While world leaders discussed the need for the world to set net-zero carbon targets at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, a major British manufacturer has struck an important deal with an Australian firm to import billions of pounds worth of hydrogen into the UK.
Construction equipment maker JCB will be using hydrogen produced using renewable energy to power its machines, according to a report from the BBC.
The deal means JCB, which was founded by Sir Anthony Bamford, will take 10 per cent of the green hydrogen made by the Australian firm Fortescue Future Industries (FFI).
The Staffordshire-based giant will buy billions of pounds worth of green hydrogen and have partnered with a firm called Ryze Hydrogen to distribute the fuel in the UK.
Hydrogen power is seen as an alternative to electric power for vehicles and many buses in the UK already use it as a power source.
The fuel is considered a much cleaner alternative option to fossil fuels for heavy industries because it does not produce carbon dioxide when burned.
Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of domestic resources, such as natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, and renewable power like solar and wind.
The most common production methods today are natural gas reforming (a thermal process), and electrolysis. Other methods include solar-driven and biological processes.
It is already powering buses both here and in many other countries, and it is hoped will power trucks, trains and other highly energy-consuming vehicles including aircraft.
JCB also said that it was spending £100 million on a project to produce “super-efficient hydrogen engines” to power its machinery.
The BBC report added that this latest deal ties in billionaire Lord Bamford and JCB with FFI, which is the newer renewables subsidiary of mining giant Fortescue Metals Group, owned by Andrew Forrest.
Bamford, whose company Wrightbus built the world’s first hydrogen double-decker bus, said the deal was an important step towards getting greener energy to commercial customers.
“It’s fine having an engine powered by green hydrogen, but no good if customers can’t get green hydrogen to fuel their machines,” he said. “This is a major advance on the road towards making green hydrogen a viable solution.
“We want the government to show its commitment to the sector by investing in buses, trains, trucks, ships, aircraft and the entire green hydrogen supply chain.”
FFI’s chairman, Andrew Forrest, said the deal would help the UK achieve its net-zero targets, particularly in hard-to-electrify sectors.
He said: “The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions associated with replacing fossil fuel with two million tonnes of green hydrogen is the equivalent of taking over eight million cars off the road – almost a quarter of the UK’s entire fleet.”
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