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Hydrogen car school lesson packs downloaded 10,000 times
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A set of teaching resources focusing on hydrogen and fuel cell car technology delivered by Arval UK and launched earlier this year has now been downloaded more than 10,000 times.
 
Developed in partnership with the Hydrogen Hub project of which Arval is a member, the education pack supports the Chemistry element of Triple Science for GCSE students, providing teachers with a high-quality learning resource that is available free online. 
 
Arval UK, part of the BNP Paribas banking group, has developed fleet industry-leading expertise through its involvement in the Hydrogen Hub over the last two years. This is a Government-backed project based in Swindon, where the company has its head office, which researches the viability of fuel cell technology for a range of domestic, commercial and transport applications in real world conditions. Arval is Chair of the Car Working Group.
 
Paul Marchment (pictured, above), Senior Business Manager at Arval UK, who oversees the company’s hydrogen activities, said: “There are now nine company cars operating within the Hydrogen Hub and, supported by funding from BNP Paribas, we’ve been undertaking a comprehensive hydrogen education project this year aimed at schools, businesses and the wider public.
 
“The lesson plans were launched in March following a successful trial at two Swindon-based schools, Bradon Forest and Nova Hreod Academy. To see that they have now been downloaded 10,000 times is very encouraging indeed.
 
“We have also been carrying out a series of one-day roadshows around the UK aimed at businesses, local influencers such as politicians and the general public. So far, we have visited Swindon, Oxford, Leeds and Birmingham with London to follow later this year.
 
“These have been very successful and attended by almost 900 delegates, who have been able to find out about the advantages of hydrogen vehicles and even try out fuel cell cars for themselves. It’s been a valuable exercise.”
 
Tracey Fuller, Head of CSR for BNP Paribas, added: “As one of the UK’s largest vehicle leasing companies, new vehicle technology is high on our agenda, and an important tool for businesses and individuals looking to reduce their environmental impact. It’s also really well aligned with our commitment to make a positive impact on the UK economy, and wider society, so we saw a great opportunity to use our relationship with the Hydrogen Hub to educate the next generation in the role that hydrogen technology can play.”
 
The Arval UK teaching resource is available to view and download on the teacher resource website, TES, via the following link. 
 
Rory Mathews, Economic Analyst at the Hydrogen Hub, said: “It has been a pleasure to have been given the opportunity by Arval UK to produce this fuel cells lesson pack. I am confident that using our specialist knowledge at the Hydrogen Hub and tailoring the content to cover crucial exam content, we have produced a resource that delivers high quality learning for students and is extremely valuable to teachers.”

Future fleet fuel mix in flux
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Fleets of the future will use an increasingly diverse range of fuels – but there remains a mixed picture for diesel company cars despite new technology that is making them more environmentally friendly.

That’s according to new research from Arval, which asked fleet managers how the availability of new diesel vehicles with equal NOx and fine particle emissions to petrol models would impact on their fleet.

44% said they would continue to buy diesel cars and 5% said they would increase their share. However, 29% said they would continue to reduce the number of diesels they operated and 7% that they would persist with their current policy of not buying diesels.

The findings come from the 2019 edition of Arval Mobility Observatory, which covers 3,930 fleets and asks a wide ranging set of questions about fleet and mobility trends.

The research also looked at how diesel vehicles would be replaced in this scenario. Interestingly, just 4% of respondents said they would opt for petrol cars while 22% planned to swap their diesels for alternative fuels.

Shaun Sadlier, Head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK, said: “RDE2 diesels are starting to become available and some of them are comparable with petrol on NOx emissions while also offering better CO2output and fuel economy.

“However, it appears that diesel has become so inherently unpopular as the result of recent emissions controversies that there will be no large scale resurgence in its popularity, despite this development.

“Against this backdrop, it is important to note that around half of fleets are planning to continue to operate diesel cars, recognising their suitability in certain situations.”

Sadlier added that it was noteworthy that businesses planning to replace their diesel vehicles are more often intending to switch into alternative fuels rather than petrol.

“Roughly six times as many fleets will be replacing their diesels with hybrids or EVs as with petrol, and this should give a strong push to alternative fuel adoption over the next few years,” said Adler. “Certainly, we see many fleets swapping their diesels for hybrids.

“Our position is very much that the fleet of the future will use a diverse range of fuels, with the emphasis being placed on matching the needs of the driver to the right vehicle, and we are doing a lot of work in helping fleets start to make these decisions.”

Image by IADE-Michoko from Pixabay 

Fleets should keep sight of petrol and diesel ‘basics’
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Fleets need to ensure that they keep on top of petrol and diesel management basics as focus in the industry turns to a more diverse fuel mix.

That’s the view of Arval, which believes that while fleets should – and will – adopt large numbers of plug-in cars and vans of all kinds during the next few years, petrol and diesel remain likely to form the majority for the immediate future.

Janet Eastwood, Product Manager – Fuel at Arval, said: “There are clearly a lot of exciting developments underway at the moment in terms of the fuel choices becoming available to fleets and it is pleasing to see how the industry is taking these new options seriously.

“However, it is important there is recognition that, for the next few years at least, petrol and diesel power will continue to form the core of most fleets, especially if you include hybrids and PHEVs in that total.

“For most organisations, good fuel management in terms of controlling costs and minimising environmental impact will include continuing to work hard to reduce petrol and diesel use. This should remain a priority as we move to a more diverse fuel mix.”

Arval asserts that the basics of good fuel best practice in this area have not changed for many years, were well-proven, and centred around fleet-wide fuel card adoption.

“Without a fuel card, getting a grip on your petrol and diesel expenditure is very difficult,” added Eastwood. “What a fuel card provides is purchasing control plus solid and accessible reporting about the amount of fuel being used, who is using it and where it is being bought. In addition, it allows easy VAT reclaiming and delivers massively reduced administration and paperwork

“The kinds of real world data a fuel card provides means that you can examine your fuel spend from a high level view such as looking at petrol and diesel use across your entire fleet, through to details at a more granular level of the fuel usage of individual drivers and vehicles.

“With this information, you can then make decisions that potentially affect everything from the cars and vans that you buy through to the on-road driving styles behaviour of individual drivers and potential mechanical issues with particular vehicles.”

Eastwood says that these management fundamentals were becoming more important in some cases because a significant number of fleets had reacted to widespread controversy surrounding diesel emissions with the acquisition of more petrol cars. 

“Many fleets have responded to worries about air quality by introducing more petrol cars in place of diesel,” Eastwood said. “While this generally makes sense, even the most economical petrol models tend to use more fuel than the equivalent diesel. 

“This makes careful management of fuel use even more important and should prompt these businesses to increase their focus on fuel and perhaps even look at adopting measures such as carbon mitigation schemes.”

Eastwood added that Arval planned to soon introduce an electric charging element to its fuel card offering, but that management of EV fuel would ultimately be quite different to petrol and diesel.

“Over time, most EV charging is likely to take place at the home and the workplace, so the new purchasing patterns are quite distinctive. Future EV fuel card propositions will be based more around convenience, on the importance of managing charging by choosing the right PAYG network point, and also linked to telematics to ensure range is being maximised.”