A company in Britain has announced that Britain’s first commercial hydrogen trucking corridor will open on theat country’s major North South motorway network, on the M4 following its investment into hydrogen refuelling stations that it claims will supply up to 30 hydrogen fuel cell heavy trucks.
HyHaul Mobility has invested the equivalent of $AUD 28.73 million or £14 million, claiming it is the largest UK based hydrogen heavy duty vehicle refuelling project launching the government-backed project in a bid to reduce heavy-duty transport pollution.
The innovation lead for hydrogen in transport at Innovate UK, Victoria Saunders, said the announcement marks a critical step forward for HyHaul Mobility in establishing a hydrogen heavy duty refuelling network across the UK.
“Innovate UK is delighted to support the delivery of this ambitious project, as part of the wider Zero Emission HGV & Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme, which is vital for accelerating the transition to decarbonised heavy-duty transport,” said Saunders.
Transport and green hydrogen industry leaders, including Novuna, Scania Group, Reynolds Logistics and Protium are working with HyHaul Mobility to demonstrate how a strategic network of hydrogen infrastructure could deliver annual savings of around 1,900 tonnes of CO2.
Managing director of HyHaul Mobility Kyle Arnold, said that achieving the milestone marks a transformative moment in the UK’s journey to decarbonise its most emissions-intensive transport sectors.
“For HyHaul and the team behind it, this is just the starting point – laying the foundations for hydrogen-powered heavy transport ecosystem that will help redefine the future of zero-emission logistics,” said Arnold.
HyHaul says that domestic transport produces the most greenhouse gas emissions of all UK sectors and that heavy goods vehicles account for 17 per cent of that, emitting 19.1 million tonnes of CO2 in 2022.
The UK government says it has a target to end the sale of all new non-zero emission HGVs by 2040, but the weight and distances travelled make them difficult to decarbonise.
HyHaul said that hydrogen vehicles offer a range and refuelling time that is similar to fossil-fuelled vehicles and a number of logistics companies believe the technology could be the right options for their needs.
The company cited recent research published by the UK Road Haulage Association, that found 12 per cent of predominantly larger heavy truck operators with fleets of more than 25 vehicles plan to bring hydrogen vehicles into their fleets within the next five years, however, the lack of public hydrogen refuelling infrastructure is identified as the top barrier to adoption.
HyHaul said the hydrogen fuel cell heavy trucks used in this project will be supported by a strategically located network of hydrogen refuelling stations.
The company said that it has calculated points located at along the M4 corridor providing the infrastructure needed to enable zero-emission trucking at scale.
The company claims that green hydrogen used in the project will be supplied by Protium, which will be producing the hydrogen at production facilities in Wales.
The HyHaul said its UK based first zero-emission commercial hydrogen trucking corridor is scheduled to be operational by summer 2026.
