
- Highway A4
- Toyota Headquarter Germany
Abergavenny
The HRS was delivered from France on Friday 21st September and was installed on site. The HRS will be used for the Riversimple trial. As part of Riversimple’s ongoing dissemination activities, a local artist has been engaged to provide support with the publicly facing compound of the HRS. A local school has also been involved in support of the design work. The HRS will provide information to the public on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and refuelling and will become a focal point for local / regional hydrogen activity.
Figure 11 - Installed McPhy refueler in Abergavenny with Riversimple Rasa Beta vehicle
Figure 12 - Compound structure surrounding HRS with local artwork
Main characteristics
Operational since: October 2018
Location: Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, NP7 5HF
Operating refuelling pressures: 350 bar
Unit: McFilling 20-350
Hydrogen supply: Trucked in hydrogen
Private/public: Riversimple trial participants
Birmingham University
This Air Products station has been utilised for earlier demonstration efforts from Microcabs and needs maintenance & recertification every three years. This was completed and the station recertified and recommissioned for use in January 2016. It dispenses at 350 bar and can refuel 20kg/day if a high-pressure hydrogen source is used.
Main characteristics
Operational since: January 2016 (recommissioning date in SWARM project)
Location: University of Birmingham, Birmingham
Operating refuelling pressures: 350 bar
Unit: Air Products Series 100
Hydrogen supply: Trucked in hydrogen
Private/public: Private/public – outside use on request and arranged filling
Coventry University
This station was fully re-commissioned a first time in November 2015. It was the first station delivered to the SWARM project. It was re-certified in January 2019 in order to continue to support of Microcab vehicles, an essential for the vehicle roll-out and operations. The refueler is the same model as the one at Birmingham University.
Figure 13 - Microcab refuelling at Coventry HRS in February 2019
Main characteristics
Operational since: November 2015, January 2019
Location: Coventry University, Coventry
Operating refuelling pressures: 350 bar
Unit: Air Products Series 100
Hydrogen supply: Trucked in hydrogen
Private/public: Private – University use only
Spa-Francorchamps
A temporary Linde HRS has also been installed with success on the Spa-Francorchamps track, Belgium, in November 2016 for the ULB tests using the Microcab.
Figure 14 - Temporary HRS with Microcab at Spa-Francorchamps, 2016
Demonstration and post-demonstration activities
Riversimple
Riversimple will deploy 20 vehicles in their demonstration phase, which started in October 2018 and will run for 2.5 years after the end of the project.
Applicants for the trial cover a broad age range and diverse occupational status, though the biggest group is 45-54 and from professional or management occupations.
Figure 15 - applicants within a 30-mile radius of the HRS in Abergavenny
All those within the catchment, a 30-mile radius of Abergavenny, were invited to two open evenings in the town for potential trialists. Both events were very well attended - details about the vehicle, the trial and the service were given, including logistical information, anticipated range of the Rasa and the cost of participation.
The Riversimple service team now has 60 households who have formally registered as participants, agreeing to pay a deposit and full commercial price for their participation. Between them they drive a total of 11,522 miles per week. As well as private customers, various corporate customers have expressed interest in participating in the trial.
Training has begun for the first of the Riversimple Beta Trialists.
All the trial participants, along with the original 1,000 people who expressed an interest in participating, were also sent an invite to the Riversimple Design Forum, which went live in September 2018. This is an online platform where Riversimple will engage with future customers who want to have input into the service and vehicle design but may not be in a position to participate directly in the trial.
Figure 16 – Riversimple’s online Design Forum
The Riversimple Design Forum is an active online platform that Riversimple are using to gather market intelligence. The first question Riversimple asked the initial 300 participants who signed up was about refuelling habits. This was to ensure they were aware of any peak refuelling times and ensure the Riversimple HRS is properly resourced.
Microcab
Generation 1 and 2 vehicles have been operational since 2015 and have accumulated data in actual road usage. This includes usage as commuter vehicles and for general use by a group of SWARM soft users (as recommended during the Technical review by external evaluators), mostly from Coventry University and Microcab. Vehicles have been used for journeys to and from work, for shopping and other domestic duties and for leisure purposes. Vehicles have been used throughout the year, across the seasons and in day and night use.
They have also operated in a range of locations including in the UK in the Midlands, Sheffield, Isle of Wight and London as well as in Belgium (Brussels and Liege).
Brussels/Zaventem
The universities ULB and VUB were engaged to host the Microcab demo car. Fruitful contacts had also been established with administrations of some of the 19 cities forming Brussels and located in the Eastern part of Brussels (namely Woluwé-Saint-Pierre, Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, Watermael-Boitsfort, Schaerbeek and Ixelles) because they are close to the HRS of the SWARM project (just nearby Woluwé-Saint-Lambert and Schaerbeek even if just outside the Brussels-Capital Region). Other fruitful contacts have been made with some industrial partners (also located in the Eastern part of Brussels) to host some SWARM cars at their facilities and to be used by their employees (as Solvay NOH, Engie/Electrabel, ELIA, Sibelga and Zennit, a Brussels SME). Even some delivery companies working in Brussels to deliver food in the evening have shown a real interest in renting the car in the evening for their delivery activities.
A solution for the leasing of all or some of the cars used in the Brussels-Capital Region and Wallonia Region through one single organization, called H2-Life Foundation, has also been examined by ULB, ULiège and DGO4 Wallonia. Discussions with H20 e-mobile and Microcab about the leasing procedure and the leasing contracts had been initiated. This resulted in using one Microcab H2EV car at ULB during 6 months after the end of the SWARM project (from November 2018 until May 2019) with a contract between ULB and Microcab company.
The option to have the Microcab cars in leasing instead or in addition to the Elano cars has been based on the current know-how build-up of ULB-ATM using this Microcab H2EV car for the WP7 research activities of SWARM.
High-level targets for vehicle development and delivery to the Brussels Capital-Region have been:
• Alpha car (pre-production prototype) completed in May 2016 by Microcab
• First Belgium prototype used in Brussels in the Spring and Summer of 2016
• First Belgium prototype goes to Spa-Francorchamps in the Fall of 2016
• First prototype available at ULB in May 2018
• Road tests in Brussels start with one car in June 2018
• Track tests on Beauvechain Air Base in Spring and Summer 2018
• Short tests in Spa-Francorchamps in early Autumn 2018 (not realised)
• Close of road tests at the end of October 2018
• Test report available in November 2018.
Figure 17 – Air Liquide Brussels HRS and Microcab car refilling in 2016
A first demo phase has been performed with real road testing in urban environment in Brussels in the period from May 2016 until October 2016 with a Microcab car. Some 300 km were driven on the campuses of ULB, on the roads of the Brussels-Capital Region, on the runway track of the Beauvechain Air Base and even outside of the Brussels-Capital Region when going to refill the Microcab car at the Colruyt Energy Division in Halle. This first demo phase was continued and ended with some extra road testing on the Spa-Francorchamps race track during 2 weeks in November 2016.
On 27th of June 2018, ULB-ATM received its 2nd demo Microcab from Microcab and University of Coventry for an extended test period of 4 full months. For more precise and consistent tests, the Beauvechain Airbase was used for testing the Microcab. The car was also stored there during about 2 months.
Figure 18 - Beauvechain Airbase closed circuit
The airbase has a closed circuit (Figure 14) where driving at different and constant velocities was easy to perform. Two kinds of runs were done on the track: doing laps at a constant speed or doing the 1.8 km straight line of the runaway. By doing so, the power and H2 consumption at different speeds were more precisely evaluated.
The main objective of the project was to review the methods used to derive the power consumption of the Microcab. Many types of driving cycle can be simulated depending on the character of speed and engine load changes thus divided into ‘steady-state’ cycle and ‘transient’ cycle [A reference book of driving cycles for use in the measurement of road vehicle emissions, TJ Barlow, S Latham, Published project report PPR354, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/4247/ppr-354.pdf]. The steady-state driving cycle represents the reality of trying to maintain a steady speed, where the transient cycle is a test that is performed in a real-world situation where there are responses to road bumps, traffic and road junctions. These two kinds of cycle were then made with the Microcab to cover all the possibilities of how the car would be used by the average user.
In total 725 km have been run in Belgium during the summer and autumn of 2018 by ULB. These tests are in fact still running until March 2019 in order to have additional driving test data during the cold months in Brussels. After this the vehicle may be replaced with one of the new Microcab Vianova models.
Air Liquide Zaventem HRS
The Air Liquide HRS in Zaventem, Brussels, will be used after SWARM in the FCH JU-funded ZEFER Project, which started in September 2017. The ZEFER Project is deploying 180 FCEVs into fleet service across three major European cities (London, Paris, Brussels). 60 of these will be deployed as taxis in Brussels and will refuel at the Air Liquide station in Zaventem. ZEFER will aim to demonstrate viable business cases for captive fleets of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs).
Figure 19 - ZEFER HRS deployment locations
Air Liquide Frechen HRS
A trial with 1 to 3 Microcab vehicles should have been organised from beginning of September 2018 until the end of the project. The objective was to deliver the cars to identified end users (HyCologne) found to support operation of this station. Microcab did not get the license to drive the vehicle in Germany, so that the trial could not happen. Nevertheless, other vehicles from major OEMs (such as Toyota) are regularly refueling at the station in Frechen, vehicles in the Cologne area as the vehicles by travelling from France or Belgian to Germany.
A Microcab car was in Frechen to support the opening ceremony. It allows Microcab to access a new European public and promote its technology. Air Liquide will continue to operate the station after project end. The station is operated as a public station. Anyone can refuel either 350bar or 700bar cars at the station.
The Frechen station will also be used as a back-up location to refuel the fuel cell buses being deployed by RVK, a local bus operator, as part of the FCH JU JIVE and JIVE 2 projects. The Frechen station will be transferred to H2 Mobility GmbH, who own and operate most of the public hydrogen refuelling stations in Germany. Through this, the Frechen station will deeply contribute to the development and deployment of the hydrogen infrastructure in the Cologne area. This transfer will promote the hydrogen refuelling of cars outside SWARM project and now predominantly commercial cars refuel at the Frechen station.
Accompanying Research
Accompanying research was crafted to tie in R&D expertise and laboratory capabilities of the university partners and offer the SWARM OEMs direct access to their technical resources, as they developed final designs for first and second-generation vehicle deployments during the project.
The objective of Jade University was the design and optimisation of the powertrain, initially for the elano fuel cell vehicle, but in principle applicable to any hybrid fuel cell vehicle platform. For this reason, a test-bench was constructed at JHS with which the power train of an electric vehicle could be simulated (hardware in the loop). Further, two battery-electric elano vehicles were converted into fuel cell vehicles.
Test bench
With the test bench, the powertrain, i.e. the combination of fuel cell system and battery, can be loaded with a real driving cycles. In the current state, the powertrain can be loaded with load currents of up to 420A and with charging currents of up to 260A. To simulate a drive cycle, the electronic loads and power supplies are controlled using a LabVIEW program.
Figure 20 - Test bench realisation to simulate and test the drive train of battery-fuel cell hybrid vehicles.
Passive Hybrid System
In a passive hybrid system (Fig.19) the fuel cell is connected with the battery via an electronic switch over a defined period of time. Thus, during the ‘slow’ switching process the hydrogen supply can be coordinated with the electrical power change of the fuel cell system. During the extended switching process, the power switch/semiconductors operate with large losses in linear operation. The originally envisaged mechanical switch was never implemented, since the electronic switch solid state losses proved to be very low.
Figure 21 - Power train of a passive hybrid circuit (left) and the behaviour of the fuel cell system (right).
In the selected concept with the power electronic switch, the voltages of fuel cell system and battery must be matched. Fig. 20 shows the principal fuel cell voltage waveform. The fuel cell system Hydrogenics HYDM HD8-200 has a nominal power of PN = 8.5kW and an open circuit voltage of U0 = 80V. At the nominal power which corresponds to a current of approx. IN = 170A, the fuel cell system voltage output is only UN = 50V . The battery voltage must be selected such that this voltage is reached when the battery is completely discharged.
Figure 22 - Power electronic switch redesign (left) and current during switching operation (right)
From these power electronic switches in total, three units were constructed and tested, one for the test bench, and two for vehicle integration. Initial tests with the operation of the electronic switch were very positive and the concept works as designed. The power can be varied gradually by CAN communication up to the rated power of 8.5kW. In this way the switch can be fully integrated into the vehicle control unit (VCU) that manages all system components on the vehicle platform.
Development of the DC/DC Converter
As an alternative to the direct (passive) coupling of fuel cell system and battery as explained above – which is considered the most energy efficient alternative – the possibility of a boost/buck converter was investigated. For the rated fuel cell system power of PN = 8.5kW a six-phase buck converter was finally chosen. The input voltage of the converter can very between UIn = 55 to 80V, depending on the required fuel cell power. The voltage at the converter output varies between UOut = 45 to 55V depending on the state of charge of the battery.
University of Birmingham (UBHAM) supported this work by developing the algorithms to manage the fuel cell system in the context of the vehicle operation. Since the energy efficiency of the battery electric part of the FCEV is highest, whereas the fuel cell/hydrogen system warrant for long distance travel, a balance between using plug-in battery electricity and hydrogen fuel has to be struck. This is also reflected in the fuel cost. Therefore it would be advisable to only switch the fuel cell system on when it is actually needed. Most current FCEV will operate the fuel cell system throughout their travel and thus use more hydrogen fuel than actually required.
Work at UBHAM therefore concentrated on gathering driving and route information in order to feed the VCU so that it can make educated decisions on the necessity to switch on the fuel cell power.
Work conducted by JHS on powertrains in fuel cell vehicles was published in three conference papers:
IEEE-PEMC 2018 Multiphase DC/DC Converter and its Use in the Powertrain of Fuel Cell Vehicles. 18th International Power Electronics and Motion Control Conference, IEEE-PEMC 2018 Budapest, Hungary 26. – 30. August 2018, IEEE catalog number: CFP1834A-USB, ISBN: 978-1-5386-4197.
EPE 2018 A Novel Concept to Control the Powertrain in Battery Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicles. 20th Conference on Power Electronics and Applications, EPE’18-ECCE Europe, Riga, Latvia 17.–20. September 2018, IEEE catalog number: CFP18850-USB, ISBN: 9789075815290.
IEEE-ISETC 2018 Test bench to optimize the Powertrain in Battery-Electric and Fuel-Cell Vehicles International Symposium on Electronics and Telecommunications, Timisoara, Romania 08.-09. November 2018.
Open Access publications on the JHS and UBHAM developments are in preparation.
Potential Impact:
Potential Impact, Major Dissemination Activities and Exploitation of Results
Hydrogen fuel cell technology has a crucial role to play in decarbonising transport and the economy more widely. The development of fuel cell passenger cars is thus clearly an important step on the road towards decarbonisation.
One of the main dissemination events of the project was The Coventry Hydrogen Event: Final SWARM Forum, which took place on the afternoon of the 17th October 2018 at Coventry University. The event focused on three key topics: an overview the SWARM project and its achievements, applications of hydrogen mobility in local contexts, and the wider UK and international hydrogen context. The audience of 100 people came from a range of backgrounds, including project partners, university, industry and public sector.
Project partners from Element Energy, Coventry University, Microcab, Riversimple, Air Liquide, University of Brussels (ULB), JADE University, PLANET and the University of Birmingham were present. In addition to project partners Element Energy, Microcab, Riversimple, Air Liquide, ULB and JADE, presentations were made by Monmouthshire County Council, Oakdene Hollins (a specialist circular economy consultancy), Toyota and the FCH JU.
Figure 23 - (left to right) Toyota Mirai, Riversimple Rasa and Microcab Vianova on display outside the Engineering and Computing Building of Coventry University.
Figure 24 - Coventry Hydrogen Event Agenda.
Individual partners contributed to various conferences throughout the project, and opening ceremonies were held for the Air Liquide HRS in Brussels and Frechen in 2016 and 2018 respectively. Below are some examples of project dissemination activities.
Dissemination activities
Air Liquide HRS public opening Brussels, Belgium 22 April 2016
The Official Opening of the commissioned HRS took place on April 22, 2016 also under the auspices of Minister Annemie Turtelboom with more than 150 invitees attending and was organised in partnership with (in addition to the project partners) the FCH JU, Hydrogen Europe and Toyota Motor Europe.
Figure 25 - Official Opening of the commissioned HRS on 22nd April 2016
A Microcab and a Elano vehicle also supported the event and where on display on the day alongside a number of other FC vehicles as well as dissemination material about the project. A FC bus was made available as a shuttle to pick up EU Parliamentary representatives from Brussels European quarters. This event was also widely reported in the local and international medias.
Air Liquide HRS public opening Frechen, Germany 21 September 2018
The Official Opening of the commissioned HRS took place on September 21, 2018 under the auspices of the Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the State of North Rhine Westphalia Stefan Leuchten, with more than 150 attendees. It was organised in partnership with the FCH JU, the mayor of the city of Frechen, Mundorf Mineralölhandels GmbH und Co KG and Toyota Motor Europe.
Statements were given during the opening ceremony by:
Stefan Leuchten, Ministry for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia:
"Particularly in the transport sector, considerable efforts are still needed to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement. We consider hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles as an important building block for future climate-friendly mobility. A decisive factor for the market ramp-up of this technology will be the development of a nationwide refuelling infrastructure. We therefore welcome the opening of the hydrogen refuelling station here in Frechen.”
Susanne Stupp, Mayor of the City of Frechen:
"We all know the climate and environmental challenges of our time. Pollutant load is increasing, even in Frechen. Climate change is perceptible, and we have recently been experiencing an accumulation of weather extremes. A long time ago already, we in Frechen started addressing the climate change issue. For example, we regularly take part in the European Mobility Week and, over the past few months, we have implemented all kinds of measures that are good for our climate and people's health: For instance, we have put into operation charging stations for electric cars and pedelecs. Also here in Frechen, e-bikes experienced a veritable boom in recent years. The opening of the hydrogen station perfectly fits into a whole package of measures to protect our climate.”
Fabio Mundorf, Managing Director, Mundorf Mineralölhandels GmbH und Co. KG:
"I am delighted to be here today for the inauguration and I congratulate Air Liquide on the opening of the hydrogen refuelling station at our site here in Frechen. We are honoured to be involved in the roll-out of this new refuelling technology. We are happy about the cooperation and look forward to the next projects.”
Figure 26 - Official Opening of the commissioned HRS on 21st September 2018
A Microcab also supported the event and was on display on the day alongside a number of other FC vehicles as well as dissemination material about the project.
Figure 27 - Microcab at the HRS opening
This event was widely reported in the local and international media.
Riversimple Rasa Alpha car dissemination activities
Since being commissioned for road use in 2016, the Alpha car has been deployed for a significant number of events and road tests, principally to publicise Riversimple’s achievements and assist with raising additional funds for the demonstration. Stand out events include Goodwood Festival of Speed, a visit to the Houses of Parliament and the London Motor Show (Figure 40).
Figure 28 - Riversimple Alpha car (a) Houses of Parliament with Rt. Hon Sajid Javid, at that time Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, (b) Goodwood Festival of Speed, (c) London Motor Show with Richard Noble and (d) Carfest with Chris Evans.
Riversimple Rasa Beta car dissemination activities
Figure 29 - Riversimple Beta car Bristol City Council event (left), with Monmouthshire council at HRS site (centre), and Hydrogen hub event Swindon (right)
All three of the events referenced above were attended by a variety of stakeholders, including local authorities, members of the public, fleet vehicle managers from a range of organisations, representatives of the community, vehicle OEM’s and supply chain manufacturers.
Riversimple's dissemination activities have also engaged a number of high-profile public figures such as Chris Evans, Kate Humble and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. While Chris Evans commented in a magazine article that “Britain needs more companies like RS”, Kate Humble tweeted about her visit to the workshop to her 101k followers.
“The future of motoring? This unique #sustainable #innovation by #riversimple & the business model behind it are game changing and give cause for optimism in not very optimistic times.”
FEV open new centre at Coventry University – 21st March 2019
C-ALPS, the Centre for Alternative Low Carbon Propulsion Systems, opened on 21 March 2019. This new building on Coventry University’s techno park is a joint development between the Aachen-based engineering company FEV and Coventry University. Included in the exhibits was Microcab’s Vianova fuel cell plug hybrid vehicle (Fig.30). FEV have expressed interest in fuel cell systems having developed the Breeze project (2015), a compact car with fuel cell range extender, based on the Fiat Cinquecento platform.
Figure 30 - Microcab Vianova on display at C-ALPS opening, March 2019
26 Feb. 2018 Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of UK Labour Party, delivers Brexit speech at the National Transport Design Centre (NTDC), Coventry
The NTDC building (funded and operated by Coventry University) is adjacent to Microcab HQ. “Labour party descends on Coventry for Jeremy Corbyn speech about the need for A Customs Union after Brexit. Microcab asked to provide SWARM hydrogen vehicles for backdrop. Speech delivered in the heart of UK automotive sector in which frictionless, pan EU supply chain is essential.”
Figure 31 - Jeremy Corbyn delivers Brexit speech
University of Birmingham (UB) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Showcase May 31st 2018
Hydrogen and fuel cell industry, academics and students were present at this event. UB is a long-standing partner of Microcab having worked in collaborative projects together from 2006. UB is a user of the Gen 3 Microcab vehicle and the pictures below show the vehicle being handed over to Ahmad El-Kharouf during UB’s hydrogen conference in May/June 2018.
LCV 2018 12-13 September 2018
The UK’s premiere low carbon vehicle event, 3 days of conference and many global automotive companies represented. A Gen 3 Microcab operated on the ride and drive on the city circuit with about 12 rides given. Audience included local authorities, policy makers, hydrogen and general vehicle industry (OEM and niche companies), fleet managers and general public. Microcab shared a stand with Aachen-based FEV. The Mahle stand also featured the Microcab MEET, (Mahle Energy Efficient Transport).
Microcab Isle of Wight Challenge, 20th April 2016
As part of the Eco Island project with ITM Power and Arcola Energy, Microcab toured the Isle of Wight on 20th April 2016, stopping at famous landmarks and six primary schools where the kids get their first sight of a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The event was filmed and made into a video, found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ykWf3R8xZ4&t=42s
Other Communication activities
Partners featured in a number of articles and made a number of videos to educate the public about the project, vehicles and FC transport technologies more widely. Key examples include:
• http://reactif.wallonie.be/?p=199
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/features/riversimple-rasa-review-welsh-hydrogen-fuel-cell-runabout-could/
• https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jan/20/hydrogen-cars-hugo-spowers-future
List of Websites:
https://www.swarm-project.eu/
The following statistics of website access were recorded up until May 2018. Unfortunately, the web host was not able to provide further statistics up until the end of the project in Oct 2018. Therefore, the interest generated by the final project events is not captured here.
See attachment for website statistics.
The SWARM project set out to establish demonstration fleets of small passenger vehicles supporting and expanding upon existing hydrogen refuelling infrastructure across three clusters: British Midlands, Brussels and Wallonia, and the Weser-Ems region in NW Germany. The location of the infrastructure was planned to close gaps in a continuous ‘hydrogen network’ stretching from Scotland to London, Belgium and Cologne, via Bremen to Hamburg, Scandinavia or Berlin. Three SME OEMs, Riversimple (UK), Microcab (UK) and H2O e-mobile (Germany) were to deploy up to 90 vehicles, demonstrating them for three years of the project, accruing significant data on vehicle performance.
In 2015, following delays in the delivery of vehicles, in part due to difficulties in finding suitable fuel cell stacks from suppliers, the project was revised to focus on vehicle development, with a shorter demonstration phase and fewer demonstrated vehicles. By the end of the project, the proposed fleet size was for up 34 vehicles deployed in the demonstration clusters in the British Midlands and Wales (UK), Brussels/Wallonia (Belgium) and North Rhine Westphalia (Germany): 20 from Riversimple, 2 JHS prototype elano vehicles (H2O terminated) and 12 Microcabs (including 5 re-designed vehicles and 2 new left-hand drive vehicles). The German Air Liquide 200kg/day station was built in Frechen (Cologne), while a number of smaller HRSs were upgraded and recommissioned in the UK: a new 20kg/day station in Abergavenny, Wales, which the Riversimple trial vehicles will use and two recommissioned HRS in Coventry and Birmingham.
The entire fleets were not deployed in the fifth and final reporting period, ending in October 2018. However, important progress was made towards securing the commencement, continuation and reporting of fleet activities beyond the end of the project. Of particular note, Riversimple will start their 20-vehicle demonstration after the project, Microcab have developed plans for their post-demonstration phase, the Air Liquide Frechen station is a vital contribution to the development of an exciting hydrogen hub in Cologne and will refuel RVK’s fuel cell bus fleet for a time, and the ZEFER project will ensure fleet vehicles are refuelled at the Air Liquide Zaventem station. Furthermore, meaningful contributions have been made by the SWARM research activities, including a number of conference papers published by JADE University on powertrains in hybrid battery and fuel cell electric vehicles and the use of DC/DC converters in fuel cell electric vehicles. The work by universities as part of the project will further build up enthusiasm and experience with hydrogen fuel cells in academia.
The achievements of SWARM were communicated at the SWARM Final Event, held in October 2018 at Coventry University. Presentations on SWARM by the project partners were followed by its situation within the wider hydrogen and hydrogen mobility sectors.
While the ambitious objectives of the project were not fully achieved during the active project period, the contribution of this spearhead project to the development of the European hydrogen mobility sector and the enthusiasm surrounding it is significant. Crucially, lessons learnt in SWARM were applied to the HyFIVE, H2ME 1+2 and ZEFER projects, further cementing its successful legacy.
Project Context and Objectives:
The SWARM project set its focus on seven essential issues that make it special and unique:
- the demonstration of a significant number of vehicles to form a critical mass of employment and user-exposure to the new technology of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
- the reduction of costs of vehicles and hydrogen supply to a level to allow a commercialisation phase immediately following the demonstration programme
- the creation of refuelling station clusters in three European regions:
• UK: Midlands & Abergavenny, Wales,
• Belgium: Brussels/Wallonia,
• North Rhine Westphalia (NRW).
this refuelling network offers an extension of the ‘European hydrogen highway network’ from Scotland via Brussels to Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and South Germany
- the creation of focal points for future hydrogen fuel cell vehicle rollout, through the dedicated industry reach-out programme
- the addition of 3 high-capacity hydrogen refuelling stations to existing and new refilling sites
- the supply of vehicles on a ‘lease’ basis, avoiding the problem of investment risk with the end users
- the integration of a large number of universities to support the development work of the OEMs
The project sought to establish a fleet of 34 (as well as an additional 4 upgraded vehicles from Microcab for the 2018 demonstration phase) small passenger vehicles within a mixture of existing infrastructure and newly built hydrogen supply stations. After the termination in 2016 of H2O as a partner in the project, it was no longer possibly to deploy all 50 vehicles foreseen in the original plan. In place of the originally planned 20 elano vehicles and by integrating learnings gained throughout the project, Microcab deployed 5 redesigned vehicles and 2 new left-hand drive vehicles and JHS built 2 prototype elano vehicles to coincide with the Riversimple deployment in 2018.
Three European regions participated in this effort: the British Midlands and Wales, the Brussels area and Wallonia, and North West Germany. Considering the developments going on in Scotland, the existing hydrogen refuelling stations in London, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt/M., Copenhagen and in Norway and Sweden, these sites close the gaps in a continuous ‘hydrogen highway’ that could lead from Scotland via the Midlands to London, connecting to Brussels and from there proceeding to Cologne and on to Hamburg/Scandinavia/Berlin. The map in Fig. 1 shows such a prospective route.
Figure 1 - Using the existing hydrogen infrastructure in London and Cologne, a hydrogen vehicle with approx. 300 km range could drive from the Midlands to Hamburg.
Figure 2 - Lightweight vehicles employed in the project. Left to right: Microcab, elano and Riversimple Rasa passenger car.
The cars employed (Fig. 2) are three different types of low-cost, high fuel-efficiency, light-weight passenger and small transport vehicles specifically designed for city and regional transport. The organisations Riversimple (Llandrindod Wells, Wales, UK), Microcab (Coventry, UK) and JHS (Wilhelmshaven, Germany) were to contribute 20, 12 (and 4 redesigned RHD vehicles for 2018) and 2 vehicles, respectively, to the project. These were to be built during the project alongside the implementation of the hydrogen supply infrastructure. Europe-wide certification was sought for the first two vehicles and hydrogen installations in order to allow their use throughout Europe, thus increasing the commercial possibilities of continuing the project without further funding. The equipment was continuously monitored and improved throughout the demonstration phase.
"Regions - Sites - Vehicles - Users - HRSs"
UK - Coventry - 10 + 4 Microcab (8 right hand drive, 2 left hand drive, 4 redesigned) - Coventry University, Birmingham University , City Council, Marks & Spencers, Warwickshire County Council plus use in Belgium and Frechen - Coventry & Birmingham University stations to be reinstated, up to 20 kg/day, 35 MPa
UK - Abergavenny, Monmouthshire/ South Wales - 20 Riversimple Rasas - Private users & council fleet - 20 kg/d, 35 Mpa
Belgium - Brussels - 1 Microcab (loan from Coventry) - ULB, Brussels city & region, small technology companies, private users - 200 kg/d, 70 Mpa
Belgium - Spa Francorchamps - 1 Microcab (loan from Coventry) - Research vehicle - Temporary refuelling solution for testing at race track
Germany - Frechen, NRW - 1 Microcab (loan from Coventry for opening event), vehicles outside of the project - Private users - 200 kg/d, 35 MPa and 70 Mpa
Germany - Wilhelmshaven - 2 elanoFC vehicles - University & private users - Temporary refuelling solution for research testing
In two of the locations (Frechen and Brussels/Zaventem), fully 200kg/day 350 and 700 bar compatible stations were installed by Air Liquide. In both locations, it is expected that vehicles outside of the SWARM project from large passenger car OEMs will be deployed after the period of the SWARM project, thereby justifying the investment in these large stations and ensuring continued operation.
In the UK the decision has been taken to prioritise the refuelling of the developmental vehicles which will be deployed in the SWARM project, as opposed to installing capacity for as yet not fully existent demand. As a result, the UK partners have installed refuelling station equipment which meets the refuelling requirements of the vehicles which will be deployed on this project rather than installing excess capacity to cope with future expansion of the vehicle park. This decision is based on analysis of the likely behaviour of large passenger car OEMs in the UK (completed under the UK H2Mobility initiative) which suggests that there will be very limited demand for OEM vehicle refuelling in the preferred demonstration locations for the duration of the project. Hence any investment in larger station capacity would be wasted, leading to stranded assets and deterring future investments in the HRS sector.
As a result, the UK HRS deployment involves a new 20kg/day station in Abergavenny, Wales and the recommissioning of two smaller fuelling stations in Coventry and Birmingham, to allow respectively the testing of the Riversimple and Microcab vehicles.
In addition, a temporary refuelling solution was established in Spa Francorchamps.
7 universities and university institutes are integrated into the project as both end-users and research partners. The university involvement in several research projects on the vehicles and hydrogen provision directly supports the OEM’s in improving their equipment and contributes towards providing improved vehicles to the project.
In addition, this will expose university staff, R&D personnel and students to modern technology with a very much hands-on approach. This is an important feature in developing the future European Hi-Tech human resource necessary for a full market roll-out of fuel cell and hydrogen technology.
The vehicles have and will be made available to the end users under a leasing agreement. This allows users to enjoy a hassle-free use of the vehicles, as they would a normal petrol vehicle and reduces the financing pressure and risk on the end users. In the case of Riversimple, a full package offering is envisaged leasing the vehicle in a concept of a mobility as a service (Maas) rather than selling the vehicle to the end-users. The service includes all 4 points below for a single monthly payment:
- The car
- Insurance
- Service and Maintenance
- All fuel
Project Results:
Project information and achievements
Project context
Date started: 01/10/2012
Date finished: 31/10/2018
Number of partners: Start = 17 End = 12
Total project spend: € 15,294,319.66
FCH JU contribution: € 6,712,985.60
Results
No. of cars built: Revised plan (after project end) = 34
Current completed = 14-34 as direct continuation of the project
No. of HRS built or refurbished: 6
Installed refuelling capacity: 700kg/day, 400kg/day public
Vehicle supply
Microcab
The Microcab vehicles have undergone significant development over the course of the project.
Generation - Fuel cell and DC/DC system - Lithium Battery Pack - Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) - Number of vehicles of Gen
Gen 1 - Horizon 3kW Air cooled stack - Single pack 72v Headway cell – LifeBatt design - Potenza V1 – (third party company) - 4
Gen 2 - Ballard 70 cell 3kW, Air cooled stack - Single pack 72v Headway cell – LifeBatt design - Potenza V2 – (third party company) - 2
Gen 3 - Ballard 80 cell 3.5kW Air cooled stack (integration development by CU including processor control design) - 3 x 24v pack (in series gives 72v), Headway cell (pack design by CU including battery management system) - Motohawk processor overall vehicle control (in house development by CU including circuit board design) - 8
Throughout SWARM, Microcab’s policy has been to take its early stage prototype vehicle designs and, by a process of on road testing with real users, gain user-centric knowledge across all aspects of vehicle engineering and design. From this information further generations of vehicle have been developed, rolled out and tested. Virtually all elements of the powertrain have been improved or re-designed in the process as well as re-working vehicle interior and displays, exterior styling and comfort features.
To celebrate SWARM, expressing a successful conclusion to the project and to begin to develop the market for Microcab vehicles, a new model of the Gen 3 has been launched with the latest styling and interior. This is called the Vianova and features all the key developments of the last few years, both in SWARM and in parallel projects. The vehicle was first seen at the SWARM Coventry hydrogen event (on 17 Oct 2018) and is built as a Left-Hand Drive vehicle and thus able to address the market in Germany where extensive hydrogen infrastructure exists but few cars are operating.
Figure 3 - Microcab Vianova on display at the SWARM Coventry Hydrogen Event (October 2018)
Model Microcab Gen.3
Chassis: Lotus bonded aluminium
Vehicle type: M1 class vehicle
Gross vehicle weight: Approx. 750kg
Length: 3.5m
Width: 1.6m
Height: 1.7m
Crash protection: Front offset impact; side impact; roof crush
No. of seats 4 (car format), 2 (van format)
Baggage capacity: 0.3 m³ (car format), 0.96 m³ (van format)
Energy demand: 120-150Wh/km
CO2 emissions: Down to 0g/km (depending on source of hydrogen)
Hydrogen tank: 350bar or 700bar option
Fuel cell: 3kW or 10kW option
Range: 180miles
Max speed: 55mph
Drive: AC brushless motor & gearbox 50kWp, 72V
Battery: 4.3kWh
Riversimple
During the SWARM project, Riversimple have developed 2 generations of vehicle, the Alpha and the Beta car. The Alpha car was launched in 2016 after 3 years of development. The Alpha car has been used extensively for technological testing and development, for a large range of dissemination purposes and to support the training and development of Riversimple's initial customer base, the Beta trialists.
As a direct result of the SWARM project and the extensive testing of the Alpha car, Riversimple have successfully begun the build of their first production vehicles, the Beta Rasa. The Beta demonstrates significant technological and mechanical improvements which will enable it to be released to the general public. The first of these vehicles has been used in extensive dissemination activities and will be deployed as part of the Clean Mobility Trial operating from Abergavenny, Wales. Monmouthshire County Council have secured the first car in the trial and will include it in their vehicle fleet for 12 months.
Figure 4 - Riversimple Mk1 (left)and Riversimple Rasa Alpha car (right)
Figure 5 - Riversimple Rasa Beta car
Model Riversimple Rasa
Chassis: Carbon composite
Vehicle type: Lightweight vehicle
Gross vehicle weight: 630kg
Length: 3.67m
Width: 1.63m
Height: 1.33m
Crash protection: Front and side impact
No. of seats 2
Baggage capacity: 130l
Energy demand: 250mpg or 1.15l/100km equivalent
CO2 emissions: Down to 0g/km (depending on source of hydrogen)
Hydrogen tank: 350bar
Fuel cell: 8.5kW
Range: 300miles
Max speed: 60mph
Torque: 680Nm
Elano FC
Two fuel cell vehicles (elanoFC) were built in the project. The vehicles were delivered to JHS as fully equipped battery electric version elano 1st Go from the stock of former project partner H2O e-mobile GmbH.
The previously installed lithium iron phosphate batteries (LiFePO) with a rated energy of 10 kWh and voltage 50 V continue to be fully integrated in the powertrain. The fuel cell system Hydrogenics HyPM HD 8-200 PN with a rated output power of 8.5 kW and an open circuit voltage of 80 V was coupled with the battery. The main features that distinguish the elano concept from other fuel cell vehicles are the passive connection of fuel cell system and battery, the switching of the fuel cell according to power demand, the plug-in character of the vehicle concept, and the light-weight/low energy consumption vehicle frame.
Figure 6 – Hydrogenics fuel cell system integrated into elano former motor compartment.
Figure 7 - elano vehicle next to Gen. 3 Microcabs at the SWARM Coventry Hydrogen Event, October 2018.
Model elano 1st FC by H2O e-mobile GmbH / Jade Hochschule
Chassis: Microcar (Ligier group)
Vehicle type: Lightweight vehicle, L7E class
Gross vehicle weight: Approx. 780kg
Length: 3.3m
Width: 1.67m
Height: 1.55m
Crash protection: Front offset impact; air bag
No. of seats 2
Baggage capacity: 0.8 m3
Energy demand: 90-100 Wh/km
CO2 emissions: Down to 0g/km (depending on source of hydrogen)
Hydrogen tank: 70 MPa
Fuel cell: 8.5 kW
Range: 350km
Max speed: 100 km/h
Drive: Single asynchronous motor, 8 kW (max. short-term load 12 kW)
Battery: 10 kWh LiFePO
Hydrogen infrastructure
A total of 6 HRS units have been installed as follows:
Site - Refueling capacity (kg/day) - Pressure (bar)
Zaventem (Brussels) - 200 - 350 and 700
Frechen (Cologne region) - 200 - 350 and 700
Birmingham University (Midlands region) - 20 - 350 only
Coventry University (Midlands region) - 20 - 350 only
Abergavenny (Monmouthshire, Wales) - 20 - 350 only
Spa-Francorchamp (Liege Region) - 20 - 350 only
Zaventem station, Brussels, Belgium
The Air Liquide HRS for Brussels built in Zaventem has been in operation since April 2016.
Figure 8 - Air Liquide Zaventem HRS
The station provides hydrogen at both 350 and 700 bar.
Main characteristics
Operational since: April 2016
Location: Leuvensesteenweg 546, 1930 Zaventem, Belgium
Operating refuelling pressures: 350 bar and 700 bar
Refueling time per car at 700 bar: 3min (based on 5-6kg/refill)
Back to back performance: 5 cars (with 9min between consecutive refills)
Size: 20 x 10m
Hydrogen supply: Trucked in hydrogen
Private/public: Public, authorised customers with accredication card
Figure 9 - HRS specifications
Frechen station, Cologne region, Germany
The site proposed in Period 1 by Air Liquide was Bremen (Bremen Airport, on the Hermann-Köhl-Straße close to two car parks of Bremen City Airport; parking 1 and 2), but negotiations with the airport of Bremen could not be completed. Air Liquide instead relocated the site from Bremen to Frechen in the Cologne region. The Air Liquide HRS in Frechen has been in operation since the end of August 2018.
Figure 10 - Finalised Frechen HRS
Main characteristics
Operational since: August 2018
Location: Kölner Straße 209-211, D-50226, Frechen, Germany
Operating refuelling pressures: 350 bar and 700 bar
Size: 16 x 10m
Hydrogen supply: Trucked in hydrogen
Private/public: Public, authorised customers with accredication card
The station has been erected in Frechen next to:
- Highway A1
- Highway A4
- Toyota Headquarter Germany
Abergavenny
The HRS was delivered from France on Friday 21st September and was installed on site. The HRS will be used for the Riversimple trial. As part of Riversimple’s ongoing dissemination activities, a local artist has been engaged to provide support with the publicly facing compound of the HRS. A local school has also been involved in support of the design work. The HRS will provide information to the public on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and refuelling and will become a focal point for local / regional hydrogen activity.
Figure 11 - Installed McPhy refueler in Abergavenny with Riversimple Rasa Beta vehicle
Figure 12 - Compound structure surrounding HRS with local artwork
Main characteristics
Operational since: October 2018
Location: Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, NP7 5HF
Operating refuelling pressures: 350 bar
Unit: McFilling 20-350
Hydrogen supply: Trucked in hydrogen
Private/public: Riversimple trial participants
Birmingham University
This Air Products station has been utilised for earlier demonstration efforts from Microcabs and needs maintenance & recertification every three years. This was completed and the station recertified and recommissioned for use in January 2016. It dispenses at 350 bar and can refuel 20kg/day if a high-pressure hydrogen source is used.
Main characteristics
Operational since: January 2016 (recommissioning date in SWARM project)
Location: University of Birmingham, Birmingham
Operating refuelling pressures: 350 bar
Unit: Air Products Series 100
Hydrogen supply: Trucked in hydrogen
Private/public: Private/public – outside use on request and arranged filling
Coventry University
This station was fully re-commissioned a first time in November 2015. It was the first station delivered to the SWARM project. It was re-certified in January 2019 in order to continue to support of Microcab vehicles, an essential for the vehicle roll-out and operations. The refueler is the same model as the one at Birmingham University.
Figure 13 - Microcab refuelling at Coventry HRS in February 2019
Main characteristics
Operational since: November 2015, January 2019
Location: Coventry University, Coventry
Operating refuelling pressures: 350 bar
Unit: Air Products Series 100
Hydrogen supply: Trucked in hydrogen
Private/public: Private – University use only
Spa-Francorchamps
A temporary Linde HRS has also been installed with success on the Spa-Francorchamps track, Belgium, in November 2016 for the ULB tests using the Microcab.
Figure 14 - Temporary HRS with Microcab at Spa-Francorchamps, 2016
Demonstration and post-demonstration activities
Riversimple
Riversimple will deploy 20 vehicles in their demonstration phase, which started in October 2018 and will run for 2.5 years after the end of the project.
Applicants for the trial cover a broad age range and diverse occupational status, though the biggest group is 45-54 and from professional or management occupations.
Figure 15 - applicants within a 30-mile radius of the HRS in Abergavenny
All those within the catchment, a 30-mile radius of Abergavenny, were invited to two open evenings in the town for potential trialists. Both events were very well attended - details about the vehicle, the trial and the service were given, including logistical information, anticipated range of the Rasa and the cost of participation.
The Riversimple service team now has 60 households who have formally registered as participants, agreeing to pay a deposit and full commercial price for their participation. Between them they drive a total of 11,522 miles per week. As well as private customers, various corporate customers have expressed interest in participating in the trial.
Training has begun for the first of the Riversimple Beta Trialists.
All the trial participants, along with the original 1,000 people who expressed an interest in participating, were also sent an invite to the Riversimple Design Forum, which went live in September 2018. This is an online platform where Riversimple will engage with future customers who want to have input into the service and vehicle design but may not be in a position to participate directly in the trial.
Figure 16 – Riversimple’s online Design Forum
The Riversimple Design Forum is an active online platform that Riversimple are using to gather market intelligence. The first question Riversimple asked the initial 300 participants who signed up was about refuelling habits. This was to ensure they were aware of any peak refuelling times and ensure the Riversimple HRS is properly resourced.
Microcab
Generation 1 and 2 vehicles have been operational since 2015 and have accumulated data in actual road usage. This includes usage as commuter vehicles and for general use by a group of SWARM soft users (as recommended during the Technical review by external evaluators), mostly from Coventry University and Microcab. Vehicles have been used for journeys to and from work, for shopping and other domestic duties and for leisure purposes. Vehicles have been used throughout the year, across the seasons and in day and night use.
They have also operated in a range of locations including in the UK in the Midlands, Sheffield, Isle of Wight and London as well as in Belgium (Brussels and Liege).
Brussels/Zaventem
The universities ULB and VUB were engaged to host the Microcab demo car. Fruitful contacts had also been established with administrations of some of the 19 cities forming Brussels and located in the Eastern part of Brussels (namely Woluwé-Saint-Pierre, Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, Watermael-Boitsfort, Schaerbeek and Ixelles) because they are close to the HRS of the SWARM project (just nearby Woluwé-Saint-Lambert and Schaerbeek even if just outside the Brussels-Capital Region). Other fruitful contacts have been made with some industrial partners (also located in the Eastern part of Brussels) to host some SWARM cars at their facilities and to be used by their employees (as Solvay NOH, Engie/Electrabel, ELIA, Sibelga and Zennit, a Brussels SME). Even some delivery companies working in Brussels to deliver food in the evening have shown a real interest in renting the car in the evening for their delivery activities.
A solution for the leasing of all or some of the cars used in the Brussels-Capital Region and Wallonia Region through one single organization, called H2-Life Foundation, has also been examined by ULB, ULiège and DGO4 Wallonia. Discussions with H20 e-mobile and Microcab about the leasing procedure and the leasing contracts had been initiated. This resulted in using one Microcab H2EV car at ULB during 6 months after the end of the SWARM project (from November 2018 until May 2019) with a contract between ULB and Microcab company.
The option to have the Microcab cars in leasing instead or in addition to the Elano cars has been based on the current know-how build-up of ULB-ATM using this Microcab H2EV car for the WP7 research activities of SWARM.
High-level targets for vehicle development and delivery to the Brussels Capital-Region have been:
• Alpha car (pre-production prototype) completed in May 2016 by Microcab
• First Belgium prototype used in Brussels in the Spring and Summer of 2016
• First Belgium prototype goes to Spa-Francorchamps in the Fall of 2016
• First prototype available at ULB in May 2018
• Road tests in Brussels start with one car in June 2018
• Track tests on Beauvechain Air Base in Spring and Summer 2018
• Short tests in Spa-Francorchamps in early Autumn 2018 (not realised)
• Close of road tests at the end of October 2018
• Test report available in November 2018.
Figure 17 – Air Liquide Brussels HRS and Microcab car refilling in 2016
A first demo phase has been performed with real road testing in urban environment in Brussels in the period from May 2016 until October 2016 with a Microcab car. Some 300 km were driven on the campuses of ULB, on the roads of the Brussels-Capital Region, on the runway track of the Beauvechain Air Base and even outside of the Brussels-Capital Region when going to refill the Microcab car at the Colruyt Energy Division in Halle. This first demo phase was continued and ended with some extra road testing on the Spa-Francorchamps race track during 2 weeks in November 2016.
On 27th of June 2018, ULB-ATM received its 2nd demo Microcab from Microcab and University of Coventry for an extended test period of 4 full months. For more precise and consistent tests, the Beauvechain Airbase was used for testing the Microcab. The car was also stored there during about 2 months.
Figure 18 - Beauvechain Airbase closed circuit
The airbase has a closed circuit (Figure 14) where driving at different and constant velocities was easy to perform. Two kinds of runs were done on the track: doing laps at a constant speed or doing the 1.8 km straight line of the runaway. By doing so, the power and H2 consumption at different speeds were more precisely evaluated.
The main objective of the project was to review the methods used to derive the power consumption of the Microcab. Many types of driving cycle can be simulated depending on the character of speed and engine load changes thus divided into ‘steady-state’ cycle and ‘transient’ cycle [A reference book of driving cycles for use in the measurement of road vehicle emissions, TJ Barlow, S Latham, Published project report PPR354, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/4247/ppr-354.pdf]. The steady-state driving cycle represents the reality of trying to maintain a steady speed, where the transient cycle is a test that is performed in a real-world situation where there are responses to road bumps, traffic and road junctions. These two kinds of cycle were then made with the Microcab to cover all the possibilities of how the car would be used by the average user.
In total 725 km have been run in Belgium during the summer and autumn of 2018 by ULB. These tests are in fact still running until March 2019 in order to have additional driving test data during the cold months in Brussels. After this the vehicle may be replaced with one of the new Microcab Vianova models.
Air Liquide Zaventem HRS
The Air Liquide HRS in Zaventem, Brussels, will be used after SWARM in the FCH JU-funded ZEFER Project, which started in September 2017. The ZEFER Project is deploying 180 FCEVs into fleet service across three major European cities (London, Paris, Brussels). 60 of these will be deployed as taxis in Brussels and will refuel at the Air Liquide station in Zaventem. ZEFER will aim to demonstrate viable business cases for captive fleets of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs).
Figure 19 - ZEFER HRS deployment locations
Air Liquide Frechen HRS
A trial with 1 to 3 Microcab vehicles should have been organised from beginning of September 2018 until the end of the project. The objective was to deliver the cars to identified end users (HyCologne) found to support operation of this station. Microcab did not get the license to drive the vehicle in Germany, so that the trial could not happen. Nevertheless, other vehicles from major OEMs (such as Toyota) are regularly refueling at the station in Frechen, vehicles in the Cologne area as the vehicles by travelling from France or Belgian to Germany.
A Microcab car was in Frechen to support the opening ceremony. It allows Microcab to access a new European public and promote its technology. Air Liquide will continue to operate the station after project end. The station is operated as a public station. Anyone can refuel either 350bar or 700bar cars at the station.
The Frechen station will also be used as a back-up location to refuel the fuel cell buses being deployed by RVK, a local bus operator, as part of the FCH JU JIVE and JIVE 2 projects. The Frechen station will be transferred to H2 Mobility GmbH, who own and operate most of the public hydrogen refuelling stations in Germany. Through this, the Frechen station will deeply contribute to the development and deployment of the hydrogen infrastructure in the Cologne area. This transfer will promote the hydrogen refuelling of cars outside SWARM project and now predominantly commercial cars refuel at the Frechen station.
Accompanying Research
Accompanying research was crafted to tie in R&D expertise and laboratory capabilities of the university partners and offer the SWARM OEMs direct access to their technical resources, as they developed final designs for first and second-generation vehicle deployments during the project.
The objective of Jade University was the design and optimisation of the powertrain, initially for the elano fuel cell vehicle, but in principle applicable to any hybrid fuel cell vehicle platform. For this reason, a test-bench was constructed at JHS with which the power train of an electric vehicle could be simulated (hardware in the loop). Further, two battery-electric elano vehicles were converted into fuel cell vehicles.
Test bench
With the test bench, the powertrain, i.e. the combination of fuel cell system and battery, can be loaded with a real driving cycles. In the current state, the powertrain can be loaded with load currents of up to 420A and with charging currents of up to 260A. To simulate a drive cycle, the electronic loads and power supplies are controlled using a LabVIEW program.
Figure 20 - Test bench realisation to simulate and test the drive train of battery-fuel cell hybrid vehicles.
Passive Hybrid System
In a passive hybrid system (Fig.19) the fuel cell is connected with the battery via an electronic switch over a defined period of time. Thus, during the ‘slow’ switching process the hydrogen supply can be coordinated with the electrical power change of the fuel cell system. During the extended switching process, the power switch/semiconductors operate with large losses in linear operation. The originally envisaged mechanical switch was never implemented, since the electronic switch solid state losses proved to be very low.
Figure 21 - Power train of a passive hybrid circuit (left) and the behaviour of the fuel cell system (right).
In the selected concept with the power electronic switch, the voltages of fuel cell system and battery must be matched. Fig. 20 shows the principal fuel cell voltage waveform. The fuel cell system Hydrogenics HYDM HD8-200 has a nominal power of PN = 8.5kW and an open circuit voltage of U0 = 80V. At the nominal power which corresponds to a current of approx. IN = 170A, the fuel cell system voltage output is only UN = 50V . The battery voltage must be selected such that this voltage is reached when the battery is completely discharged.
Figure 22 - Power electronic switch redesign (left) and current during switching operation (right)
From these power electronic switches in total, three units were constructed and tested, one for the test bench, and two for vehicle integration. Initial tests with the operation of the electronic switch were very positive and the concept works as designed. The power can be varied gradually by CAN communication up to the rated power of 8.5kW. In this way the switch can be fully integrated into the vehicle control unit (VCU) that manages all system components on the vehicle platform.
Development of the DC/DC Converter
As an alternative to the direct (passive) coupling of fuel cell system and battery as explained above – which is considered the most energy efficient alternative – the possibility of a boost/buck converter was investigated. For the rated fuel cell system power of PN = 8.5kW a six-phase buck converter was finally chosen. The input voltage of the converter can very between UIn = 55 to 80V, depending on the required fuel cell power. The voltage at the converter output varies between UOut = 45 to 55V depending on the state of charge of the battery.
University of Birmingham (UBHAM) supported this work by developing the algorithms to manage the fuel cell system in the context of the vehicle operation. Since the energy efficiency of the battery electric part of the FCEV is highest, whereas the fuel cell/hydrogen system warrant for long distance travel, a balance between using plug-in battery electricity and hydrogen fuel has to be struck. This is also reflected in the fuel cost. Therefore it would be advisable to only switch the fuel cell system on when it is actually needed. Most current FCEV will operate the fuel cell system throughout their travel and thus use more hydrogen fuel than actually required.
Work at UBHAM therefore concentrated on gathering driving and route information in order to feed the VCU so that it can make educated decisions on the necessity to switch on the fuel cell power.
Work conducted by JHS on powertrains in fuel cell vehicles was published in three conference papers:
IEEE-PEMC 2018 Multiphase DC/DC Converter and its Use in the Powertrain of Fuel Cell Vehicles. 18th International Power Electronics and Motion Control Conference, IEEE-PEMC 2018 Budapest, Hungary 26. – 30. August 2018, IEEE catalog number: CFP1834A-USB, ISBN: 978-1-5386-4197.
EPE 2018 A Novel Concept to Control the Powertrain in Battery Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicles. 20th Conference on Power Electronics and Applications, EPE’18-ECCE Europe, Riga, Latvia 17.–20. September 2018, IEEE catalog number: CFP18850-USB, ISBN: 9789075815290.
IEEE-ISETC 2018 Test bench to optimize the Powertrain in Battery-Electric and Fuel-Cell Vehicles International Symposium on Electronics and Telecommunications, Timisoara, Romania 08.-09. November 2018.
Open Access publications on the JHS and UBHAM developments are in preparation.
Potential Impact:
Potential Impact, Major Dissemination Activities and Exploitation of Results
Hydrogen fuel cell technology has a crucial role to play in decarbonising transport and the economy more widely. The development of fuel cell passenger cars is thus clearly an important step on the road towards decarbonisation.
One of the main dissemination events of the project was The Coventry Hydrogen Event: Final SWARM Forum, which took place on the afternoon of the 17th October 2018 at Coventry University. The event focused on three key topics: an overview the SWARM project and its achievements, applications of hydrogen mobility in local contexts, and the wider UK and international hydrogen context. The audience of 100 people came from a range of backgrounds, including project partners, university, industry and public sector.
Project partners from Element Energy, Coventry University, Microcab, Riversimple, Air Liquide, University of Brussels (ULB), JADE University, PLANET and the University of Birmingham were present. In addition to project partners Element Energy, Microcab, Riversimple, Air Liquide, ULB and JADE, presentations were made by Monmouthshire County Council, Oakdene Hollins (a specialist circular economy consultancy), Toyota and the FCH JU.
Figure 23 - (left to right) Toyota Mirai, Riversimple Rasa and Microcab Vianova on display outside the Engineering and Computing Building of Coventry University.
Figure 24 - Coventry Hydrogen Event Agenda.
Individual partners contributed to various conferences throughout the project, and opening ceremonies were held for the Air Liquide HRS in Brussels and Frechen in 2016 and 2018 respectively. Below are some examples of project dissemination activities.
Dissemination activities
Air Liquide HRS public opening Brussels, Belgium 22 April 2016
The Official Opening of the commissioned HRS took place on April 22, 2016 also under the auspices of Minister Annemie Turtelboom with more than 150 invitees attending and was organised in partnership with (in addition to the project partners) the FCH JU, Hydrogen Europe and Toyota Motor Europe.
Figure 25 - Official Opening of the commissioned HRS on 22nd April 2016
A Microcab and a Elano vehicle also supported the event and where on display on the day alongside a number of other FC vehicles as well as dissemination material about the project. A FC bus was made available as a shuttle to pick up EU Parliamentary representatives from Brussels European quarters. This event was also widely reported in the local and international medias.
Air Liquide HRS public opening Frechen, Germany 21 September 2018
The Official Opening of the commissioned HRS took place on September 21, 2018 under the auspices of the Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the State of North Rhine Westphalia Stefan Leuchten, with more than 150 attendees. It was organised in partnership with the FCH JU, the mayor of the city of Frechen, Mundorf Mineralölhandels GmbH und Co KG and Toyota Motor Europe.
Statements were given during the opening ceremony by:
Stefan Leuchten, Ministry for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia:
"Particularly in the transport sector, considerable efforts are still needed to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement. We consider hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles as an important building block for future climate-friendly mobility. A decisive factor for the market ramp-up of this technology will be the development of a nationwide refuelling infrastructure. We therefore welcome the opening of the hydrogen refuelling station here in Frechen.”
Susanne Stupp, Mayor of the City of Frechen:
"We all know the climate and environmental challenges of our time. Pollutant load is increasing, even in Frechen. Climate change is perceptible, and we have recently been experiencing an accumulation of weather extremes. A long time ago already, we in Frechen started addressing the climate change issue. For example, we regularly take part in the European Mobility Week and, over the past few months, we have implemented all kinds of measures that are good for our climate and people's health: For instance, we have put into operation charging stations for electric cars and pedelecs. Also here in Frechen, e-bikes experienced a veritable boom in recent years. The opening of the hydrogen station perfectly fits into a whole package of measures to protect our climate.”
Fabio Mundorf, Managing Director, Mundorf Mineralölhandels GmbH und Co. KG:
"I am delighted to be here today for the inauguration and I congratulate Air Liquide on the opening of the hydrogen refuelling station at our site here in Frechen. We are honoured to be involved in the roll-out of this new refuelling technology. We are happy about the cooperation and look forward to the next projects.”
Figure 26 - Official Opening of the commissioned HRS on 21st September 2018
A Microcab also supported the event and was on display on the day alongside a number of other FC vehicles as well as dissemination material about the project.
Figure 27 - Microcab at the HRS opening
This event was widely reported in the local and international media.
Riversimple Rasa Alpha car dissemination activities
Since being commissioned for road use in 2016, the Alpha car has been deployed for a significant number of events and road tests, principally to publicise Riversimple’s achievements and assist with raising additional funds for the demonstration. Stand out events include Goodwood Festival of Speed, a visit to the Houses of Parliament and the London Motor Show (Figure 40).
Figure 28 - Riversimple Alpha car (a) Houses of Parliament with Rt. Hon Sajid Javid, at that time Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, (b) Goodwood Festival of Speed, (c) London Motor Show with Richard Noble and (d) Carfest with Chris Evans.
Riversimple Rasa Beta car dissemination activities
Figure 29 - Riversimple Beta car Bristol City Council event (left), with Monmouthshire council at HRS site (centre), and Hydrogen hub event Swindon (right)
All three of the events referenced above were attended by a variety of stakeholders, including local authorities, members of the public, fleet vehicle managers from a range of organisations, representatives of the community, vehicle OEM’s and supply chain manufacturers.
Riversimple's dissemination activities have also engaged a number of high-profile public figures such as Chris Evans, Kate Humble and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. While Chris Evans commented in a magazine article that “Britain needs more companies like RS”, Kate Humble tweeted about her visit to the workshop to her 101k followers.
“The future of motoring? This unique #sustainable #innovation by #riversimple & the business model behind it are game changing and give cause for optimism in not very optimistic times.”
FEV open new centre at Coventry University – 21st March 2019
C-ALPS, the Centre for Alternative Low Carbon Propulsion Systems, opened on 21 March 2019. This new building on Coventry University’s techno park is a joint development between the Aachen-based engineering company FEV and Coventry University. Included in the exhibits was Microcab’s Vianova fuel cell plug hybrid vehicle (Fig.30). FEV have expressed interest in fuel cell systems having developed the Breeze project (2015), a compact car with fuel cell range extender, based on the Fiat Cinquecento platform.
Figure 30 - Microcab Vianova on display at C-ALPS opening, March 2019
26 Feb. 2018 Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of UK Labour Party, delivers Brexit speech at the National Transport Design Centre (NTDC), Coventry
The NTDC building (funded and operated by Coventry University) is adjacent to Microcab HQ. “Labour party descends on Coventry for Jeremy Corbyn speech about the need for A Customs Union after Brexit. Microcab asked to provide SWARM hydrogen vehicles for backdrop. Speech delivered in the heart of UK automotive sector in which frictionless, pan EU supply chain is essential.”
Figure 31 - Jeremy Corbyn delivers Brexit speech
University of Birmingham (UB) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Showcase May 31st 2018
Hydrogen and fuel cell industry, academics and students were present at this event. UB is a long-standing partner of Microcab having worked in collaborative projects together from 2006. UB is a user of the Gen 3 Microcab vehicle and the pictures below show the vehicle being handed over to Ahmad El-Kharouf during UB’s hydrogen conference in May/June 2018.
LCV 2018 12-13 September 2018
The UK’s premiere low carbon vehicle event, 3 days of conference and many global automotive companies represented. A Gen 3 Microcab operated on the ride and drive on the city circuit with about 12 rides given. Audience included local authorities, policy makers, hydrogen and general vehicle industry (OEM and niche companies), fleet managers and general public. Microcab shared a stand with Aachen-based FEV. The Mahle stand also featured the Microcab MEET, (Mahle Energy Efficient Transport).
Microcab Isle of Wight Challenge, 20th April 2016
As part of the Eco Island project with ITM Power and Arcola Energy, Microcab toured the Isle of Wight on 20th April 2016, stopping at famous landmarks and six primary schools where the kids get their first sight of a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The event was filmed and made into a video, found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ykWf3R8xZ4&t=42s
Other Communication activities
Partners featured in a number of articles and made a number of videos to educate the public about the project, vehicles and FC transport technologies more widely. Key examples include:
• http://reactif.wallonie.be/?p=199
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/features/riversimple-rasa-review-welsh-hydrogen-fuel-cell-runabout-could/
• https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jan/20/hydrogen-cars-hugo-spowers-future
List of Websites:
https://www.swarm-project.eu/
The following statistics of website access were recorded up until May 2018. Unfortunately, the web host was not able to provide further statistics up until the end of the project in Oct 2018. Therefore, the interest generated by the final project events is not captured here.
See attachment for website statistics.
