Groceries are going green in the Tees Valley thanks to £7 million government funding announced for hydrogen projects that will grow the economy and support skilled jobs in the North East.
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The funding has been awarded to fuel distributer Exolum to build a publicly accessible green hydrogen refuelling station near Middlesbrough, initially serving at least 25 new zero emission heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) making deliveries.
This will mean thousands of goods being sustainably delivered in the area, from supermarket groceries to new clothes.
The government-funded Tees Valley hydrogen transport hub is the first of its kind in the country, showing how green hydrogen, which does not produce any harmful emissions when used in a fuel cell, can be utilised in transport.
The move will not only improve air quality for residents in the Tees Valley but support hundreds of skilled UK jobs and upskilling opportunities for workers.
To further support the sector, Tees Valley Combined Authority will use £300,000 of government funding to run a competition for Tees Valley colleges and training institutions to purchase hydrogen training equipment to upskill the local workforce.
Today’s funding follows the announcement of the first 2 winning projects, led by ULEMCo and Element 2, which will develop hydrogen-powered airport ground-based support vehicles and create new hydrogen refuelling stations.
Together, the 3 winning projects will innovate hydrogen-powered transport in the Tees Valley, creating jobs and apprenticeships.
The hydrogen transport hub is already creating significant levels of industry interest, with a number of developers having announced their intentions to build large-scale green hydrogen production in the area, with demand from transport a key factor.
Today’s third winner being announced completes the second round of government competition funding for the Tees Valley hydrogen transport hub following the first round, which awarded over £2.6 million to deploy 21 hydrogen-powered vehicles.
The second competition invited ideas on how to overcome some of the challenges of scaling up hydrogen technology, making the region’s supply chain greener with hydrogen-fuelled vans and HGVs.
Government investment in the Tees Valley hub will position the region at the forefront of the hydrogen transport sector, bringing skills, jobs, exports and growth. It will also provide evidence and experience to support future policy, strategy and investment decisions over the coming years. ■