The vehicle can be fuelled up with hydrogen in just 15 minutes and gives drivers 600 kilometres of range, the company behind it says, with the gas being stored in high pressure tanks designed to withstand impact.
The Scottish manufacturers, HVS, say the truck could help decarbonise the road freight industry, which produces more than 21 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year in the UK alone.
Jawad Khursheed, the entrepreneur who started the company, said: “It has the exact same feel of a diesel.
“HGV drivers generally drive up to four hours and then take a break.
The government has banned sales of diesel trucks weighing up to 26 tonnes from 2035 and heavier vehicles from 2040.
It’s a timeline almost as tight as the deadline for sales of petrol and diesel cars.
But there is no consensus on whether lorries should be powered by batteries or hydrogen. And there isn’t a single recharging or refuelling station anywhere on the road network.
The haulage industry is holding back from making big investment decisions on decarbonising their fleets for fear that they opt for the wrong technology.
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