The government has awarded more than £3mn to a project that is set to use hydrogen for mobile refuelling for construction sites.
Ryze is leading the consortium, which also includes iGAS, Wrightbus, Skanska, Mace Dragados and Sizewell C. They are looking to develop and demonstrate a whole new suite of production-ready hydrogen refuelling equipment, flexible to the needs of diverse construction sites, with £3.2mn backing now forthcoming through the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Red Diesel Replacement Programme.
Using this funding, the consortium will seek to demonstrate new technologies at a working quarry site, with a large array of construction machines on trial. Ryze highlighted how the construction industry has seen growing demand for sustainable construction practices and low carbon energy sources. As part of this, hydrogen has emerged as the leading alternative to diesel.
Despite there being considerable progress in developing hydrogen fuelled construction machinery to date, a lack of suitable hydrogen refuelling infrastructure tailored to the challenging conditions the construction industry presents puts the possibility of hydrogen as a fuel at risk.
Neil Isaacson, Ryze’s Chief Executive, said that demonstrating and proving these technologies in a real world setting can “unlock the use of hydrogen as a fuel in the construction sector”.
Isaacson continued: “With hydrogen-fuelled vehicles likely to be widely available from 2025, there is an urgent need to develop a hydrogen supply chain and associated equipment that is mobile, flexible, and can provide hydrogen on demand at construction sites. With hydrogen-fuelled vehicles likely to be widely available from 2025, there is an urgent need to develop a hydrogen supply chain and associated equipment that is mobile, flexible, and can provide hydrogen on demand at construction sites.”
