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Teesside University to support evaluation of new generation of hydrogen fuel cell trucks

24 January 2024

 

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.

Members of the the Tees Valley Hydrogen Transport Hub consortium
Members of the the Tees Valley Hydrogen Transport Hub consortium

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.

We are delighted to be supporting this innovative project which will herald a new era of transportation within the Tees Valley and beyond.

Dr Huda Dawood

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.

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.


In the News

Publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling to open
Logistics Matters, Web, 23/01/2024
The publicly accessible refuelling station, near to Middlesbrough town centre, will be capable of dispensing up to 1.5 tonnes of hydrogen per day.


University evaluates new generation of hydrogen fuel cell trucks
Tees Business, Web, 18/01/2024
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.


Exolum to Construct a Green Hydrogen Production Plant and Refuelling Station in the Tees Valley
Tanks and Terminals, Web, 18/01/2024
The planned project will feature the construction of a water electrolyser and a hydrogen refuelling station at Exolum’s Riverside terminal in Stockton-on-Tees.


Novuna tasked with delivering hydrogen hub for HGVs
Highways News, Web, 17/01/2024
Data monitoring and performance evaluation will be provided by the School of Computer Engineering and Digital Technologies at Teesside University, who have extensive experience in the fuel cell field.


Multi-million funding injection for hydrogen refuelling hub and fuel cell commercial vehicles
Fleet World Group, Web, 17/01/2024
A new multi-million pound project tasked with delivering a hydrogen transport hub has gone live in the Tees Valley to decarbonise deliveries.


Exolum to Construct a Green Hydrogen Production Plant and Refuelling Station in the Tees Valley
Fuel Cells Works, Web, 17/01/2024
The project will lead to a first-of-a-kind coordinated deployment of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure and fleets of fuel cell tucks in the Tees Valley.


Teesside set for hydrogen-fuelled HGV deliveries after £7m funding boost
Motor Transport, Web, 17/01/2024
Fuel distributer Exolum is to build a publicly accessible green hydrogen refuelling station near Middlesbrough.


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*The Net Zero project is receiving up to £8.85m of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.

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