Three UK-based companies have announced plans to develop and a new and commercially competitive hydrogen fuel cell-powered 44-tonne proof of concept heavy-duty truck.

Backed by the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) funding, Viritech, HORIBA MIRA and Intelligent Energy have come together for the £3m ($3.8m) Project ICEBreaker in a bid to lower the cost of owning hydrogen fuel cell trucks.

As lead partner, Viritech will offer its hydrogen fuel cell powertrain which it has optimised to reach parity with heavy-duty diesel powertrains. Intelligent Energy will support the integration utilising its latest generation of fuel cells designed for heavy-duty applications.