World’s First Self-Driving Hydrogen HGV Under Development

A new British company building the world’s first self-driving hydrogen-powered heavy goods vehicle (HGV) is to benefit from U.K. government funding.

Hydrogen Vehicle Systems (HVS), a vehicle manufacturer based in Scotland’s biggest city, Glasgow, is leading a consortium called Hub2Hub which is creating the groundbreaking HGV.

Also involved in Hub2Hub are Fusion Processing – the Bristol-based company that has supplied the self-driving tech for the U.K.’s first self-driving bus in Scotland’s CAVForth project and supermarket giant Asda, which is actively pursuing innovative transportation options as it seeks to reduce its carbon footprint.

Hub2Hub will benefit from $16.24 million in funding as efforts are ramped up in Britain to showcase the potential of automation in the freight sector. A total of $51.95 million is being provided to several projects by the government via the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), with that figure matched by industry.

Two HGV prototypes will be developed initially, with testing scheduled to start next year. Each will use Fusion’s automated drive system, CAVStar, which incorporates radar, lidar and cameras, plus artificial intelligence, to deliver self-driving functionality.

The first will be fitted with a driver’s cab and tested on the road, operating autonomously with a human safety driver at the wheel. In the second the driver’s cab will be removed and replaced by an aerodynamic fairing. It will undergo evaluation on a test track, with a remote human driver, located in a control hub, operating the vehicle if required.

“Our market analysis indicates that commercial vehicle segments such as haulage are where we will see autonomous vehicle technology first used in large-scale deployments,” said Jim Hutchinson, Fusion Processing’s CEO.