Government-backed HyHaul project, which was set to deploy up to 30 hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks, supported by dedicated fleet hydrogen transport systems and three refuelling stations, has been axed.
Announcing the project’s closure, HyHaul Mobility MD Kyle Arnold said it had been ‘unable to secure sufficient customer commitments for fuel cell heavy goods vehicles’. As a result, he said that Innovate UK and the Department for Transport (DfT) have ended a key grant, bringing the programme to an end.
Arnold explained: “HyHaul Mobility successfully met expectations on all except the customer and fleet leasing work package. Despite considerable effort from the consortium, Novuna was unable to obtain the required number of signed customer agreements needed to progress with fuel cell HGV orders.”
The issue, according to Arnold, was the fixed timelines attached to the grant, rather than a general market reluctance toward zero-emission technologies. “This shortfall was the determining factor in the grant’s termination,” he said.
Richard Smith, managing director of the Road Haulage Association (RHA), said: “We are concerned to hear that a project to increase hydrogen refuelling capacity along the M4 corridor ahead of wider roll out has been discontinued.
“HyHaul was set to deploy up to 30 hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks, supported by dedicated fleet hydrogen transport systems and three refuelling stations.
“It would have laid the foundation for a UK-wide network through the ZEHID programme and benefitted hard-to-decarbonise operations such as long distance and heavy haulage. It’s important that we understand the reasons why it has been discontinued.”
Smith warned scrapping the project would be a set-back to the sector’s efforts to decarbonise, when ‘costs and a lack of infrastructure for zero-emission HGVs continue to hold back transition’.
