Innovation funding supports two Tees Valley hydrogen transport hub initiatives
The Department for Transport (DfT) has awarded £8m to two projects within the Tees Valley hydrogen transport hub initiative through a competition to encourage more businesses and innovators to develop technology that uses hydrogen fuel to accelerate transport decarbonisation.
One project led by ULEMCo will develop hydrogen-powered airport ground-based support vehicles, such as tow trucks for aeroplanes and sweepers to clean runways. This will be based at Teesside international airport, which will help the airport reach its goal of being net zero by 2030.
The other winning projects led by Element 2 aims to create new hydrogen refuelling stations, helping to provide the infrastructure needed to scale up the use of hydrogen as a fuel. This funding will create four new publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations, increasing the number of refuelling stations in the UK by 50%. These will be used to fuel a range of vehicles, from airside vehicles to heavy goods vehicles, including supermarket delivery trucks.
The announcement also confirms £300,000 delivered directly to colleges in the area to support upskilling the local workforce and foster a specialised skills base and pipeline of talent, in a bid to further cement the Tees Valley’s status as the home of hydrogen.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said, “Hydrogen technology has great potential to decarbonise transport and help grow the economy.
“The winners illustrate the expertise the Tees Valley has as a pioneer in developing hydrogen tech. This investment will provide a further boost to the economy, creating skilled jobs and apprenticeships across the North East.”
This funding supports efforts to decarbonise some of the heavier and more complex vehicles, such as airside operations, which will be essential in reaching net zero. Greater use of hydrogen, says DfT, could help grow the UK economy with a transport system that is resilient to global energy prices, environmentally friendly and could see the creation of thousands of skilled jobs.
The funding also marks the continued growth of the UK’s only hydrogen transport hub. Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said, “We were one of the first areas to trial hydrogen fuels and this is continuing to pay off as we’ve been successful in securing this permanent refuelling station.
“Our airport and, indeed, our whole region continues to be at the forefront of the UK’s net zero ambitions and this hydrogen station is another step forward to supporting the cleaner, healthier and safer industries of tomorrow. It backs up everything we’re doing in our low-carbon journey, including supporting the production and adoption of sustainable aviation fuel – one of the biggest issues facing the industry right now.
“The aim to have Teesside airport operationally net zero by 2030 is only the beginning. We’re still pioneering offshore, carbon capture and renewable technologies over at Teesworks, to truly cement Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool as the place to do business in innovative and clean technologies.”
Since the Hub was launched in 2020, the Tees Valley region has benefited from millions in government funding and private investment. Recent forecasts have estimated that by 2030, the hydrogen sector could support over 12,000 jobs nationally and unlock over £9 billion in private investment.
Innovate UK Executive Director for Net Zero, Mike Biddle, added, “Announcement of these new projects in the Tees Valley further adds to our significant partnership with DfT to accelerate new technologies to decarbonise transport. This includes nearly £300 million of investment from DfT via Innovate UK in transport decarbonisation across maritime, heavy goods vehicles and hydrogen.
“Place-based innovation like this is vital to invigorate local economies like the Tees Valley. These projects are an important investment to decarbonise transport and a boost for local innovation, investment, skills and business growth.”