Commons Committee calls for more hydrogen trials

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has published its findings on hydrogen along with recommendations to Government. For cars it states: “Passenger battery electric vehicles for road transport have established a seemingly unassailable lead over other green alternatives, meaning that it looks likely that hydrogen will play in the near future, at most, a small part in decarbonising passenger cars.”

However, HGVs could be powered by hydrogen, which it describes as “a potentially viable alternative to electrification for HGVs, but widespread adoption of hydrogen in HGVs can only be achieved with an assurance that hydrogen will be widely available across the country. Whilst other countries have given commitments to hydrogen refuelling stations, the UK has been more reticent to date.”

The Committee also calls for more trials to prove its efficacy. “More trials for heavy goods vehicles, beyond those already announced and forthcoming as part of the Zero Emission Road Freight demonstration programme, need to take place in the next five years to ensure that a firm decision can be made on the role of hydrogen in HGVs in time to develop the infrastructure needed to deliver carbon emission reductions.

“Trials could be localised to minimise the initial infrastructure requirements. Any early adoption of hydrogen HGVs is likely to require subsidy by the Government to overcome the higher cost for the operators.”

The report acknowledges the trials of hydrogen buses already underway and calls for evidence to be shared sooner rather than later. “We welcome the trials of hydrogen buses which are taking place in the UK. The Government should continue to support such trials and come to a rapid view of the contribution that hydrogen-fuelled buses can make. Trials should consider the implications for other applications such as HGVs, and the decisions the trials will help to inform.”

You can find the full report here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmsctech/99/report.html#heading-7

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