TRIG case studies

0:29 – 0:52

So this is the Hydro Shunter. It’s a hydrogen and battery drivetrain solution for heavy duty rail. It’s been applied to a shunting vehicle which will get sites used to having hydrogen and hydrogen technology. At Unitrove, we’re actually looking to build the world’s first zero emission multi fuel station. And the idea is it kind of stores liquid hydrogen as a fuel and is able to deliver multiple fuels from that liquid hydrogen.

0:52 – 1:13

We’ve developed a wind propulsion system for commercial shipping. So effectively it produces thrust to the vessel. It’s a rigid wing that sits on the deck of the vessel, reducing that thrust from a differential in pressure to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions. So the original Trig program was for us to develop a piece of software to allow us to optimise drivetrains, especially hydrogen and battery drivetrains. That’s been instrumental in Vanguard growing.

1:13 – 1:35

It’s allowed us to offer new products and new services to commercial partners. Trigg has actually been extremely helpful for us in getting approval in principle with a classification body bureau Veritas. We’re now installing the first wing on a ship in November this year. So that’s extremely exciting, a huge milestone for the company. We’ve also secured 1.25 million from Innovate UK and 1.25 million seed investment rounds earlier this year.

1:35 – 2:14

The TRIG23 program has given us something tangible in the form of a feasibility study that we can take out there into the market and show how our refueler can be applied to aviation. And in fact, through the Trig program, we met one of our major partners in the maritime space, allowing us to commercialise the technology that we’re looking to develop. So over the next few months, we’re looking to verify the technology, to make sure that it works the way that we know that it does and to prove that to the world. We can then go to full commercialization where we sell these units to the global fleet to help decarbonize shipping around the world. So the big thing for us is getting this demonstrator out on the railway, working in real world environments, hopefully in January.

2:14 – 2:51

We then want to build on the technology, we want to grow the drivetrain, scale it up to being for larger locomotives for passenger applications and actually start getting it being used by commercial operators. The road ahead is us being able to implement the technology in its first stage next year, so in the next coming years we can refuel hydrogen aircraft. The Trig programme has brought a lot of benefits, obviously funding is one of them, but it’s not the only thing. We’ve had a huge amount of support, coaching and guidance throughout the whole process. It’s a fantastic springboard for SMEs to really foster collaborations, partnerships, having the connections to investors, having the connection to industry.

2:51 – 2:59

Their approach is so SME friendly. Go for it. Don’t hold back. They’re there to support you. So I couldn’t recommend it enough.

2:59 – 3:11

As a small business, you’ve got to explore all avenues of funding, all avenues of support. It’s allowed us to move from that initial R and D phase through to having a product that’s almost ready for commercialization. And the Trig program has been absolutely perfect for helping Vanguard move forwards.