Supportive policies needed for the hydrogen truck sector

The H2Accelerate collaboration is calling for supportive policy frameworks to enable the commercialisation of the hydrogen truck sector.

The group has published a whitepaper which focusses on the UK landscape, examining the existing UK policy framework for zero-emission trucks and proposing policy changes that would enable the roll-out of a large-scale hydrogen trucking sector.

The policy paper outlines a series of policy recommendations which H2Accelerate members believe will foster confidence in the UK’s commitment to hydrogen trucking, and enable the ambitious targets to ban all non-zero-emission heavy duty vehicles by 2040.
 
The paper calls for the need to set out a minimum level of alternative refuelling network coverage, with large-scale hydrogen refuelling stations located every 200km on major networks by 2030, and a more comprehensive network required by 2035 comprising 250 refuelling stations with a total capacity of 500 tonnes of hydrogen per day.

It also calls for the scope of the plug-in truck grant to be broadened to allow all available zero-emission HGVs to be assessed, and cover 80% of the difference in cost between diesel and hydrogen fuelled trucks for the first 1,000 trucks.

Other recommendations include adapting the UK standards for renewable hydrogen so that hydrogen production plants can be connected to existing renewable electricity plants, and reviewing the Hydrogen Production Business Model’s Agreement to allow the participation of third-party companies, so that hydrogen production projects do not need to develop the entire downstream supply chain.

Creating exemptions for zero-emission trucks from levies, tolls, and taxes while the sector scales up, is also recommended.

The above measures, implemented together, would allow H2Accelerate members as well as other hydrogen truck manufacturers and hydrogen refuelling players to invest with confidence in a zero-emission long haul truck sector in the UK.

Hannah Bryson-Jones, spokesperson for the H2Accelerate collaboration, said: "The UK government has the opportunity to unlock large-scale investment in long haul zero emissions freight. Ambitious targets have been set regarding the complete ban on diesel trucks, but these can only be achieved if the sector is supported in scale-up starting today. Aligned and progressively larger deployments of low carbon hydrogen production, refuelling, and trucks, will secure a smooth transition to zero emission heavy-duty vehicles."