Luxfer to showcase hydrogen technology at online event

Luxfer Gas Cylinders will shine the spotlight on its alternative fuel expertise, and specifically its systems featuring its G-Stor™ H2 hydrogen cylinders – for which the brand is internationally renowned as a partner in zero emission hydrogen powered vehicles – at an online event next week.

From its virtual booth at Mission Hydrogen, Luxfer said it will profile its industry-leading hydrogen storage and delvery systems.

Now in its eighth decade of business, Luxfer’s legacy in hydrogen spans more than 20 years including its role pioneering the hydrogen tank and valve technology, and more recently a series of world-first accolades. These include:

• The world’s first hydrogen buses. Luxfer has worked with bus partners to make hydrogen-powered buses a reality. For example, joining an innovative EU-funded pilot, 10 zero emission vehicles, featuring Luxfer’s G-Stor™ H2 hydrogen cylinders, hit the roads in Aberdeen, Scotland in 2015. The next phase of 15 vehicles will launch in the coming months.
• The UK’s first hydrogen-powered train. Unveiled in June 2019, the HydroFLEX project comprises a former Thameslink electric train retrofitted to run using a hydrogen fuel system. Luxfer’s alternative fuel experts worked in close collaboration with Porterbrook and the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Railway Research, which won the Department for Transport funding to support the concept. The four-cylinder hydrogen solution was developed and assembled at Luxfer’s UK alternative fuel facility and in September 2020 the train hit the tracks for the first time.
• The first commercially available hydrogen powered refuse trucks. In development for the last two years, Luxfer has worked with refuse truck manufacturers in Europe to design, fit and support 20 vehicles. With greater range and power than electric systems, a key requirement of heavy loads vehicles like refuse trucks, Luxfer is helping city authorities in these countries to reach their ambitious carbon reduction targets.
• The world’s first commercially produced hydrogen trucks. A multi-million-pound project integrating hydrogen technology into 60 trucks has been delivered this year, marking the first such green fleet in history. The vehicles, which will transport supermarket deliveries across Switzerland, are equipped with bespoke alternative fuel systems from Luxfer. Each feature a 190-kilowatt fuel cell comprised of seven high-pressure tanks holding around 35kg of hydrogen. This provides a long-distance range of more than 400km before refuelling, which far surpasses the capabilities of battery electric truck technology.
• The world’s first self-sufficient hydrogen-powered boat. Launched in 2017, Energy Observer is a floating laboratory travelling from continent to continent, exploring practical solutions and new innovations in ecological transition. The world’s first vessel to be powered by and create hydrogen, Luxfer installed and supplied hydrogen gas cylinders for the project.

“Interest in alternative fuels is at an all-time high, thanks to net zero emission targets set by global leaders,” Mark Lawday, Director at Luxfer Gas Cylinders, said.