Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 8, 2023) - $FIRST HYDROGEN CORP (FHYDF.US)$ is pleased to report the successful completion of the first two trials of the Company's hydrogen-fuel-cell powered vehicle (FCEV) with SSE Plc (SSE) and Rivus.  The FCEV achieved a range of 630 kilometres on a single refuelling during the trials. Driver feedback from both companies complemented the Company's FCEV on its smooth and effortless drivability, quick refuelling times and automatic transmission.  The Company will now look to speed up FCEV trials with the remaining 14 UK fleet operators, including grocery, utility, delivery and health care, by holding track days with multiple fleet operators.  

Additionally, the Company will open up trials to North American companies.  The Global Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCVs) Market was valued at US$ 9.3 billion and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 15.8% during 2023-20233(1).  Hydrogen FCVs offer a viable solution in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as the FCVs produce zero tailpipe emissions contributing to cleaner air quality and mitigating the impact of transportation on global warming.

Data taken during the trials suggests that overall vehicle performance is even better than expected, as it exceeds the results set in pre-trial commissioning tests, especially when driven at a constant speed, as less braking and accelerating means less fuel is consumed. For several journeys, the FCEV drove fully loaded one way and was partly loaded on the return. SSE drivers noted that heavier loads did not noticeably decrease vehicle speed, reduce vehicle range, or affect fuel cell performance.  

SSE was the first utility business to road test First Hydrogen's FCEV.  As one of the UK's largest energy infrastructure companies, SSE has established a Net Zero Action Plan and has recently increased investment in renewables and its electricity networks to £18 billion.  In 2019, SSE committed to transitioning over 3,000 fleet vehicles to electric by 2023, and already it has over 1,100 full EVs in its fleet.

Rivus, which manages approximately 120,000 vehicles, including approximately 85,000 LCVs, was the first fleet management company to test drive the first-of-its-kind hydrogen vehicle on UK roads.  Fleet management specialists Rivus will use data gathered by First Hydrogen's onboard telematics to make direct performance comparisons between similar BEV and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles that have undertaken the same duty cycles.

Balraj Mann, Chairman and Group CEO, commented, "As our FCEV data is monitored with each real-world trial, adjustments have resulted with a 630 km range in the most recent trial with SSE. We are very pleased with the substantial increase from the 500 km range achieved during FCEV commissioning.  Fuel consumption averaged an efficient 1.58kg H2/100m, the Company looks to improve fuel consumption under various real-world conditions during additional fleet trials in the coming months.  We are seeing with trials that hydrogen is the better alternative to equivalent battery electric vehicles for commercial use."