The winners of a government competition to fund testing of hydrogen-powered vehicles have been announced.
Public transport, supermarkets and even emergency services in the Tees Valley, near Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees, will be involved in the £2.5 million scheme.
Responsible for more than half of the UK’s hydrogen production, the North East region is an obvious choice for the trials.
The Tees Valley previously received more than £1.3 million in government funds for a hydrogen fuelling station.
Fighting crime with zero emissions
One of the most eye-catching hydrogen deployments is the use of Toyota Mirai fuel cell cars.
Ten of the zero-emissions vehicles will be trialled in the Tees Valley, including as response vehicles by Cleveland Police. It follows a similar use of the Toyota Mirai by the Metropolitan Police Service, who benefited from a range of up to 300 miles on a single tank of hydrogen.
Toyota will also bring a hydrogen fuel cell bus to the area, along with a new forklift truck.
A collaboration between Stagecoach and Ricardo will supply other hydrogen buses. The joint venture will see a diesel double-decker bus retrofitted with a hybrid fuel cell system.
Supermarket clean sweep
A fleet of hydrogen delivery vans will be rolled out by HV Systems, supported by the government funding. In partnership with a major supermarket chain, the goal is to demonstrate the benefits fuel cell vans have over battery- or diesel-powered models.
Sainsbury’s will trial a hydrogen-powered heavy goods vehicle in the area. This follows recent separate funding from the government, dedicated to zero-emissions road freight research.
Earlier this year, the government announced a masterplan for the UK’s first hydrogen transport hub in Teesside. It is hoped this could be operational by 2025, contributing 5,000 jobs to the North East economy.
Following the funding announcement, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “By harnessing the power of hydrogen technology, we can pave the way for its use across all transport modes, creating cleaner, greener more efficient transport systems across the UK.”
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