Bringing Hydrogen Power to a New Class of Urban Vehicles

In the RISE-led project, one of the most defining breakthroughs came with the integration of a compact fuel cell system into a small three-wheeled delivery vehicle. Designed by FCT Sweden to deliver 1 kW, the system was installed alongside hydrogen storage, safety components, and the electric drivetrain. This brought the vehicle from lab-tested components (TRL 4) to a fully integrated, on-road-ready power system (TRL 6), demonstrating that fuel cells can seamlessly complement an electric platform without requiring changes to the underlying driveline architecture.

Once installed, the fuel cell revealed its strongest advantage stable, continuous energy supply. While the battery provided acceleration peaks, the fuel cell covered the vehicle’s base energy consumption — enabling smaller battery packs, longer operating times, and reduced charging needs. Even with system limitations requiring a temporary derating from 1 kW to 700 W, the integrated setup performed reliably during outdoor testing.

Most importantly, the project showed that hydrogen refueling is already practical today, requiring “less than a minute” to safely fill a cylinder — a decisive step toward uninterrupted operation in real mobility scenarios .

The project also developed a composite hydrogen tank, manufactured in Sweden using carbon fiber and SMC technology. This work underscored that compact, lightweight, and safe hydrogen storage can be achieved even for the smallest vehicle classes (page 9). Together, the fuel cell and storage prototypes proved that small urban vehicles can achieve meaningful range extension with fast refueling and high efficiency — without the weight and cost escalation of large batteries. The result is a technology path that supports cleaner last-mile delivery, scalable energy autonomy, and a flexible transition toward zero-emission urban mobility.