Protium has secured £30m for its HyHaul project as part of the Government’s zero emission road freight programme, funding 30 trucks and four public hydrogen re-fuelling stations
Protium, which claims to be the UK’s largest green hydrogen energy company, has announced details of its successful ZERFD bid following the public annuncement of the programme by the UK Government. The Protium-led project, Hydrogen Aggregated UK Logistics (HyHaul) has secured more than £30m of the £200m pot released by government, which will see 30 hydrogen fuel cell trucks operating along the M4 corridor by 2026, with further ambition to deploy 300 vehicles by 2030. HyHAUL will also deploy a network of refuelling stations to ensure viable truck operations across designated routes. Hydrogen will be sourced from multiple green hydrogen projects across South Wales including Protium’s “Pioneer 2” and other projects.
In its first phase, the consortium partners include ReFuels’ CNG Fuels, Scania, NRG Riverside, and Reynolds Logistics. Trucks will be provided by multiple OEMs, according to the project announcement, although which truck builder will provide vehicles is unclear: Scania, who is mentioned in the annuoncement from Protium, has been focused on battery electric up to now; both Volvo and Mercedes have slated 2027 for the market introduction of their fuel cell trucks and HVS is still in the early product development stages for its model introduction. Initial hauliers include established companies and decarbonisation first movers, such as EV Cargo and Cardiff-based FSEW.
HyHAUL will provide vehicle OEMs and fleet operators with vital operational data on the performance of first-generation fuel cell electric trucks and will help to remove barriers to wider adoption across the industry, says Protium. “HyHAUL showcases the incredible potential for green hydrogen within transportation, a sector that has one of the largest emissions in the UK” says Chris Jackson, CEO of Protium. ”Our project provides a commercially viable solution to lower the emissions of long-distance haulage, a notoriously hard-to-abate area of the sector. It also marks a significant milestone in Protium’s ambitious target to reduce the UK’s CO2 emissions by 1 million tonnes yearly by 2030.”
