Tees Valley green hydrogen production plant and refuelling station plan revealed

Spanish multinational Exolum has been awarded £2M to build a green hydrogen production plant and refuelling station at its Riverside terminal in Stockton-on-Tees.An electrolyser at the facility will produce green hydrogen using renewable energy and will supply both the refuelling station, with a capacity of 1.5t per day, and other customers in the region using a “hub and spoke” delivery model.The award is part of a £7M package which will deliver the Tees Valley Hydrogen Vehicle Ecosystem.The £2M for Exolum’s plant and station has been awared as part of the Tees Valley Hydrogen Transport Hub, which is funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) and worked on in partnership with Innovate UK.Partners including UK fuel cell electric vehicle manufacturer Electra Commercial Vehicles and German manufacturer Quantron AG, in partnership with Novuna Vehicle Solutions, have been awarded £5M of the £7M to deploy “at least” 20 hydrogen fuel cell trucks, ranging from 4.2t to 27t, in the region, according to Exolum.The company said it hoped the project would be “a vital step towards the development of a nationwide network of hydrogen refuelling stations”.Data monitoring and performance evaluation of the hydrogen trucks will be carried out by Teesside University’s School of Engineering Computing and Digital Technologies and Net Zero Industry Innovation Centre, which has extensive experience in the field of hydrogen fuel cells, to inform further development of the hydrogen transport sector.Teesside University sustainable engineering expert Huda Dawood said: “Adopting smart and green technologies to enable a just transition to a net zero economy is a key pillar of Teesside University’s research.“Therefore, we are delighted to be supporting this innovative project which will herald a new era of transportation within the Tees Valley and beyond.“The use of a hydrogen transport fleet will simultaneously improve air quality and lessen the reliance on fossil fuels, while also providing businesses with sustainable and reliable transport options, thus improving their productivity and efficiency.”Exolum clean energies lead Andrés Suarez said: “At Exolum we want to be a relevant player in green hydrogen technology, which is positioning itself as an efficient energy vector to help decarbonise sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as heavy-duty mobility.“This project in the UK comes in addition to others we have under development and others already fully implemented, such as the first hydrogen plant for mobility in Madrid, Spain.“Thanks to joint collaboration with other pioneering companies, we will be able to offer this new technology to the market to drive the energy transition.”DfT technology and decarbonisation minister Anthony Browne said: “It’s fantastic to see the Tees Valley continue to be a trailblazer in this vital technology to decarbonise heavier vehicles – leading the way for the wider rollout of green hydrogen.“These three winning projects will not only support jobs and economic growth in the Tees Valley but will also help decarbonise our transport network.”Exolum describes itself as “Europe’s leading logistics company for liquid products and one of the largest in the world.”The cash was awarded by the Tees Valley Hydrogen Transport Hub Competition and the project is expected to be fully operational in 2025.Like what you’ve read?