A key milestone has been reached in a ‘groundbreaking’ environmental transport programme led by Dearman Engine Co Ltd working with ‘venture engineering’ specialists Productiv Ltd (www.productivgroup.com), with the successful delivery of a prototype liquid nitrogen (LiN) pump.

The £15 million CEMZEP programme (standing for Cryogenic Engines for Mobile Zero Emission Power) is supported by the Advanced Propulsion Centre and is developing innovative zero-emission technology to replace the inefficient diesel engines used to power the refrigeration units in commercial food-transport vehicles.

Dearman’s (www.dearman.co.uk) initial design for the LiN pump has gone through Productiv’s Production Oriented Prototyping process to optimise the design for cost, manufacture and assembly.

The prototype pumps were manufactured at Productiv’s facility in Coventry in less than three months from initial designs.

Productiv is also producing extensive quality documentation and reporting, to enable series production of the final pump once testing and validation are complete.

The pump will now be connected to the LiN cryogenic tank manufactured by Wessington, another project partner, for validation and testing.

Unlike the main engines that propel these food-transport vehicles, systems used for refrigeration are not currently subject to stringent regulation and offer great scope for environmental improvement.

Matt Hardwick Productiv project leader, said: “This project is set to prove enormously significant, not just in reducing vehicle emissions, but in reducing the cost and energy needed to cool large vehicles.

“It represents a superb example of how our expertise is making a significant positive difference to important clean-tech developments — not just in transportation, but also in sectors such as energy production and storage.”

CEMZEP also involves Wessington Cryogenics Ltd, Loughborough University, Air Products plc and Hubbard Products Ltd.

It is scheduled for completion in July 2019.