Hydrogen-powered generator trialled on the Preston Western Distributor Road

Costain and hydrogen industry start-up, Hydrologiq, have successfully trialled the use of a hydrogen-powered fuel cell generator.

Located at the compound of the Preston Western Distributor project, a new road which will link Preston and southern Fylde to the M55 motorway, the trial is the first for Lancashire County Council.

In line with the council’s carbon reduction ambitions, the results show carbon savings from onsite operations of between 70% and close to 100%, when powered by grey and green hydrogen respectively.

Moving from diesel to green hydrogen on a similar site could save up to 11 tonnes of CO2e per month.

Hydrologiq funded the trial through an innovation grant from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which aims to support the deployment of hydrogen generators on real-world sites throughout the UK.

Benefits for the local community from the use of an EODev GEH2 fuel-cell and battery-integrated generator, include extremely quiet operations and the emission of water as a sole by-product from its use.

According to the team, the trials also demonstrated that hydrogen could transform performance by reliably and efficiently powering an entire site compound, comprising offices, a canteen, a drying room, toilets and two battery electric vehicle charging stations.

Benjamin Lindley, director at Hydrologiq, said: “On-site power provided via hydrogen fuel-cell technology has the ability to make construction sites quieter, cleaner, and healthier places to work. The generator itself ran so quietly that a diligent security guard raised a false alarm that the power had cut off when he didn’t hear the expected rumble from the diesel unit. And, whatever the source of hydrogen, a fuel-cell generator only produces water at point of use, eliminating NOx and particulates.

“At Hydrologiq, we believe that replacing diesel with hydrogen will happen quicker and safer if businesses are open to collaboration. We are grateful to everyone at Costain who worked with us to make this trailblazing deployment a success. Thanks also to our grant collaborators Blue Lightning Solutions, and our suppliers: generator manufacturers EODev, and fuel providers BOC.”