Tees Valley has won a £1.3m project that will build two hydrogen refuelling stations in Middlesbrough and Redcar, plus deliver a fleet of hydrogen technology cars.
The new refuelling stations will allow cars, buses, bin lorries and trains to be powered.
The joint bid, led by the Tees Valley Mayor, Combined Authority and the Material Processing Institute, is part of a £14m national programme which will deliver five new hydrogen refuelling stations, 73 fuel cell vehicles and 33 fuel cell buses to the UK.
“The fact that two of the five refuelling stations announced will be in Teesside is a clear vote of confidence in our regions industry, skills and supply chain,” said Ben Houchen, Tees Valley Mayor.
“We already produce 50% of the UK’s hydrogen, so properly utilising it will allow us to keep manufacturing jobs in the Tees Valley and build on the global drive to cut carbon emissions, rather than be held back by it.”
“Hydrogen is vital to our green economy plans and it doesn’t stop at cars – we are currently progressing a pilot of the UK’s first hydrogen train in the area,” Houchen continued.
Figures from a draft report commissioned by the Combined Authority and produced by KPMG suggest that the hydrogen economy could add up to £7bn to the region’s economy by 2060.
“The government wants all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040 and getting the right infrastructure and investment in place is key,” said Transport Minister, Jesse Norman MP.
“The announcement also comes just weeks after Tees Valley was named as one of the areas that could benefit from £170m of funding to create a carbon ‘net-zero’ hub of heavy industry by 2040,” Norman concluded.
