The country’s leading hydrogen trade association has called for hydrogen to play a greater role in the decarbonisation of construction machinery.
In a response to the DESNZ and DfT consultation on non-road mobile machinery (NRMM), released by the Hydrogen Energy Association (HEA), the organisation, which represents 120 leading hydrogen businesses across the full value chain, said the Government’s vision understates the opportunity for hydrogen in comparison to electrification.
It called for a more “holistic approach” and said the “government must give more foresight to a pragmatic, long-term roadmap that details specifically how NRMM will be supported in achieving the endpoint of Net Zero by 2050.”
In the response, which addresses a series of questions raised by Government, CEO of the HEA Celia Greaves said hydrogen is well suited to the high energy output and flexibility demands of Non-Road Mobile Machinery.
“Both hydrogen internal combustion engines (ICEs) and fuel cells offer benefits for NRMM decarbonisation. Whilst ICEs offer reduced initial investment for manufacturers looking to switch from fossil fuels together with zero carbon and minimal NOx emissions, fuel cells offer low operational costs, reliability and zero emissions.”
