A British hydrogen company has announced the launch of a new off-grid electric vehicle charger.
Using hydrogen fuel cell technology, the self-contained, zero-emissions system can provide charging anywhere it is needed.
The H-Power EV Charger can be operated completely off-grid or in conjunction with grid power.
It provides a ‘de-risked solution for car park operators to respond rapidly to growing EV demand,’ claims AFC Energy, the company behind the technology.
AFC Energy sees fleet operators, commercial vehicles and car park operators as the key audience for the hydrogen chargers, which are scalable from two to 100 charge points at a single site.
Further applications include motorway service stations, hotels, supermarkets, shopping malls, construction sites, mines and marinas.
‘Constraining mass deployment’
AFC Energy CEO Adam Bond said: “It can no longer be denied that EVs have become part of today’s mainstream automotive experience, but there are many areas where infrastructure is constraining mass deployment.
“Our system is independent of the grid and delivers EV charging in the most remote off-grid locations or in highly populated urban areas where supply is over-subscribed. With this system, we provide a solution to support the industry’s emerging need for a national network of EV charge-points.”
AFC Energy says it can work with all EV charging platforms to provide its system as part of an integrated emission-free charging system.
A prototype of the hydrogen charging system was demonstrated in January following 10 years of fuel cell research and development. A BMW i8 was the first car to be recharged with power generated by a hydrogen fuel cell.
In finished form, the H-Power systems are available in three standard configurations:
| H-Power (L20) | H-Power (L160) | H-Power (L400+) | |
| Rapid charge points supported | 2-8 | 15-30 | 25-100 |
| Storage capacity (kWh) | 72-288 | 288 | 360 |
| Recharge rating (kW) | 20 | 160 | 400+ |
| Available from | December 2019 | June 2020 | June 2021 |