Multevo, the highways and verge maintenance specialist, has developed the world’s first Hydrohog – the high performance and multi-purpose highway maintenance machine powered by diesel and hydrogen. Diesel is replaced by up to 40%, and this considerably reduces emissions.
The Hydrohog can undertake demanding applications such as road planning and snow blowing and heavy-duty flail mowing and floodwater pumping by interchanging attachments within a couple of minutes without the need for any tools.
The quick and adaptable hydrostatic machine can travel at speeds of up to 40kph on the road. The unit’s high-performance hydraulics deliver up to 120 litres per minute of hydraulic output, enabling it to engage in power-consuming tasks easily.
Intense research and development process
‘Multevo took part in a vigorous R&D programme to develop alow-emission highways maintenance solution for over 18 months. Early trials discounted EV technology due to the nature of the applications required on the network before partnering with hydrogen vehicle technology specialist ULEMCo,’ explains Nick Leadley, Director for Multevo.
‘We were determined to create a solution that would bring about a reduction in emissions without being impeded by a loss of performance.
‘It was clear early on. Electric options had too many limitations for heavy-duty highways applications. Based on our investigations, during road planing operations, for instance, the engine/throttle is fully engaged 75% of the time. It creates problems with existing battery technology,’ Nick comments.
Hydrogen injection system
The innovative H2ICED dual-fuel system injects hydrogen into the existing diesel combustion engine to displace up to 40% of diesel fuel. It significantly contributes to CO2 savings and reduces city pollution in real-world applications.
Multevo is confident the one-machine solution will enable environmentally committed councils and tier one contractors to reduce the number of specialist plants and vehicles by replacing ageing fleets with a more versatile and efficient approach to traditional highways plants.
Multi-purpose operation
Josh Sweeney, Director of Marketing and Growth at Multevo, concludes: ‘Councils are being tasked with doing more with less, but service delivery expectations remain high; especially around pothole and patching repairs – we believe this machine can replace several vehicles, which incurs savings on maintenance and sustainability whilst actually improving operational performance against the kit it replaces.’
