The design of a campus mail delivery vehicle powered by 350 bar hydrogen feeding a 1.2 kW PEM fuel cell to charge a lead acid battery pack is described. Five vehicles supplied to the campus at the University of Birmingham to measure the performance and to evaluate relevance to fleet operations are discussed. It is shown that the performance is better than that of a standard diesel van in two drive cycles, one following an academic circuit around the campus, the other doing multiple mail delivery stops. The acceleration and drive cycle compliance are found to be adequate on campus and the efficiency is significantly better than the diesel. The need for extension of range and increase in power and acceleration to meet standard urban drive cycles is clearly demonstrated. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.