The Hydrogen Transport Benchmarking report states the UK currently lies in 10th place in the global HRS league. It calls for a minimum viable network of 200 >1 tonne per day capacity hydrogen refuelling stations by 2030, and publishing a national strategy to help co-ordinate the installations so viable freight corridors are created along arterial roads.

“Addressing the lack of HRS infrastructure within the UK must be a major priority for the UK to increase deployment of fuel cell vehicles across the nation,” it notes.

Of the nine stations funded through the Hydrogen Transport Program, six had dispensing capabilities of less than 100 kg/day, meaning they were only able to refuel approximately 20 passenger vehicles per day and not well suited to commercial vehicle operation.

China set an original target of 1,000 HRS by 2030, yet recently Chinese company Sinopec announced plans to fulfil this demand for 1,000 HRS by 2025. In Europe, Germany and France both have significantly higher deployment figures than the UK.

The report states the UK is not leading in any key categories and its highest ranking is second, to China, in the FCEV Medium Duty Truck category.

On the bright side, the UK is ‘performing well’ in fuel bus deployment in comparison to other modes of transport, due largely to the ZEBRA scheme, which supports the roll-out of 4,000 zero emission buses, developing zero emission technology and partnerships with local transport authorities and bus operators.

In its other key recommendations, the report highlights:

the need to develop and publish a cross-departmental Hydrogen in Transport strategy cutting across all the modes of transport enabling energies to be identified and built upon;
rolling out more hydrogen eco-systems similar to the Tees Valley project which attempt to aggregate various hydrogen demands to de-risk supply investment;
engaging with senior South Korean hydrogen policy makers and other national policy teams to understand what works and share policy best practice;
ensuring a portion of the targeted 4,000 UK zero emission buses by 2025 are FCEVs to give bus and coach operators viable alternatives, and help develop depot-based hydrogen refuelling to regional authorities.
purchasing subsidies could be introduced to encourage the early uptake of zero emission construction equipment. In maritime and aviation, advanced R&D in hydrogen propulsion solutions should be accelerated to prove hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels such as ammonia and methanol, as a viable solution and gain the UK a competitive advantage.