Academics at Teesside University are evaluating the impact of a major hydrogen transport hub which is being constructed in the Tees Valley after winning £7m of funding.
The innovative hydrogen transport demonstration project will see fleets of zero-emission trucks, powered by hydrogen fuel cells, being deployed across the region from the mid-2020s.
The project, which is being supported by £7m from the UK Government, is part of the Tees Valley Hydrogen Transport Hub Competition funded by the Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.
It will also involve the construction of a hydrogen refuelling station by Exolum at their Riverside Terminal, close to Middlesbrough town centre.
UK-based fuel cell electric vehicle manufacturer Electra Commercial Vehicles and German manufacturer Quantron AG will work together with Novuna Vehicle Solutions to deploy at least 20 fuel cell electric trucks, ranging from 4.2 to 27 tonnes, in the region.
These vehicles will be used by some of the region’s largest vehicle operators and will replace diesel vehicles, thus reducing local air pollution and carbon emissions.
Exolum plans to build an electrolyser and a publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling station at its Riverside Terminal, near to Middlesbrough and at the intersect of strategic road networks A19 and A66.
The station will be capable of dispensing up to 1.5 tonnes of hydrogen per day.
Academics from Teesside University’s School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies and the Net Zero Industry Innovation Centre will provide data monitoring and performance evaluation of the project.
The Teesside University team will be led by sustainable engineering expert Dr Huda Dawood, with support from Dr Annalisa Occhipinti, Dr Ruben Pinedo-Cuenca, Dr Venkatesan Krishnan and Professor Paul Van Schaik.
Dr Dawood said: “Adopting smart and green technologies to enable a just transition to a net zero economy is a key pillar of Teesside University’s research.
“Therefore, we are delighted to be supporting this innovative project which will herald a new era of transportation within the Tees Valley and beyond.
“The use of a hydrogen transport fleet will simultaneously improve air quality and lessen the reliance on fossil fuels, while also providing businesses with sustainable and reliable transport options, thus improving their productivity and efficiency.”
Exolum Clean Energies Lead, Andres Suarez said: “At Exolum we want to be a relevant player in green hydrogen technology, which is positioning itself as an efficient energy vector to help decarbonise sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as heavy-duty mobility.
“This project in the UK comes in addition to others we have under development and others already fully implemented, such as the first hydrogen plant for mobility in Madrid, Spain.
“Thanks to joint collaboration with other pioneering companies, we will be able to offer this new technology to the market to drive the energy transition.”
The project will unlock at least £15m of private investment showcasing the first large-scale deployment of fuel cell electric trucks in the UK, with the aim of encouraging additional stations to be built along the strategic road network.
The project partners see this as a critical first step towards developing a network of hydrogen refuelling stations across the UK, helping to accelerate the UK’s transition away from fossil fuels and towards zero-emission fuel cell electric vehicles.
Read the most up to date Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Industry news at FuelCellsWorks
