The Hydrohog is capable of undertaking applications such as road planing and snow blowing as well as flail mowing and flood water pumping by interchanging attachments within a couple of minutes without the need for any tools.

Multevo, formerly Multihog UK, is promoting the Hydrohog as a high performance,  multi-purpose highway maintenance machine with ultra-low emissions, displacing diesel by up to 40% through dual-fuel diesel/hydrogen technology.

The hydrostatic machine can travel at speeds of up to 25mph on the road while the hydraulics deliver up to 120 litres per minute of hydraulic output.

An 18-month research & development programme discounted electric vehicle technology after early trials showed it was not up to the job. Multevo instead decided to partner with hydrogen vehicle technology specialist ULEMCo.

Multevo director Nick Leadley explains: “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. This creates problems with existing battery technology.

“The innovative H2ICED dual-fuel system injects hydrogen into the existing diesel combustion engine to displace up to 40% of diesel fuel and make a significant contribution to CO₂ savings and reduced city pollution in real world applications.”

Marketing director Josh Sweeney adds: “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.”