Tevva orders fuel cell systems from Loop Energy

Canadian fuel cell specialist Loop Energy has received an order from British electric truck developer Tevva. Loop Energy will initially supply its 50 kW FC system T505 for use as a fuel cell range extender for Tevva’s electric 7.5-tonne platform, while the two companies negotiate a comprehensive supply agreement.

++ This article has been updated. Kindly continue reading below. ++

In September 2021, Tevva Motors presented an electric 7.5 tonne truck that is to have a total range of 500 kilometres whereby 250 kilometres are each to be provided by the battery and the fuel cell. The start of production was said to begin in July 2022. Subsequently, the company raised further funds for series production through a private placement.

Tevva Founder & CEO, Asher Bennett. “Our customers are passionate about the cost, performance and emissions of their fleets, so we are highly selective about the energy systems in our trucks. We are delighted to find a technology partner in Loop Energy that can support our ambitious performance expectations and growth plans.”

Loop Energy explains that Tevva also began a tender process to evaluate and test the fuel cell system began during this period. Here, Loop Energy is said to have outperformed “several offers from international fuel cell manufacturers”. Important criteria were fuel efficiency, reliability and also integration into Tevva’s platform.

Now that orders for several units have been placed, both companies are now working on concluding a comprehensive supply agreement. “The order demonstrates that we have the technology and manufacturing capabilities to supply OEMs committed to producing the next generation of commercial vehicles as we move towards zero emissions compliance,” says Ben Nyland, president and CEO of Loop Energy.

Tevva, meanwhile, has opened a development site at Mira Technology Park in Warwickshire as it moves towards volume production. This offers the company proximity to Horiba Mira’s specialist engineering and testing capabilities for crash testing and aerodynamics, among others.

Tevva is not the only vehicle manufacturer at the Mira Technology Park: the British company Innervated Vehicle Engineering (IVE) is developing a fuel cell-powered van with a 900 kilometre range and 1.5 tonne-payload at the facility that is scheduled to go into production in 2024. The industrial park is also home to Polestar’s British development centre, along with Ree Automotive who now has a new facility for validation, verification, testing and product homologation at Mira Technology Park.

Update 06 July 2022

British electric truck developer Tevva is expanding its supply agreement with Canadian fuel cell specialist Loop Energy. After ordering the first units of Loop Energy’s T505 fuel cell system for use as a range extender for Tevva’s electric 7.5-tonne platform, the order volume has now been extended to a value of over $12 million by 2023.

It is not clear from the announcement how many units the 12 million dollars correspond to. However, the cooperation is to become closer: Tevva will integrate Loop Energy’s fuel cell systems into its manufacturing process.

businesswire.com, tevva.com,  businesswire.com (update)