Scotland’s own ‘Elon Musk’ fires up green van
● Prototype of hydrogen-fuelled H2van unveiled by Glasgow firm
A green guru dubbed “Scotland’s Elon Musk” has unveiled the first hydrogenpowered van built in Britain. Entrepreneur Emil Rangelov, chief executive of Glasgow-based HV Systems, is hoping to build zero carbon emission vans and lorries in a bid to offer greener freight transport.
He proudly showed off a prototype of the first hydrogenpowered van to be built in the UK – and orders are already coming in, despite the fact this time last year the vehicle was just a sketch on a page.
Mr Rangelov and co-founder Abdul Waheed, 34, are hoping the new five-and-a-half tonne H2van will tackle harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
The H2van can be refuelled in six to ten minutes – hours quicker than electric cars. The vehicle reaches speeds of 65mph, carrying up to two tonnes of goods. It is also exempt from road tax and congestion charges. The only byproduct of hydrogen power is heat and water.
Mr Rangelov, 31, has been compared to Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, who created a range of battery-powered electric cars.
The fleet of hydrogen-fuelled vehicles will be powered by an electrical power train that works by converting hydrogen and oxygen into water while producing electricity through a fuel cell. Mr Rangelov said: “Last year we had the van on sketches, now we have it on wheels, so it’s quite a change.
“That has been a truly exciting journey. Currently the vehicles are being developed with our team down in Coventry and one of our engineering partners in Germany. We have a number of large customers who are placing pre-orders with us, which has driven a very large demand.
“We’ve also moved into larger, heavier tractor-trailer units, that’s 40 tonne trucks.
“By mid-next year we will have the big truck ready to drive, so we’ll have a van and a truck.”
The Scottish Government has a greenhouse gas emissions target of net-zero by 2045, but Mr Rangelov said he believed the majority of vehicles will still be running on petrol and diesel.
Mr Rangelov said his designs will save lives by improving air quality, as well as saving money.
He said: “They have a lower total cost of ownership compared to ordinary diesel trucks.
“But to achieve this we need a combined push from the industry, from the component suppliers, from the freight companies and the government.”
Plans are afoot to drive the H2van, which is made from around 3,500 parts, on a return trip from Glasgow to London.