Publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling to open

The £7 million project, part of the Tees Valley Hydrogen Transport Hub, is being funded by the Department for Transport and delivered in partnership by Innovate UK. The programme will unlock at least £15 million of private investment.

Led by project coordinator ERM, the consortium will support the rollout and maintenance of fleets of fuel cell HGVs in the Tees Valley commencing later this year, supported by the construction of a strategically located hydrogen refuelling station by Exolum at their Riverside Terminal.

The publicly accessible refuelling station, near to Middlesbrough town centre and at the intersection of the A19 and A66, will be capable of dispensing up to 1.5 tonnes of hydrogen per day.

As the selected HGV leasing partner within the consortium, Novuna Vehicle Solutions will work alongside German manufacturer Quantron AG, to build, fund and manage the in-life maintenance of more than 20 fuel cell electric HGVs ranging from 4.2 to 27 tonnes deployed in the project.

These vehicles, which will be used by some of the region’s largest vehicle operators within the logistics, infrastructure, utilities and home delivery sectors, will replace diesel vehicles.

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.