Some 2-10% of commercial vehicles in south west England will run on hydrogen by 2030, a new study has found.

Scenarios based on a range of uptakes indicate that hydrogen demand could be as high as 10% of all commercial vehicles

Commissioned by Hydrogen South West, the study explores the amount of hydrogen required to power commercial vehicle fleets in the region by 2030 and sets out an early blueprint for the location of the refuelling infrastructure needed to meet this demand.

Undertaken by professional services consulting firm WSP, the research looks at potential market demand for hydrogen as a transport fuel for utilities, logistics, freight and passenger fleets such as light goods vehicles, heavy goods vehicles, buses and coaches.

The findings suggest that a low-demand scenario would lead to 2% uptake, potentially equating to 7,000 hydrogen commercial vehicles in the South West by the end of the decade. This would require an indicative supply of up to 88 tonnes of hydrogen per day to support their operations.

And demand could be as high as 10% of all commercial vehicles.

Andy Clarke, chair of Hydrogen South West and director for integrated transport at Costain, said: “The decarbonisation needs of the South West are very different to those of the rest of England. This largely rural region relies heavily on its roads to get people, goods and services to where they need to be, and our members consistently report that the refuelling needs of their vehicle fleets, which are predominantly light goods vehicles, cannot be met by battery electric technology. This is due to a range of factors including journey pattern and length, payload and topography, challenges for which hydrogen is a far more effective solution.”

A network of hydrogen refuelling stations required to meet demand has been identified – with the five most effective locations for refuelling stations singled out as Bristol, Bridgewater, Exeter, Plymouth and south west Cornwall.

Together with Hydrogen South West members, WSP is now exploring the next steps to build on this assessment and support the development of an ecosystem. This includes hydrogen refuelling clusters at strategic locations aligned to the existing M5-A38-A30 corridor and close to projects such as Dorset Green H2, Exeter H2 Hub, HyHaul and Langage Green.

Hydrogen South West is a partnership of leading businesses and innovators driving the development of hydrogen infrastructure across the region. The consortium includes EasyJet, Airbus and Hynamics (part of EDF), consultants and engineers Costain and WSP, along with Bristol Port, Bristol Airport, Wessex Water, and Wales and West Utilities.

For more information about how to get involved, or to access the report, please contact David Eccles, director of Hydrogen South West, or Chris Steel, Hydrogen South West strategic partnerships manager.