The Catalan engineering company Evarm, specialized in the conversion of professional vehicles to alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas, has designed and developed the first green hydrogen vehicle to be manufactured in Catalonia, specifically at the company's plant in Sant Boi de Llobregat. For this project, Evarm has announced the construction of a 3,000 square meter assembly plant for the new business line and the hiring of 30 engineers.
The technology developed by the company "is an innovative solution because it is easier to bring to the real world than other alternatives and is closer to the market," explained the company's CEO, Xavier Ribas. "With the R&D process and the construction of the prototype, we have demonstrated that it is an efficient technology and that it is a solution for everyone," he highlighted.
Evarm has presented the second prototype of a 100% green hydrogen vehicle it has conceived, and on which it has been working since 2019, with the cooperation of KIST (Korean Institute of Science and Technology), and with the support of Acció, the agency for business competitiveness of the Department of Business and Labor, within the framework of the Nuclis program, which has provided them with aid of 200,000 euros.
Specifically, the company has adapted the vehicle's powertrain ---the propulsion system, the engine, the hydrogen management system, among others--- and has incorporated the 100% hydrogen storage system. With green hydrogen vehicles, a fuel with zero local polluting emissions, zero global C02 emissions are achieved.
A part of the necessary structures for the vehicle will be manufactured at the company's facilities in Sant Boi de Llobregat and other components will be integrated from other suppliers.
The first hydrogen vehicle prototype consisted of a turbo diesel engine that ran on biodiesel fuel and green hydrogen. With the new prototype, a step further has been taken and it runs solely on green hydrogen, "the alternative fuel of the future," since any combustion vehicle could be adapted to run on green hydrogen, according to the company.
In 2021, the company already expanded its facilities, acquiring a new warehouse to separate the assembly plant and the R&D center. The new facilities have allowed production to triple and are designed and equipped with new generation technology in vehicle assembly and conversion. As for the R&D center, Evarm has also reinforced it with more state-of-the-art resources. Evarm is a family business, now managed by the third generation, which had to reinvent itself in 2015.