Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 7, 2022) - First Hydrogen Corp. (TSXV: FHYD) (OTC Pink: FHYDF) (FSE: FIT) ("FIRST HYDROGEN" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its first zero emission light commercial vehicles (LCVs) will shortly undergo test runs at the HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground and test track located near Birmingham.
This week, the first of the Company's demonstrator vehicles has completed hydrogen fuelling at 700 bar pressure at the ITM/MOTIVE site in Rainham, Essex, close to the AVL facility in Basildon. The 700-bar fill is a key performance parameter as it is the pressure rate that supplies enough energy to give the vehicle a 400-600km range within a few minutes. When commissioned, drivers will be able to see the energy storage and power flow within the vehicle on the van's dashboard display.
First Hydrogen's LCVs have been certified for use on UK roads and will be used in a series of real-world trials with major fleet operators that have signed up for the trials in the UK starting in January 2023. Current fleets scheduled to trial the LCVs include major grocery chains, infrastructure and utility providers and healthcare services. The trials, run in conjunction with the Aggregated Hydrogen Freight Consortium (AHFC), will enable First Hydrogen to gain feedback for its next-generation 2.0 LCVs and engage with future potential customers. They will also allow fleet managers to experience operating zero-emission hydrogen vehicles within their company.
The global light commercial vehicle (LCV) market was valued at $463.00 billion (U.S.) in 2020 and is projected to reach $786.50 billion (U.S.) by 2030, registering a CAGR of 5.3%. (Allied Market Research), making it an important vehicle class for First Hydrogen to target with a zero-emission mobility solution. The latest development milestone coincides with the European Union's plans to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2035. It has provisionally agreed to reduce CO2 emissions by 55% for new cars and 50% for new vans by 2030 from 2021 figures, with the ultimate goal to achieve 100% reduction of CO2 emissions for new cars and vans by 2035.
Steve Gill, CEO at First Hydrogen Automotive says: "We are hugely proud to have reached this stage in the development of our first vehicles. The first fuelling is an incredibly exciting moment for us, which signifies a major step along the road to the wider production and launch of our First Hydrogen vehicles. We are eager to enter final testing and commence trials with operators early next year, which will help us to refine our end-to-end Hydrogen-as-a-Service solution and assess the commercial appetite for hydrogen vehicles as a way to achieve zero emissions in the transport sector.
"Following the European Union's outline to drastically cut vehicle CO2 emissions in the next 12 years, we are very confident that our plans for zero emission commercial vehicles are absolutely on the right track."
Balraj Mann, CEO & Chairman of First Hydrogen Corp states, "We have already witnessed the car market in North America transition quickly to electric vehicles over the last four years. We are now seeing vans and commercial vehicles pursuing the zero emissions transition. I believe green hydrogen will be the choice for commercial vehicles that require range and payload capabilities."
First Hydrogen Corp. is a Vancouver and London UK-based company focused on zero-emission vehicles, green hydrogen production and distribution and supercritical carbon dioxide extractor systems. The Company is designing and building hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered light commercial demonstrator vehicles ("LCV") under two agreements with AVL Powertrain and Ballard Power Systems Inc. The LCV will have a range of 500+ kilometres. At the same time, the company has launched its bespoke vehicle design phase which will develop its fleet of proprietary zero-emission vehicles. First Hydrogen is also developing refueling capability working with FEV Consulting GmbH, the automotive consultancy of FEV Group of Aachen Germany. The Company is also pursuing opportunities in green hydrogen production and distribution in the UK, EU and North America.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of
FIRST HYDROGEN CORP. "Balraj Mann" Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains information or statements that constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or developments to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by words such as "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should" occur.
Forward-looking information may include, without limitation, statements regarding the operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, performance, prospects, opportunities, priorities, targets, goals, ongoing objectives, milestones, strategies and outlook of First Hydrogen, and includes statements about, among other things, future developments and the future operations, strengths and strategies of First Hydrogen. Forward-looking information is provided for the purpose of presenting information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results.
The forward-looking statements made in this news release are based on management's assumptions and analysis and other factors that may be drawn upon by management to form conclusions and make forecasts or projections, including management's experience and assessments of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. Although management believes that these assumptions, analyses and assessments are reasonable at the time the statements contained in this news release are made, actual results may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. Examples of risks and factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from forward-looking statements may include: the timing and unpredictability of regulatory actions; regulatory, legislative, legal or other developments with respect to its operations or business; limited marketing and sales capabilities; early stage of the industry and product development; limited products; reliance on third parties; unfavourable publicity or consumer perception; general economic conditions and financial markets; the impact of increasing competition; the loss of key management personnel; capital requirements and liquidity; access to capital; the timing and amount of capital expenditures; the impact of COVID-19; shifts in the demand for First Hydrogen's products and the size of the market; patent law reform; patent litigation and intellectual property; conflicts of interest; and general market and economic conditions.
The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of First Hydrogen as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. First Hydrogen undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
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