South West-based hydrogen developer Tower Group has confirmed that its Exeter H2 Hub will be delivered by 2026 – a major step to supporting the South West’s journey to a net zero transport network.

The plant will supply hydrogen to fuel cell electric vehicles owned by Wales & West Utilities, along with other utility companies and local councils

It’s leading a consortium to power up the hub, providing a 5 MW pilot plant with mobile refuelling capability in East Devon.

The plant will supply hydrogen to fuel cell electric vehicles owned by consortium member Wales & West Utilities, along with other utility companies and local councils, helping to support the switch for commercial fleets. Speaking last month, the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) said, some fleet operators are starting to “take hydrogen seriously” as a fuel option on the back of new developments and continued challenges with battery electric vans.

The facility will also be used to explore how low-carbon hydrogen could be used to decarbonise industry in the area. The refuelling station will also be open to third parties, including the general public and the private sector, to encourage the growth of the hydrogen economy in the region.

The consortium said that demonstrating how hydrogen can be used in transport is a key step to increasing hydrogen production, with both retail and direct offtake hydrogen supply being planned in the area.

Consortium members also plan to apply for government support to advance their ambitions to make hydrogen refuelling a reality for the region.

The deal builds on a pre-existing agreement between Tower Group and hydrogen refuelling business Element 2 to co-develop hydrogen refuelling stations in the South West.

Other consortium members include the University of Exeter’s Centre for Future Clean Mobility, EMotive, Oort Energy, Costain and Gardiner & Theobald.

Alex King, CEO of Tower Group, said: “The UK needs more investment in hydrogen infrastructure. If we are going to truly level up the country and deliver on the promises of net zero, then we must accelerate our efforts and bring investment and jobs to those places desperately in need. This pilot project takes us one step further towards this goal, with many more to come.”

The group added that initial modelling suggests that the pilot plant could expand significantly due to demand from utilities companies alone. By demonstrating the viability of this pilot, Tower Group aim to catalyse organic hydrogen growth to the benefit of East Devon, Exeter and the wider South West. Tower Group will also use the project to look at further opportunities for hydrogen in the area, such as the capture of secondary heat and direct offtake to industrial users.

Hydrogen hub to help Wales & West Utilities shift vans to FCEVs

Wales & West Utilities said the project would support its plans to adopt hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. It runs a 1,300-strong vehicle fleet, half of which could require hydrogen to meet its net zero targets.

Stephen Offley, WWU fleet manager, said: “Wales & West Utilities believes that hydrogen will soon become the most operationally satisfactory zero-emission solution for high energy demand vans. Consequently, we expect to deploy hydrogen-fuelled vans at the earliest practicable opportunity, initially in smaller clusters, that operate within a convenient radius of the hydrogen refuelling location.

“These clusters will each create significant daily demand for hydrogen and cover almost 90% of our fleet duty cycles: subject to satisfactory operating experience and total cost of ownership (TCO), we would expect to progressively increase cluster sizes year-on-year.”

The Exeter H2 Hub consortium also plans to work with consortium member and clean vehicle innovator EMotive, based in Cullompton, to investigate opportunities to retrofit existing fleets with hydrogen combustion engines and/ or fuel cell electric powertrains, via a pilot project of 5-10 vehicles from Wales & West Utilities, co-located with the refuelling pilot. The intention is to ramp this up to a facility where the team can retrofit and maintain the thousands of vans and larger vehicles in the region.

Dan Regan, managing director of EMotive, said: “EMotive has been working on innovative clean commercial vehicle designs right here in Devon for over five years now. We’re incredibly proud to now be part of Tower Group’s consortium taking this leap in the South West towards a cleaner and greener future for our region. This project will take great steps in achieving better air quality, more sustainable industries and shine a light on the South West as a leader in greener transport and energy systems.”

The project supports Element 2’s plans to operate a UK-wide network of hydrogen refuelling stations from Land’s End to John o’ Groats by 2027. The business is lending its expertise on the installation and operation of mobile and fixed hydrogen refuelling stations.

Andrew Hagan, chief development officer, said: “Element 2 is excited to solidify our hydrogen refuelling network, bringing our years of hydrogen refuelling and enabling the clean energy and air transition to the South West. Combining with the additional expertise the hub partners bring allows us to build out another fundamental block of our network from Land’s End to John O Groats.”