- Four firms shortlisted to provide largest ever volume of
hydrogen to UK transport sector
- Lower Thames Crossing to be first major UK infrastructure
project to use hydrogen to power heavy construction machinery
- The infrastructure and skills developed by the project will
speed up the use of hydrogen in the construction industry and a
new hydrogen economy in Thames Estuary
National Highways has today (29 November 2023) unveiled the four
businesses that have been shortlisted to supply over 6 million
kilograms of hydrogen for use on the proposed Lower Thames
Crossing project, the largest volume ever bought in the UK
transport sector.
The shortlisted firms are:
- Air Products PLC
- BOC Limited
- BP Oil UK Limited
- INOVYN Europe Limited
Having passed the first stage of the procurement process, , the
firms will move into a Competitive Dialogue with National
Highways. This approach allows for direct discussion between each
bidder and National Highways, and is designed to find innovative,
deliverable solutions. The contract award is expected in summer
2024.
The contract is for the supply, storage and distribution of over
6 million kilograms of hydrogen, which will be used to power the
construction machinery that will be used to build the new
crossing.
Diesel accounts for around a third of the projects carbon
footprint, and using hydrogen will allow the scheme to replace
around 20 million litres of diesel on its worksites.
Electric plant and battery powered machinery will also be used
for static or slow-moving machinery. Other renewable fuel sources
and biofuels may also be used.
Kat Ferguson, Procurement Director, Lower Thames Crossing
said:
“The proposed Lower Thames Crossing is designed to the greenest
road ever built in the UK. We’ve put carbon reduction at
the heart of our procurement process, and have ambitious plans to
use hydrogen to target one of the biggest sources of embedded
carbon in the construction industry - diesel. We’ve shortlisted
four firms who want to help us meet our carbon reduction targets
by replacing around 20 million litres of diesel with hydrogen,
and I look forward to moving into the next stage of the
procurement process with them.”
As part of National Highways’ commitment to net zero maintenance
and construction emissions by 2040, the Lower Thames Crossing has
been designated a pathfinder project to explore carbon neutral
construction during its main work phase between 2026 and 2032.
The scheme seeks to remove an estimated total of 66 million
litres of diesel from its worksites – and using new, cleaner
fuels such as hydrogen is one of the ways that will contribute to
making this possible.
The purchase of such a large volume of hydrogen to use on the
Lower Thames Crossing will speed up the construction industry’s
shift away from diesel power by showing other infrastructure
projects what is possible, and by giving some of the UK’s biggest
construction firms the confidence to invest in the next
generation of machinery and skills that will then become the new
standard practice on other projects.
The ambitious plan will also kick-start the highly anticipated
development of a hydrogen ecosystem in the Thames Estuary that,
according to the government-backed Thames Estuary Growth Board,
has the potential to create 9,000 new highly skilled
jobs and give a £3.8 billion boost to the economy.
