National Highways has said hydrogen powered construction is a now a “step closer” after a successful trial carried out for the Lower Thames Crossing.
The trial saw diesel replaced with hydrogen in heavy construction machinery in partnership with Gallagher Group, JCB and Ryze Power. A JCB Loadall was powered with a combustion engine fuelled with low carbon hydrogen and carried out masonry work, successfully demonstrating not just the safe operation of hydrogen combustion powered equipment, but mobile refuelling infrastructure too.
Through the trial, it was proven that the equipment can meet the project’s needs and produce zero tailpipe emissions, saving around 205kg of CO2 per machine, each week, in comparison to diesel fuelled alternatives.
As a pathfinder project, the Lower Thames Crossing is targeting a 70% reduction in construction carbon, with the elimination of diesel from its construction sites by 2027 set to deliver a significant proportion. When construction kicks off, potentially as soon as 2026, electric vehicles and plant, as well as hydrogen will be used to power its heavy construction machinery, marking a first for a major project in the UK.
Matt Palmer, Executive Director, Lower Thames Crossing said the Lower Thames Crossing is striving to be the “greenest road ever built in Britain”.
Palmer continued: “At the heart of these plans is the use of clean low-carbon hydrogen power, and by using it on such a large scale to power our heavy construction machinery that is traditionally hard to electrify, we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint, accelerate the construction industry’s shift away from diesel, and help kick start the creation of a hydrogen ecosystem in the Thames Estuary.”
