Hydrogen ‘could revitalise UK economy’
Manufacturing hydrogen vehicles could be crucial in getting the UK economy going again following the coronavirus.
That is the view of JCB heir Jo Bamford, who has revealed plans to develop a 3,000-strong hydrogen bus fleet.
Bamford, who leads green hydrogen production company Ryse which is in the process of building the UK’s first hydrogen production plant on the Kent coast, believes developing hydrogen vehicles is “an ideal option for a government that needs to boost UK manufacturing at this critical time whilst radically reducing our carbon emissions and air pollution”.
He believes that an urgent introduction of hydrogen buses will lead to a knock-on transformation of other heavy duty vehicles, such as lorries, trains, ships and even ambulances and police cars. This would have the potential to create and sustain hundreds of thousands of skilled, green collar jobs across the country.
Bamford envisages 3,000 hydrogen buses, about 10% of the UK’s total fleet, quietly moving around UK towns and cities by 2024. These vehicles will release only water vapour and save an estimated 280,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of taking roughly 107,000 cars off the road a year.
