Teesside International Airport in the northeast of England is one step closer to reaching its 2030 net zero goal following the announcement of the winners of an £8m (US$10.2m) competition to develop hydrogen transport in the area.
ULEMCo, one of the winning projects, will receive a share of the funding to develop hydrogen powered airport ground-based support vehicles at Teesside International Airport.
Phil Forster, managing director of Teesside International Airport, said, “We’re working hard to make Teesside an airport people can be proud of – and that doesn’t just mean flying to the destinations people love. It’s about acting responsibly, for the good of our local people and businesses and the future of our planet.
“This hydrogen refuelling station does just that, by proving this new technology is safe and reliable, and can be used across all sorts of applications. This makes it clear Teesside is helping to pioneer both the aviation industry and the clean energy sector.”
The other project, led by Element 2, aims to create new hydrogen refuelling stations, helping to provide the infrastructure needed to scale-up the use of hydrogen as a fuel. This funding will create four new publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations, increasing by 50% the total number of refuelling stations in the UK. These will be used to fuel a range of vehicles, from airside vehicles to HGVs, including supermarket delivery trucks.
Speaking at the announcement on 2 August, transport secretary Mark Harper said, “Hydrogen technology has great potential to decarbonise transport and help grow the economy. Today’s winners illustrate the expertise the Tees Valley has as a pioneer in developing hydrogen tech. This investment will provide a further boost to the economy, creating skilled jobs and apprenticeships across the North East.”
Today’s announcement also confirms £300,000 delivered directly to colleges in the area, to support upskilling the local workforce and foster a specialised skills base and pipeline of talent, further cementing the Tees Valley’s status as the home of hydrogen.
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