Hydrogen trucks and buses receive £54m funding

The Government has provided £54 million of funding for three projects to develop hydrogen fuel cells for buses and lightweight structures for electric heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

The projects also include motorsport technology in car motors.

The three projects being funded are:

• £31.9 million to develop electric propulsion systems for heavy goods vehicles in Cwmbran, Wales. This technology could be applied in a range of ways, such as giving lorries greater travel range and better energy efficiency for coaches and construction vehicles
• £11.3 million to develop and manufacture energy-saving technology from motorsport for use in cars and vans from a centre in Warwickshire
• £11.2 million to develop and manufacture low-cost hydrogen fuel cell technology for buses and create a hydrogen centre of excellence with Wrightbus in Ballymena, Northern Ireland

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “The UK is leading the world by developing cutting edge technology that will help to tackle climate change and lead to a green, competitive future for our automotive supply chain.

"These projects will not only help accelerate the wider application of greener technology in lorries and buses but will also help generate the high-skilled jobs to level up communities across the UK while ensuring we build back greener from the pandemic.”

The funding announcement follows the recent Government launch of a £3 billion national national bus strategy for England, which includes a move to franchising, ticketing reform, and hundreds of miles of new bus lanes, and the Prime Minister’s 10 point plan for a green industrial revolution, which aim to accelerate the shift to zero emission vehicles and decarbonise the UK’s transport networks.

The Government also recently announced it would provide £3 million of funding to kickstart the launch of a hydrogen transport hub in Tees Valley.

Transport Minister Rachel Maclean said: “As we look to reduce our carbon emissions, strive towards our net-zero goals and level up right across the UK, the whole transport sector will need to embrace new innovative technology such as green hydrogen and these projects are a fantastic example of doing just that.”

The projects are forecast to secure nearly 10,000 jobs across the UK and save 45 million tonnes of carbon emissions.

The funding is being coordinated by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) which supports the development of low carbon emission technologies for cars, buses, heavy goods vehicles, and vans.